Recipe: Slow-roasted shoulder of pork

Total time: 20 minutes plus 8 1/2 to

10 1/2 hours roasting time

Servings: 8 to 10

Note: This recipe from The Times Test Kitchen used a recipe from London’s River Café as a jumping-off point. It ran with Laurie Winer’s article about porchetta.

10 garlic cloves, peeled

1/2cup fennel seeds

2 tablespoons coarse sea salt

1/2teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

5 to 6 small dried red chiles, crumbled, with seeds

1 boneless pork shoulder butt (about 6 to 7 pounds)

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/2cup hot water

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2cup chicken broth

1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic and fennel seeds and mix them together. Add the salt, pepper and chiles and combine.

2. Cut 1-inch slits all over the surface of the meat, including top and bottom. Rub the garlic-seed mixture into the slits.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, heavy Dutch oven. Sear the meat on all sides over medium-low heat for about 10 to 12 minutes. Do not allow the garlic to burn.

4. Remove the roast from the pot and add the hot water, stirring and scraping the bottom to deglaze the pan. Place a rack in the bottom of the pan. Add the meat, fatty side up, and roast in the oven uncovered for 30 minutes.

5. Pour the lemon juice and the chicken broth over the meat. Brush with the remaining olive oil.

6. Reduce the heat to 250 degrees, cover the pan and roast the meat 8 to 10 hours, occasionally basting with pan juices. The roast will be done when the meat falls apart when barely touched with a fork.

7. Remove the roast from the pot and place it on a serving platter. Skim the fat from the pan drippings. Serve pan drippings on the side or drizzled over the meat.

Each of 10 servings: 377 calories; 36 grams protein; 6 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber;

23 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 121 mg. cholesterol; 588 mg. sodium.