Grilled Pork Roast with Mustard and Fresh Herbs
from https://www.blue-kitchen.com/

Marinating boneless pork shoulder with Dijon mustard, garlic and a fresh herb mix adds extra depth to the smoky flavor of this grilled roast. Tender, moist and incredibly flavorful.

My plan for flavoring this beautiful roast was to make a rub of Dijon mustard, fresh herbs and garlic. Rob [his butcher] also urged me to add salt to the rub. He called it early salting and referred me to The Zuni Cafe Cookbook, by San Francisco chef Judy Rodgers. Rodgers has long been a proponent of early salting. In fact, she devotes a whole section of the book to the subject. The conventional wisdom is that salt draws moisture out of meat if you salt it before cooking. And at first, it does. But over time, the moisture is drawn back into the meat, bringing the flavor of the salt—and any herbs and spices—along with it. As a bonus, early salting slightly breaks down proteins in the meat, tenderizing it.

FMM: This recipe is for a boneless pork shoulder, which is a fatty and somewhat tough cut, which needs to cook a while to make it tender. If you are using this recipe for a boneless pork loin, cook only for about 1/2 hour until the thermometer reaches a temperature of 140 degrees. A similar recipe I found added a couple tablespoons of balsamic vinegar for a little acidity.

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4-pound boneless pork shoulder

Combine the herbs, garlic, mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Pat roast dry with paper towels. Score fat and any skin on pork in a crosshatch pattern. Rub the mustard herb mixture all over the roast, taking care to work it into the crosshatched slits. Wrap the roast tightly in plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and preferably overnight.

About 1/2 hour before you’re ready to grill, remove the roast from the fridge to let it come to room temperature. Prepare your grill for indirect grilling. For a charcoal grill, divide hot coals evenly on two sides of the grill and place an aluminum foil drip pan in the middle. Place the roast fat/skin side up over the drip pan and cover the grill. For a two-burner gas grill, light one side and place the food on the other. On a three- or four-burner grill, light the outside or front and rear burners; cook the food in the center. If your grill doesn’t have a built-in drip pan, place a foil pan under the grate. (I’ve only cooked on charcoal grills, so if you’re using a gas grill, you undoubtedly know more than I do about regulating heat and such.)

Check the roast every 20 minutes or so to see how it’s doing. With a charcoal grill, you may need to add extra coals about 45 minutes to an hour into the cooking. Grill the roast until a quick-read thermometer inserted into the center of the roast registers 150ºF, about 1 to 1-1/4 hours. You an also roast the pork shoulder in the oven at 350ºF. Transfer roast to a platter, tent with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes or so. Slice and serve.

NOTE: For a boneless pork loin, cooking time will be about 1/2 hour. Internal temperature of the meat should be 140 degrees.

Serves 4 to 6