Tuscan-style Sausage-stuffed Pork Shoulder Roast – Anthony Salemme

By Anthony Salemme – contributing chef

Serves 6-8

Sunday dinner growing up in an Italian family were always a culinary experience. This pork roast is one of my favorites.

1 4lb boneless pork shoulder

2 links sweet Italian sausage (about 8 ounces) casing removed

1 lb bacon

1 orange, zested, skin removed and chopped

1 lemon zested, skin removed and chopped

8 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons fresh sage chopped fine (about 8 leaves)

3 sprigs rosemary, chopped fine

1 Tablespoon cumin seeds

1 Tablespoon fennel seeds

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

Butcher’s twine

Spice mixture

In a small skillet toast the cumin, fennel, crushed red pepper until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Let cool and grind in a coffee grinder until it becomes a powder. Mix in salt and black pepper.

Mix the dry spice mixture with the olive oil, garlic, lemon, orange, zests, sage and rosemary to make a paste.

Preparing the pork

Lay the pork shoulder fat side down. Make an incision in the middle of the meat and proceed to slice almost in half but stopping about ½ in before the fat.

Rub the spice paste all over the meat.

Lay out 6 16” pieces of butcher’s twine on a baking sheet. Place 12 slices of bacon over the twine. Next place the fat side of the pork on top of the bacon. The meat will be splayed out over the bacon at this point. Flatten the sausage meat over the inside of the pork. Fold the pork over the sausage and then tie up the roast so it is a long log. Refrigerate 4-6 hours or overnight.

To roast

Pre-heat oven to 450F.

Place meat in a roasting pan with a rack. Roast for 15 minutes at 450F to get the fat to start releasing. Your kitchen may get a little smoky.

Then, turn oven down to 325F and continue roasting for 3-4 hours until the internal temperature of the meat is 150.

Let the roast rest for 30 minutes before removing twine and slicing.

I serve the roast with tomato jam, but applesauce would work as well.

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Anthony loves to cook and share recipes. You can follow him on Instagram at – @mealpvd and online at www.anthonysalemme.com