Oven Roasted Pork Shoulder Recipe - Cook Like Czechs

Jump to Recipe

• 490shares

This is an easy recipe for a Czech-style pork shoulder roast with gravy! Soft inside with a crispy crust it always tastes excellent.

➜ About the Recipe

This Bohemian pork roast is a boneless pork shoulder slow-roasted whole in the oven on an onion base. Before roasting, rub the meat with crushed caraway seeds and garlic to give it a delicious flavor.

Once cooked, just slice the meat and serve with potato dumplings and braised cabbage. Top the dish with gravy made from juices when the roast is coming to the table.

⇢ Learn more about herbs and spices used in Czech cuisine

TIP: Czechs call this pork shoulder roast 'Vepřová pečeně', and it is one of the most popular meals in the Czech Republic. Here is another iconic recipe made with pork: Vepřo knedlo zelo.

➜ Ingredients

• Pork shoulder; also known as pork butt/Boston butt. A whole piece, boneless, without skin. It is a well-marbled cut that benefits from low and slow cooking in the oven.
• Onion; roughly chopped or cut into wedges
• Pork lard; or vegetable oil such as sunflower or canola oil
• Garlic; fresh, pressed, or mashed
• Caraway seeds; crushed (learn, how to crush caraway seeds by hand). Don't confuse cumin and caraway seeds; only caraway seeds belong in typical Czech dishes.
• Salt

Next, you will need some water to baste the roast.

✅ You'll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.

Quick Instructions:

1. Rub the whole pork shoulder with crushed garlic, caraway seeds, and salt.
2. Grease a roasting pan with lard and cover it with onions cut into wedges.
3. Place the pork shoulder roast on top of the onions and pour water into the base.
4. Roast in the oven at 400 °F (200 °C) for the first 30 minutes and 300 °F (150 °C) for the remaining hour and a half.
5. After roasting, strain the juices from the onions through a sieve.
6. Serve the roasted pork shoulder with dumplings and cabbage, topped with juices.

➜ Detailed Instructions with Photos

STEP 1: Rinse and dry the pork shoulder roast. If the meat is irregular in shape, tie it with kitchen string - learn how to make it.

STEP 2: Peel and mash the garlic. Rub the surface of the pork on all sides with garlic, salt, and crushed caraway seeds.

STEP 3: Peel an onion and cut it into wedges. Grease a roasting pan with lard, and spread the onions on it. Place the seasoned meat on the onion base. Pour about ½ cup (120 ml) of water into the bottom of the roasting pan.

STEP 4: Roast in a preheated oven at 400 °F (200 °C) - lower and upper heating only - for 30 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 300 °F (150 °C) and cook low and slow for another hour and a half.

After every half hour or so, baste the meat with the drippings. If there are not enough juices in the roasting pan, add a few tablespoons of water.

STEP 5: Set the finished roast aside, transfer the roasted juices and onions to a sieve placed over a clean pot, and strain. Press the rest of the onions through the sieve.

STEP 6: Slice the pork shoulder into ½ inch (1,5-2 cm) thick slices and serve.

➜ Serving

Oven-roasted pork shoulder tastes best with potato dumplings and braised red cabbage. Arrange on a plate and pour over the juices you have prepared from the onion and fat.

➜ Should I Cover Pork Shoulder in the Oven?

No, the pork shoulder is roasted uncovered. This creates the desired crispy crust on the outside while the meat remains tender on the inside.

Roast a pork shoulder weighing about 3 pounds at 400°F for the first half hour, then reduce the temperature to 300°F and slow cook for another hour and a half.

➜ Useful Tips

• Roast the pork shoulder in the oven with the top and bottom heat on. Do not use the fan-forced function; else, the meat will dry out.
• Start with a short burst of high-heat roasting first; the meat becomes crispier on the surface. Only then lower the temperature and slowly finish cooking.

More pork recipes

• Pork patties - with mustard and onions
• Slow roasted pork belly - Czech Pečený bůček
• Beef and pork meatloaf - Czech sekaná
• Pork chops with gravy

Tried this recipe?

Leave a review down in the comments! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Other readers and I love hearing what you think. Stay in touch by following me on Facebook and Pinterest. For more Czech stuff, subscribe to my newsletter!

📖 Recipe

Roasted Pork Shoulder - Czech Vepřová pečeně

Author: Petra Kupská This is an easy recipe for a Czech-style pork shoulder roast! Soft inside, with a crispy crust, tastes excellent anytime. 5 from 5 votes Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark Print recipe Prep Time: 15 minutes minsCook Time: 2 hours hrsTotal Time: 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins Servings: 6

Tap or hover to scale

Ingredients CupsMetric

• ▢ 3 pounds pork shoulder whole
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground caraway seeds
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
• ▢ 3 medium onions medium
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons pork lard (or canola / sunflowe oil)
• ▢ ½ cup water

Instructions

• Rinse and pat dry 3 pounds pork shoulder. If the meat is unevenly shaped, use kitchen string to tie it together.
• Peel and finely mince 2 cloves garlic. Rub the surface of the pork on all sides with garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon ground caraway seeds.
• Peel 3 medium onions and cut it into wedges. Grease a roasting pan with 2 Tablespoons pork lard, spread the onions on it. Place the seasoned meat on the onion bed. Pour about ½ cup water into the roasting pan.
• Roast in a preheated oven at 400 °F - lower and upper heating only - for 30 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 300 °F and roast for another hour and a half. After every half hour or so, baste the meat with the drippings. If there are not enough juices in the roasting dish, add a few tablespoons of water.
• Set the finished roast aside, transfer the roasted juices and onions to a strain placed over a clean pot, and press through.
• Slice the pork shoulder into ½ inch (1,5-2 cm) thick slices and serve.

Notes

• The basic recipe makes 6 servings.
• SERVING: Oven-roasted pork shoulder goes best with potato dumplings and red braised cabbage. Arrange on a plate and pour over the juices you have prepared from the onion and fat.
• Roast the pork shoulder in the oven with the top and bottom heat on. Do not use the fan-forced function; else, the meat will dry out.
• Roast on a higher heat first; the meat becomes crispier on the surface. Only then lower the temperature and slowly finish cooking.

Nutritional estimate pro serving

Calories: 271kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 496mg | Potassium: 561mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 11IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 2mg Servings: 6Calories pro serving: 271Course: Main CourseCuisine: CzechKeyword: Pork Recipes Pin Recipe Share by Email Share on Facebook Do you like the recipe?I would be happy for your feedback! Please, rate the recipe and share your opinion or questions in comments bellow. Thank you very much.

• 490shares