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Home Collections Roasts

Brown Sugar Garlic Butter Roast Pork

By:Nagi
Published:27 Jul '18Updated:28 Feb '19
156 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Slow roast pork that’s caramelised on the outside, ultra tender on the inside, with syrupy sweet-savoury-buttery juices. You could totally make this using a whole roast, but using large pieces means more surface area = more golden sticky caramelised goodness!

This is an ideal recipe for pork neck / collar butt – also known as pork scotch roast. Brilliant pork cut for both fast and slow cooking!

Overhead photo of Brown Sugar Garlic Butter Roast Pork on a plate with a side of cabbage salad

Slow roast pork recipe

As I was thinking what to say about this recipe, a feeling of deja vu swept over me. I freaked out, wondering if I had already published it….

And then it suddenly dawned on me. This recipe is almost like the baked non-Asian version of Vietnamese Coconut Caramelised Pork!

The same sweet-savoury flavour with incredible caramelised surfaces, but this doesn’t have the Vietnamese flavours.

Also, this Roast Pork is also a bit more hands off because it’s roasted, rather than cooked on the stove. No stirring, just pop it in the oven and set the timer.

“This roast pork is slow roasted so the flesh becomes tender and the outside is caramelised. By using smaller pieces, we keep the roasting time under 2 hours!”

Preparation of Brown Sugar Garlic Butter Roast Pork

Best pork for caramelised pork roast

Ultra tender insides and golden caramelised outsides calls for a slow cooking cut of pork and for this one, I use pork shoulder aka pork butt.

It also works brilliantly with pork scotch roast aka pork neck / collar butt. It’s a brilliant pork cut widely available in Australia that’s suited to both fast and slow cooking. I throw pork scotch fillet steaks on the barbie, and I slow cook it for things like this pork roast and Chinese BBQ Pork (Char Siu). Here’s a photo of this Brown Sugar Garlic Butter Pork Roast made with scotch fillet roast cut in half lengthwise (see note 1 of recipe)

That brown sugar braising sauce!

Four ingredients – brown sugar, butter, vinegar (to balance out the sweet) and garlic, plus salt & pepper. Simmer to dissolve the sugar, then pour it all over the pork.

Pop it in the oven and out comes this:

Brown Sugar Garlic Butter Roast Pork in a roasting pan, fresh out of the oven

THIS being the most incredible deeply golden, caramelised crust enclosed around juicy, tender pork, sitting in a buttery syrup that you want to drown the pork in.

Sweet? Yes. If you don’t like sweet-savoury foods, this recipe isn’t for you.

And it needs to be paired with the right protein. Sweet works brilliantly with pork. But this recipe would probably be too sweet for chicken. For beef, I think it would need a kick of something else to work with the strong beefy flavours, perhaps a good hit of cracked pepper.

I’m rambling. I’ll stop. Recipe time! – Nagi x

PS Pictured in the top photo with this Everyday Cabbage Salad peeking out of the corner. Extra recipe for today, goes great with this pork!!


More pork roast recipes to try!

  • Pork Carnitas – Mexican Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

  • Roast Pork with Crispy Crackling

  • Char Siu – Chinese BBQ Pork

  • Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Pork Loin

  • Cuban Mojo Roast Pork (from the Chef Movie!)

Close up of Brown Sugar Garlic Butter Roast Pork, ultra tender, ready to be served


WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

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Close up of Brown Sugar Garlic Butter Roast Pork, ultra tender, ready to be served

Brown Sugar Garlic Butter Pork Roast

Author: Nagi
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins
Total: 2 hours hrs 25 minutes mins
4.55 from 37 votes
Servings6 - 8 people
Tap or hover to scale
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Recipe video above. Ultra tender pork with an insane caramelised crust and a buttery sweet-savoury sauce. The pairing of the sweet with the savoury is incredible in this pork roast!

Ingredients

  • 1.75 - 2kg / 3.5 - 4lb pork shoulder / butt , cut into 8 equal pieces (Note 1)
  • 1 tsp each salt and pepper

Sauce:

  • 100 g / 7 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup / 80g brown sugar , loosely packed
  • 1/4 cup / 65 ml cider vinegar (white wine or red wine vinegar also fine)
  • 4 garlic cloves , minced
  • 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 160C/320F (standard) or 140C/290F (fan).
  • Place Sauce ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Once better has melted, stir to combine then leave for 1 - 2 minutes until sugar is melted. Remove from heat.
  • Sprinkle pork pieces all over with salt and pepper.
  • Line pan with foil then parchment / baking paper, place pork in pan.
  • Pour Sauce all over pork. Cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes.
  • Remove from oven, remove foil. Turn pork. Return to oven uncovered for 20 minutes.
  • Remove from oven. Turn pork, spoon pan juices over. Return to oven for 20 - 30 minutes or until pork is golden and sauce has reduced to a thin syrup (thickens more when it cools).
  • Stand for 5 minutes, then turn pork to coat in sauce. Serve pork with syrupy pan sauce. Pictured in post with this Everyday Cabbage Salad.

Recipe Notes:

1. Skinless, boneless pork shoulder / pork butt / Boston butt. I like cutting it into large chunks to maximise caramelised surface area. You could cut it in half horizontally or vertically to make 2 long strips. In which case, increase the covered cook time by 20 minutes.
This recipe also works brilliantly with pork scotch fillet (aka pork neck / collar butt), as pictured in post. Use one large piece then cut it in half (for higher surface to flesh caramelisation ratio, this is how it comes out) or cut into pieces per recipe. Either way, reduce cook time by 15 to 20 minutes - because this cut of pork is not as tough as shoulder so doesn't require as long for slow cooking. Scotch fillet is a brilliant cut for this recipe (photo here).
2. Slow Cooker directions (by popular demand!) - I haven't tried this but based on other slow cooker pork roast recipes I've done, here is how I would do it: Make Sauce per recipe and pour over Pork in slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 hours. Remove pork, then pour all liquid into a large skillet (there will be tons of liquid). Simmer rapidly on high and reduce to about 1 1/2 cups. Then pour over pork in a baking pan and roast for 20 - 30 minutes at 180C/350F until caramelised (baste / turn once or twice). The other option is to reduce liquid in the skillet then put the pork pieces in the skillet, turning to coat in the syrupy sauce.
3. Nutrition per serving, assuming 8 servings, assuming all the sauce is consumed. Worth every single calorie... ?

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 770cal (39%)
Keywords: Slow Roast Pork
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

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156 Comments

  1. Guillermo says

    December 14, 2020 at 10:15 am

    Hey i wondering if i could leave it marinating over night in the sauce?

    Reply
  2. Vicky says

    December 5, 2020 at 1:19 pm

    Hi Nagi, I just bought pork shoulder to make this recipe! I just noticed that my piece has a thin layer of skin on it and your recipe calls for skinless. Is it ok if I just cut it off?

    Reply
  3. Mariah says

    December 1, 2020 at 4:35 am

    my husband bought a whole pork loin, do you think this recipe would work? It has lots of nice fat on it. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      December 1, 2020 at 9:25 am

      Hi Mariah, it should be fine if it’s not super lean! I use loin in this recipe too: https://www.recipetineats.com/slow-cooker-pork-loin-roast/ N x

      Reply
  4. Evelyn Irwin says

    September 22, 2020 at 4:44 am

    5 stars
    I was wondering, why the parchment on top of the foil?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 22, 2020 at 1:36 pm

      HI Evelyn, good question! It stops the sauce from caramelising and getting stuck to the foil 🙂 N x

      Reply
  5. Carolyn Smith says

    September 21, 2020 at 12:46 pm

    I made this last night and served it with the Mexican Corn Salad and mashed potato. Beyond delicious, my family was in love. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You are my food god x

    Reply
    • Carolyn Smith says

      September 21, 2020 at 12:48 pm

      Oh I forgot to add, I made it in the slow cooker so super easy for a lazy Sunday too!

      Reply
      • Cameron says

        October 28, 2020 at 1:47 am

        Did you brown it off in the oven after of just straight from the slow cooker?

        Reply
  6. Susan says

    September 14, 2020 at 5:51 pm

    I’m thinking of using this recipe for a pie filling. Would it be ok to double the sauce measurements? Or will it dilute the flavour too much?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 15, 2020 at 4:30 pm

      Hi Susan, you can definitely double the sauce ingredients if you want more sauce! N x

      Reply
  7. Fran says

    July 28, 2020 at 7:45 pm

    5 stars
    Another Nagi recipe success… this is so flavoursome and tender. Thank you for always making me look good 🙂

    Reply
  8. JODI TAFFEL says

    June 20, 2020 at 11:44 am

    Can you suggest an instant pot or pressure cooker way to cook this?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 21, 2020 at 9:47 am

      Hi Jodi, I haven’t tried but I would use the same method as the slow cooker method in the notes, but cook for 20-30 minutes in the pressure cooker. N x

      Reply
  9. Jacqui says

    June 13, 2020 at 11:41 pm

    5 stars
    Thank you for your many wonderful recipes which I have tried and family enjoyed them.
    Tried this tonight and the family loved it.
    After the first 30mins in the oven uncovered, I transferred my pot (cooked in my Le Creuset) to my stove to quicken the last part for the sauce to turn more syrupy.
    Love, Love, Love!!!

    Reply
  10. Thomas says

    April 30, 2020 at 8:25 pm

    Recipe sounds great but those temps look way to low? Am I missing something here? Took it out of the oven and it was still raw!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 1, 2020 at 11:36 am

      Hi Thomas, sorry you had issues here – you’re cooking the pork for 2 hours at a lower temp. Could there be issues with your oven thermostat? How big was the piece of pork you used? N x

      Reply
  11. Louise says

    April 26, 2020 at 9:59 am

    My family loved this pork I’ll try the slow cocker next time. It as great an easy.

    Reply
  12. A Fan says

    April 23, 2020 at 7:47 am

    4 stars
    Absolutely LOVE this recipe! I have found it even more succulent when slow cooked – removing the foil in the last hour to turn and baste. The meat is much more tender. I also slow cook the crackling on a separate tray, comes out perfectly! thank you! <3 this is a regular in our house!

    Reply
  13. Pam says

    November 8, 2019 at 12:17 am

    Delicious! We are in our eighties, and there’s only two of us here. Can you please suggest ideas for me to use this in other ways after freezing what’s left in small portions?

    Reply
  14. Nancy says

    October 23, 2019 at 4:36 am

    5 stars
    My husband didn’t grow up eating pork but I did. I’ve tried various way to cook it so he would like it as much as I do. This recipe rocks. It is so tasty and tender. Thank you for this. I can now cook and enjoy pork knowing he will enjoy it too.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 23, 2019 at 9:29 am

      That’s great Nancy!

      Reply
  15. Barbara Karr says

    September 5, 2019 at 2:04 pm

    5 stars
    This is the third time making this recipe. Talk about easy peasy!! Cutting the pork covers more of the roast’s surface and adds more flavor all around. Thanks for the great recipe

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 5, 2019 at 8:01 pm

      I’m so glad you love it Barbara!

      Reply
  16. Lily says

    April 16, 2019 at 12:01 am

    Hi Nagi! Can I use boneless pork leg for this recipe? If not, can you suggest a suitable recipe for the cut from your repertoire? Thanks! Lily xx.
    PS @ Dozer: I love soft toys too!😊

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 16, 2019 at 12:20 pm

      Hi Lily, yes pork leg would be fine!

      Reply
  17. Sheila says

    April 12, 2019 at 6:27 am

    Could you brown the meat briefly on the bbq before putting in the oven with the sauce? Just thinking the smoky flavor might be a nice addition.

    Reply
    • Mae says

      May 28, 2020 at 2:26 am

      Can you add an air fryer version of this? Thanks!

      Reply
  18. Tony Jae says

    March 15, 2019 at 3:19 pm

    4 stars
    Mine didn’t come out carmelized with burnt tips, but the flavor. Wow!! Incredible flavor and “fall off the fork” tenderness!

    Reply
    • Kwazi says

      August 31, 2021 at 6:24 pm

      What do I serve this with besides the cabbage salad?

      Reply
  19. Veea’ne says

    March 8, 2019 at 4:06 am

    OMG scrumptious ! We had this pork recipe along with your cabbage salad .

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 8, 2019 at 11:56 am

      A great combo!

      Reply
  20. Eleanor says

    February 28, 2019 at 5:32 am

    5 stars
    So often I have encountered pork neck / collar butt in recipes or on a restaurant menu and never see it in the local market. At last, I saw two pieces in an Asian market I occasionally shop and promptly purchased one 3 1/2 lb piece. I used half of it as there are only two of us. This recipe was all you said it would be and my husband asked if we could come to this “restaurant” again. It’s his way of lauding a recipe. Many thanks, Nagi

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      February 28, 2019 at 8:38 pm

      That’s awesome – you nailed it!

      Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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