Orange Russian Pork Roast

[Keltin]

Well, there’s nothing “Russian” about this except for the Russian dressing that is used. Still, I thought it was a neat sounding name for this recipe. It sounds exotic, but it is incredibly simple.

Orange Russian Pork Roast

Ingredients:

3 – 4 lb Pork roast (shoulder, blade, arm or sirloin)
1 cup Russian dressing
1 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp minced garlic
Salt & Pepper to taste

Dutch Oven: 10”
Coals: 24 = 10 on bottom, 14 on top
Cook Time: 2 hours

Preparation:

Mix the Russian dressing, 1/2 a cup or the orange juice (reserve the other half), and the garlic until well blended. Set aside.

Salt and pepper the roast and place it on a trivet inside the DO. Add 1/2 a cup of the orange juice to the DO. Place 10 coals under the DO in a ring and 14 on top in a ring. Allow this to cook undisturbed for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, replenish the coals. Depending on the cut of pork you used, you can flip the roast over at this time. Now, pour the Russian dressing mixture over the pork and cover the DO. Allow to cook another 30 minutes, and then baste the pork with the pan sauce. If you are using the trivet, it’s hard to get a spoon down into the sauce, so a turkey baster is ideal here. Cover, and cook another 35 minutes or until the internal temperature is 185 degrees.

Remove from heat and allow to rest/cool for 10-15 minutes. Pull or cut the meat from the bone and then chop. Place the chopped meat in a serving bowl, then top with 4 Tbsp of the sauce from the DO. Stir well to incorporate and serve. This makes great sandwiches or can simply be eaten with a fork. Top with your favorite sauce or slaw if desired.

Notes:

You could use just about any cut of pork roast with this. I used a small shoulder, and by small, I mean it was really nothing more than the joint section of a real shoulder.....and from a small pig to boot!

We bought a big box of meat (a meat package) from a meat market some time ago, and the package came with a “shoulder”. It’s the smallest shoulder I’ve ever seen, and weighed in at about 3.5 lbs....including the skin and large bones! Not much meat on this thing (enough for two people with a little leftover), but hey, it was part of the package, I only cook for two, and it’s still good pork. It wasn’t enough to warrant firing up the smoker (didn’t have anything else to smoke along with it), so I opted for the DO to cook it.......I’m kind of addicted to my new DO.

The meat was really tender and pulled apart at the outer edges, but had to be sliced away as you got close to the bone. It was very tasty. I imagine you could do this recipe with a Boston Butt, but the cooking time may change as you bring that cut to about 190 degrees or higher.