Kevin Is Cooking | Cuisines | Classic American | Lemon Herb Roasted Pork

Lemon Herb Roasted Pork

By Kevin

published Dec 09, 2019, updated Aug 09, 2022

5 from 6 votes

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My Lemon Herb Roasted Pork recipe is your new Sunday dinner! This is my go-to, easy to make citrus and herb paste that’s just incredible on roasted pork and chicken. Made using fresh herbs, garlic, a Serrano chile and lemon zest to name a few ingredients, it delivers BIG flavor results!

Lemon Herb Roasted Pork

For that fall apart pork, you need to do this low and slow, so plan ahead depending on the size of your pork shoulder roast. This has to be THE best herb paste I use to rub on a pork shoulder or chicken for roasting.

Made using fresh parsley, rosemary, sage, a Serrano chile, garlic, dijon mustard, lemon zest and a little olive oil. Every time I make this guests love it.

Imagine the aroma wafting in from the grill or kitchen oven. It is amazing!

This is one of those simple yet amazing, down and dirty, quick recipes for taking that slow roasted meal to the next level. There’s nothing I like better than to smell a dinner roasting in the afternoon as we’re watching TV and this past Sunday was no exception. Love a good lazy Sunday afternoon. The aromas lingered and permeated the house.

For this “marinade” or “rub” I keep it to a paste, which means not a lot of olive oil. I want this herb and citrus paste to cling to the pork shoulder as it roasted, not melt off and get browned up on the bottom of the pan with all the melted fat cap.

I push the lemon and herb paste into cut holes I make on all sides of the pork shoulder and rub and pat it gently all around to encase it.

How to make the herb paste

So let’s make this and the cool part is it takes a hot second to make.

• With a vegetable peeler, carefully remove just the yellow lemon zest, avoiding the white sour pith skin.
• In a food processor or blender add the Dijon mustard, garlic cloves, herbs, lemon zest, Serrano chile, red pepper flakes and the kosher salt.
• With the processor or blender on add the olive oil in a slow drizzle to emulsify and a thick paste has formed. A minute or so should do it.
• Make small cuts all over the meat and rub the mixture in the cuts and all over your pork roast. Allow to marinate as you would normally or roast and baste as it cooks.

I allowed mine to rest and come to room temp as the oven heated up.

This was a 4 pound pork shoulder that I laid on top of the zested lemon slices (don’t let anything go to waste). I sliced the lemon and placed the pork shoulder on top and roasted at 275°F for 4 1/2 hours until fork tender.

It was a beauty when I pulled it out of the oven. It’s savory scent wafted every where and the outside of the roast was like a hard casing. Although when the fork penetrated the outside citrus herb paste the meat inside was incredibly juicy and fell apart. One tug on the bone and the meat just fell away.

Two forks and two minutes later the fragrant, delectable meat was ready to be devoured.

Look at all that delicious, caramelized meat. The outside has all sorts of lovely browned bits of intensely seasoned meat.

The citrus and herbs along with the peppers mellow in flavor and add such a beautiful flavor to the pork shoulder. Fork tender and ready to eat alongside your favorites like my Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Honey and Roasted Mashed Potatoes. Spoon any pan drippings over pork, too. Enjoy!

Lemon Herb Roasted Pork

5 from 6 votes

This is my go to, easy to make citrus and herb paste that is just incredible on roasted chicken and pork. Made using fresh parsley, rosemary, sage, Serrano chile and lemon zest to name a few ingredients and delivers BIG flavor results!

Servings: 8

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total: 4 hours hrs 35 minutes mins

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 3 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 1 tbsp salt
• ▢ 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• ▢ 6 garlic cloves
• ▢ 1/4 cup fresh rosemary
• ▢ 1/4 cup fresh mint
• ▢ 1/4 cup fresh sage
• ▢ 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• ▢ 1 lemon
• ▢ 1 Serrano chile
• ▢ 2 tsp red pepper flakes
• ▢ 3 lb pork shoulder
• ▢ 1 cup chicken stock

Instructions 

Lemon Herb Paste

• With a vegetable peeler, carefully remove two 2-inch strips, just the yellow lemon zest, avoiding the white sour pith skin.
• In a food processor or blender add the Dijon mustard, garlic cloves, herbs, lemon zest, Serrano chile, red pepper flakes and the kosher salt and process for a minute.
• Then, with the processor or blender on, add the olive oil in a slow drizzle to emulsify and a thick paste will form. A minute or so should do it.
• Make small cuts all over the meat and rub the mixture in the cuts and all over your pork roast. Allow to marinate overnight or for a minimum of 1 hour.

Roasting

• In a large 13x9” baking dish or roasting pan, place the pork shoulder in the center, fat side up and propped up if necessary with a few vegetables or lemon slices underneath. Arrange vegetables around pork (optional). Pour chicken stock around pork and vegetables. Cover with aluminum foil.
• Roast at 275°F until fall apart tender with internal temperature of 145°F. (See Note 1)
• Allow to rest at least 10 minutes, covered with aluminum foil. Remove bone from pork and pull apart or cut into pieces.

Notes

1. I remove the aluminum foil in last hour of roasting time (depending on size, time will vary). Baste occasionally with pan juices while roasting uncovered. For pork shoulder, roast at 275°F:
   • 3 lbs - 55 minutes per pound
   • 4 lbs - 65 minutes per pound
   • 5 lbs - 75 minutes per pound
   • 6 lbs - 85 minutes per pound
   Pork Cooking Times and Temperatures courtesy of PorkBeInspired.com

Nutrition

Calories: 211kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 982mg | Potassium: 391mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 219IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 2mg

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Course: Condiment, Dinner

Cuisine: American, Western

Author: Kevin Is Cooking

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