Pork, Sunday Pork Roast with Mushroom Gravy

By MarieR

NOTES FROM THE TEST KITCHEN
THE SECRET TO BIG MUSHROOM FLAVOR
Most recipes for pork roast and mushroom gravy don't start the gravy until the meat is done. Our gravy gets underway earlier in the process, ensuring deep flavor.
By adding the mushrooms to the pan midway through cooking time, we create a mushroom-and-pork broth that is deeply flavored and makes an unbeatable base for the gravy.

Ingredients

• NOTE: Boneless pork shoulder, often labeled Boston butt, is usually sold wrapped in netting, which should be removed. Don't use a nonstick roasting pan, as the dark surface may overbrown the outside ot the roast.
• 1 (4 to 5-pound) boneless pork shoulder roast, fat trimmed to Ye inch thick (see note)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 onion, halved
• 20 ounces white or cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup water, plus extra as needed
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

Details

Servings 6
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 120mins

Preparation

Step 1

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 300 degrees. Pat the pork roast dry with paper towels and rub all over with 1 teaspoon of the thyme, 1 teaspoon of the sage, the salt, and pepper. Tie the roast at 1-inch intervals with butcher's twine.
2. Arrange the roast, fat side up, in a roasting pan and cook until beginning to brown, about 3 hours. Add the onion, mushrooms, broth, 1 cup water, bay leaf, remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon sage to the pan and continue to roast until the meat is well browned and a skewer inserted in the center meets no resistance, about 3 hours. Transfer the roast to a carving board, tent with foil, and let rest for 30 minutes.
3. Discard the onion and bay leaf. Strain the contents of the roasting pan through a fine-mesh strainer into a fat separator, reserving the mushrooms. Let the liquid settle, then pour the defatted pan juices (you should have about
Inexpensive white or cremini mushrooms give the pork just as much flavor as their more expensive brethren.
1 cup) into a measuring cup and add enough water to yield 1 11/2 cups.
4. Transfer 2 tablespoons of the fat from the separator to a large saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Stir in the flour and cook until golden, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the pan juices and bring to a boil. Add the reserved mushrooms and simmer over medium-low heat until the gravy is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove the twine from the roast. Cut the roast into 1-inch-thick slices and serve with the gravy. (The rubbed roast may be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight at the end of step 1.)