Two techniques to build flavour and a crispy crust—applying the salt and gin mixture a few days before cooking, then rubbing the roast with sugar and spices after the initial cooking. This will keep the crust flavourful and crispy and the meat juicy.- Roger Letourneau
A few days before
| 4 lbs | top butt or shoulder roast |
| 1.5 % | salt, by weight of roast (if you don’t have a kitchen scale, count 1T salt per every 2.5 lbs (add a tsp extra if using coarse salt) |
| 4 oz | Strathcona Spirits Barrel Aged gin |
A few days before the meal, rub the roast with the salt and gin mixture. Leave out for an hour or two to absorb, then rub all over with olive oil and place back in the fridge.
Day of
Approximately 2 hours before cooking the roast, remove from the fridge and pat dry very well to ensure a good sear.
| Coating | Dijon mustard |
| brown sugar, pepper, gin spices (juniper, anise, angelica, coriander, cassia dried orange peel, crushed or cracked) |
Preheat the oven to 300ºF.
Place the roast (uncoated) in the oven on a wire rack if possible. If there is no rack, throw some carrots or sliced potatoes into the roasting pan for the roast to sit on to lift it up off of the pan. Roast until the internal temperature is 145ºF.
Once at the desired temperature, take out of the oven and let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. (Keep in mind that the resting time will bring you up another 10ºF, and you are putting it back in the oven in the next step).
Turn the oven up to 350ºF while the roast is resting. Mix the brown sugar and spices together. Taste and adjust according to the amount of spices desired. Once the meat has rested 20 minutes, coat the roast with the mustard all around, followed by the spice and sugar mixture. Coating the roast with the mustard first allows the sugar mixture to stay in place. Place the coated roast back in the oven.
Once there is nice caramelization on the outside (roughly 20-30 minutes) take the roast out and let it rest for 10 minutes in a warm spot (not covered, as that would create steam and wreck the coating.)
Slice right before serving.