There’s something deeply grounding about a roast that fills the house with warm, aroma long before it hits the table. This Chipotle Slow Roasted Pork is exactly that kind of meal — bold but balanced, slow cooked, and built on layers of flavour that deepen as they cook.
A Slow-Roasted Pork Recipe with Smoky Chipotle Depth
This is not a sharp, tomato-forward chipotle bang. The sauce here turns a deep, glossy brown, almost stew-like, enriched by time, pork fat, spices, and just enough acidity to keep everything bold. It’s savoury first, smoky second, gently spicy third — the kind of heat that has a mellow linger rather than a flashy announcement.
Feel free to change up your heat. If Chipotle isn’t your jam, use cayenne pepper, Sriracha, Sambal oelek in accordance to your spice tolerance and desire for tang.
Rich, Dark Roast Pork with Gentle Heat and Herbs
What makes this slow roast recipe so special is how adaptable it is. Pork shoulder, butt, bone-in centre cut, even a leaner loin (which we’re using here) — the marinade does the work, and the slow roast takes care of the rest. Garlic, paprika (both sweet and smoked), herbs, citrus, and chipotle build a foundation that tastes far more complex than the effort suggests.
Important to note that you’re not going to pump this out in an hour. Recommending a minimum of 12 hours to marinade, preferably overnight. Then it’s about an hour and a half to cook and finish, depending on the size of your roast.
A Deeply Satisfying Pork Roast for Weekend Cooking
To get that nice, even crust and beautiful fat cap, we start cold. Our pork roast tented loosely under tinfoil. No searing. We start fat cap DOWN, in a 400°f (204°c) oven for 25 minutes before we drop our heat to 325°f (163°c), that way all our golden bits condense on the fatty top.
We flip once we approach doneness, which we’re targeting at 160°f (71°c). I turned at the 145°f (63°c) mark. For me, it was is the perfect point to firm the crust without sacrificing your sauce.
As it cooks, the marinade mingles with wine, pork juices, and a splash of water, transforming into a sauce that’s spoon-worthy in its own right. It clings to the meat, stains potatoes beautifully, and absolutely demands something to soak it up — mashed potatoes, rice, polenta, or torn bread will all happily oblige.
Notes For Grillers and Smoker Lovers
While this roast can be cooked on a smoker or charcoal grill, it’s happiest in a conventional oven. It’s been recipe tested in our test kitchen under multiple cooking methods and this is our best recommendation. Both live-fire methods work beautifully for flavour — especially if you love that extra kiss of smoke — but they require careful attention to temperature and moisture.
Because the marinade is rich in spices, garlic, and sugars, open heat can dry or darken the exterior before the interior is fully tender. The oven’s steady, enclosed heat allows the pork to cook gently. We baste in its own juices and a sizable amount of the chipotle paste, to develop that deep brown, glossy sauce without losing moisture. If your going smoker or coal grill, keep the heat low, use indirect cooking, and be sure to use a covered pan, or foil tent, to protect the sauce and preserve tenderness.
Chipotle Pork Roast That Gets Better as It Cooks
This has dish is maximum payoff with minimum effort. It’s generous, deeply satisfying, and even better the next day — if there’s any left.
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Chipotle Slow-Roasted Pork
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: serves 6
Description
Our slow-roasted chipotle pork recipe with deep, smoky flavour and a rich brown sauce. Adaptable, comforting and very popular, it’s pork roast that delivers bold flavour with very little effort. Even better the next day, if there’s any left!
Ingredients
- 5 pound pork roast (about 2.5kg) Pork butt, shoulder roast, bone in center cut or lean pork loin For the marinade:
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of cracked black pepper
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- juice of 2 limes
- 1/4 bunch parsley, rough chopped
- 1 tablespoon dry, hot mustard
- 2 tablespoons coarse salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 to 3 branches fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, or cayenne pepper, Sriracha, Sambal oelek to taste For the cooking process:
- 1/2 cup of dry white wine
- water as needed
- For your sauce:
- 1 - 2 cups of chicken stock or water
- 1 tablespoon corn starch (as needed)
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine all marinade ingredients, to make a paste.
- Use half of it to rub onto your cut of pork. Refrigerate for at least 12 hrs in a covered bowl or Ziplock bag.
- Preheat your oven at 400°f (204°c) Place meat, fat cap down into your roasting vessel of choice. Add 1/2 cup of wine and water if needed.
- We’re are going cold start! No searing. Cover very loosely with tin foil, in the oven it goes.
- After 45 minutes, reduce heat to 325°f (163°c), still loosely covered. At this point, collect as much of cooking juices as possible and blend with the other half of marinade. Use this to baste your roast, every 15 minutes or so, for another 45 minutes. Add more white wine and water if necessary, to ensure your pan is moist and does not burn.
- CHECK internal temperature. At about 145°f (63°c), we uncover, turn the fat cap up, keep basting until top gets dark, about another 14 to 20 minutes. Finish to internal temperature of 160°f (71°c).
- Rest for 5 minutes before carving.
- While your roast rests make your sauce, pour or skim off any excess grease from your pan, deglaze with either chicken stock or water. You might need more, you might need less, depends on your roast. Thicken with cornstarch slurry, adding to desired consistency, as needed. Serve immediately.
Notes
Want deeper flavour? After your marinade, take an additional three cloves of garlic and make random incisions in your roast with a sharp knife. Insert the remaining 3 garlic cloves cut into slivers into those cuts and follow the method above. Really great for a pork shoulder!
- Prep Time: 25 minutes + 12 hours marinade
- Cook Time: 90 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: slow roast
- Cuisine: Tex Mex
