Upper Austrian shoulder roast cooked at low temperature

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 kg pork neck, boned
• Caraway seeds
• Caraway powder
• salt and pepper
• Lard for spreading
• 125 ml water
• 300 g pork bones, alternatively beef broth paste (demi glace)
• 4 shallots
• 4 garlic cloves
• 125 ml beef stock

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 3 hours; Total time approx. 3 hours 45 minutes

classic Sunday roast

Peel the garlic cloves and finely chop or press through a mashed potato. Peel and quarter the shallots. Mix the salt, pepper, and ground caraway (preferably freshly ground) with the garlic and rub it into the neck of the roast. Preheat the oven to 100°C (top/bottom heat) and preheat a casserole dish or roasting pan. Sear the neck of the roast all over in a Dutch oven or high-sided frying pan. Once seared, place the neck of the roast in the roasting pan and pour in 125 ml (1/8 liter) of water to cover the bottom. Add chopped bones or stock paste. If you have one, insert a meat thermometer into the roast (the tip in the center of the thickest part of the roast). Set the thermometer to the desired degree of doneness: medium 70°C, tender pink 72°C, well done 75°C. After 15 minutes, brush the roast with about 1 tablespoon of lard. After about 40 minutes, turn the roast over and add a little beef stock. Brush the roast with lard again. After about an hour, place the shallots in the roasting pan. Baste the roast several times with the meat juices. After a total of two hours in the oven, turn the neck again. Continue cooking until the desired temperature is reached. For us, this takes about three to three and a half hours. Remove the roast from the pan and keep warm. Bring the meat juices with the bones back to a boil, then strain into a small saucepan, discard the bones, and remove the roasting residue from the pan using a little beef stock and a brush. Add the loosened residue to the meat juices, simmer for ten minutes, and strain through a sieve. Note: Two things are important with a neck roast. The meat should be tender. But the most important thing is the meat juices. They should be dark brown, transparent in places, and have an intense flavor without being too salty. Then it has the potential to make a very good meal together with flour dumplings, sauerkraut and boiled potatoes.