Grilled Pork With Whole Spices and Garlic Bread

By Melissa Clark

Grilled Pork With Whole Spices and Garlic Bread
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
40 minutes, plus marinating
Rating
4(303)
Comments
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Deeply flavored from a rub of fennel, coriander, caraway and cumin, and crisp-edged from the grill, this pork feeds a crowd, and most of the work can be done in advance. You can use either boneless loin or shoulder here: The shoulder is chewier, brawnier and more irregular in shape, while the loin is neater to slice and softer to eat. But both are delicious, especially when showered with fresh lemon or lime juice at the end to cut the richness. You don’t have to make the buttery garlic bread, but its herbal flavors go well with the smoke and char of the meat. If you do skip it (your loss), serve the pork strewn with plenty of fresh, bright herbs. If you’re not grilling, you can roast the pork in a 500-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, flipping it halfway. Then run it under the broiler at the end to sear the fat.

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Ingredients

Yield:12 to 16 servings

    For the Pork

    • ¼cup fresh thyme leaves, plus more for serving
    • 4teaspoons coarse kosher salt
    • 1tablespoon cumin seeds
    • 1tablespoon coriander seeds
    • 1½teaspoons fennel seeds
    • 1½teaspoons caraway seeds
    • 1½teaspoons black peppercorns
    • ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving
    • 12garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
    • 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    • 1½teaspoons red-wine vinegar
    • 5 to 6pounds boneless, skinless pork shoulder or loin, butterflied (see Note)
    • Lemon or lime wedges, for serving

    For the Grilled Garlic Bread

    • ¾cup unsalted butter (1½ sticks)
    • ½cup extra-virgin olive oil
    • ⅓cup finely minced parsley
    • 2tablespoons chopped fresh basil
    • 5garlic cloves, finely grated or pounded into a paste
    • 1teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
    • ½teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    • ¾teaspoon dried oregano
    • ¼teaspoon red-wine vinegar
    • Pinch of red-pepper flakes, plus more to taste
    • 2(12-inch) loaves French or Italian bread, halved lengthwise
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (14 servings)

732 calories; 54 grams fat; 19 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 25 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 24 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 36 grams protein; 594 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Prepare the pork: Using a mortar and pestle, pound together the thyme, salt, cumin, coriander, fennel, caraway, peppercorns and red-pepper flakes until the spices are well cracked but not ground. (Or do this in a spice grinder, but take care not to grind the spices.) Add garlic, oil and vinegar, and pound into a paste.

  2. Step 2

    Spread paste all over pork, covering the meat thoroughly and evenly. Place the meat on a rimmed baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap or an overturned rimmed baking sheet, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or up to 48 hours (the longer, the better).

  3. Step 3

    Prepare the butter for the garlic bread: In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the parsley, basil, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, vinegar and red-pepper flakes, and simmer until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Taste and add more salt if needed. Set aside until ready to grill. If the butter solidifies, place it back on the heat until it liquefies.

  4. Step 4

    Heat the grill or light the coals. Lay the pork out on the grill so it is as flat as possible. Cover grill and let the meat cook until char marks appear on one side, 7 to 12 minutes. Use tongs and a large spatula to flip the meat. Continue to grill on the other side until cooked to taste, 135 degrees for medium, about 5 to 12 minutes longer. (It will continue to cook as it rests.)

  5. Step 5

    Transfer meat to a cutting board, cover loosely with foil and let rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

  6. Step 6

    While the pork is resting, grill the garlic bread: Place the halved loaves, cut side down, on the grill, and lightly toast on one side, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip bread and drizzle garlic butter over the toasted side. Let the unbuttered sides of the bread toast, another 1 to 2 minutes. Flip bread and grill once more on the buttered side for about 10 to 20 seconds to sear (take care not to let it burn). Transfer bread to a cutting board and slice into pieces.

  7. Step 7

    Carve pork into slices, and squeeze the lemon or lime wedges over the meat. Serve the pork slices garnished with red-pepper flakes and thyme leaves, with the garlic bread on the side.

Tip
  • You can ask your butcher to butterfly the pork for you. Or, if you’re buying the pork from the supermarket, butterfly it yourself. Using your sharpest knife, cut off the skin if there is any. Next, lay the meat out in front of you lengthwise. You will see a thinner part running vertically at the center, where the bone was, and two thicker parts at each end. Holding your knife perpendicular to the meat, cut through the thick parts to create a flap, and open each one like a book. Your aim is to create a relatively even rectangular slab of meat about 1 to 2 inches thick. If the meat is too awkward to handle, you can cut it into pieces. It will grill up just fine.

Ratings

4 out of 5
303 user ratings
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Comments

Rima

Butt is NOT the German word for shoulder, schulter is. Butt is not a word in German. Pork shoulder is called Boston Butt because the pork was shipped around New England in wooden barrels called BUTTS

A

Melissa, this looks great - and I have a pork shoulder in my freezer. But can you provide any direction about how hot a grill one should use? I have a Weber gas barbecue and would like to know if I should be cooking the pork shoulder at high, medium-high, etc. (or some combination - starting with high heat to char outsides, then cooking through at a lower temperature). Thanks, as always, for the terrific recipes.

David Baldwin

I want to draw attention to Melissa's instruction, in step 2, that you can use an overturned rimmed baking sheet to cover the pork while it marinates. This is much preferable to covering with plastic wrap, which we should all be using as little as possible.

ElaineW

No tips, suggestions or comments or the definition of pork shoulder…it was an amazing dish! Perfect non-bbq for the grill. The spices made an incredible, tasty crust. The garlic bread from the grill was a great companion- not too heavy in the garlic, toasty, herbaceous. Yum. Home Melissa

Dorothy

This has become my go-to grill recipe when we have guests. Comes out great every time. We typically need to grill it longer, mostly due to my improper butterflying technique making it too thick in spots.

marta

Made with pork tenderloin and it was delicious. Tom really liked it!

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