Pork Leg Butt (Sirloin)

Pork Leg Butt Roast

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Alternative Names: Fresh Ham Butt End, Pork Leg Sirloin Half, Fresh Ham Sirloin Half

Pork Butt Roast (Leg)

The butt or sirloin half is the upper portion of the leg, below the knee joint. The butt makes up half the leg, the lower portion is called the shank. The butt end is slightly more tender & tastier than the shank however some prefer the shank because it is easier to carve.

When purchasing this cut ask the butcher to remove the aitch bone for easier carving if it hasn’t been already done. A whole butt half weighs about 8-10lb(4-5kg) and will feed about 10 people. Leftover pork recipes from the leg make for great pork sandwiches.

Cooking Instructions
Pork Leg Roast

We have experimented cooking recipes for pork roast with different methods, with and without liquid, low and high temperatures, some good results and not so good.

Came across a method in a test kitchen book I was reading and decided to give it a try. The recipe called for submerging the roast in a brine for 8 to 24 hours and applying a glaze during the cooking of the leg.

Simply superb, we have never cooked a pork leg roast another way since finding this method, tender and juicy, a great recipe for entertaining.

If you wish to skip the 8-24 hour brine process start with step 1, skip steps 2&3 and then proceed with step 4.

1. First you must score the skin on the roast. This is done by carefully slicing through the skin and fat with a knife without cutting into the meat. Cut across diagonally and then cut across horizontally creating 1 inch diamond cuts across the skin.

2. In a stockpot or bucket dissolve 4 cups of kosher salt or 2 cups of table salt and 3 cups of dark or light brown sugar in 1 gallon(4 liters) of hot tap water.

Add 2 garlic gloves lightly crushed and peeled, 8-10 bay leaves and 1 gallon(4 liters) of cold water. Submerge the roast in the brine and refrigerate 8-24 hours.

3. Remove roast from the brine, rinse under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.

4. Place the roast skin side up on a rack in a roasting pan. Let the roast sit uncovered at room temperature for 1 hour.

5. Adjust the oven rack to the lowest position and heat oven to 500 degrees.

6. Roast the leg at 500 degrees for 20 minutes, starting the pork roast at 500 degrees for the first 20 minutes will char the roast if glazed before hand, so roast unglazed for the first 20 minutes. Once the oven is turned down to 350 degrees begin to brush the roast with the glaze and continue to do so every 45 minutes, until the center of the roast is 145-150 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 2.5-3 hours.

7. Tent the roast with foil for 30 minutes, temperature should rise 155-160 degrees on the thermometer.

INSTANT-READ THERMOMETER #1 Best Seller

Below is a cooking chart for pork roast. Remember you should always use an instant-read thermometer to check the doneness of a roast. The internal temperature will rise about 10 degrees during resting time, remove the roast 10 degrees before desired doneness.

Doneness	Description	Meat Thermometer Reading
Medium	Pink throughout	145-150 degrees
Medium-Well	Slightly pink in center	150-160 degrees
Well-Done	Beige-pink throughout	160-170 degrees