go on, brush your shoulders off

Those of you who live in Toronto I'm sure already know that there is an abbatoire in the city. Yep, an honest to goodness slaughterhouse (Quality Meat Packers) just off the beaten path of the downtown core. I used to live at the bottom of Bathurst St. and just before the bridge and to the left, is where the pigs meet their fate in droves. It's still operational and every year theres an article written in the newspaper about how new condo buyers are disgusted with the smell and want the city to do something about it. Excuse me? You move into my 'hood and then you wanna complain about my ass? Fuck off!
I'll admit the place stinks to high heaven, but I don't belive in raisin' a ruckus when you chose to move into that particular neighborhood. It's no secret, that a slaughterhuse has been there for more than 100 years. Do your research before you lay down the skrilla!
But anyway I'm getting off topic. The point of me pointing out the slaughterhouse is that there is always an abundant supply of pork and pork products at my disposal (chika chika yeah!). Mmmhmmm, Black people love us some pork ('cept Muslim's of course ;-))
I go to Chinatown on the daily and can get a huge pork shoulder roast for less than $4! And this is what I did with my most recent purchase:

Pork Roast w/ Potatoes

Ingredients:
1 pork shoulder- rind on, rinsed and pat dry
3 potatoes cut into rough cubes*
vegetable oil to coat
salt
black pepper
cayenne pepper
ground sage
fresh thyme
1 tbsp onion soup mix (I prefer Lipton)
steak spice (I prefer Club House)



1 whole roasted garlic:
Cut the top off of a head of garlic, drizzle the remaining cloves with a tsp. of olive/vegetable oil
enclose in tinfoil and heat in an oven @ 400°F for 30-35 minutes or until cloves get wonderfully brown and caramelized.

Ok, so I roasted the garlic first and let it cool.
Coat roast with a nice layer of oil , but not so much that it's dripping all over the place just enough to seal in juices and make spices adhere and marinate nicely.

Yes, I know I should be using more olive oil in my diet but my man hates the taste and smell so I had to use vegetable. And yes - I've tried fooling him on a few occasions to disastrous results namely me with a entire meal all to myself for dinner, snack, lunch and leftover dinner until I was absolutely sick of it.


Take roasted garlic, mash and smear entire head over entire roast.
Next add spices to taste and let marinate for an hour or more - up to 24 hours. I generally like at least 2 hours marinating time.
Place roast in shallow dish uncovered.

Take potato* cubes and sprinkle liberally with steak spice. Add tbsp. of onion soup mix to coat.
Add potatoes* to the pan surrounding the roast and place in oven on 350°F for an hour or more depending on size of roast. I use a meat thermometer to make sure internal temp is at least 170°F. Remember: Pork needs to be cooked thoroughly to prevent illness!
Occasionally baste the roast with resulting juices, sometimes I add a touch of water if it seems dry.
Pork and potatoes should roast together nicely and be ready at the same time. Let stand for about 15 minutes before slicing to let the juices settle Serve with a side of sauteed mushrooms

*In winter months I especially like adding other root veggies to the mix like beets, turnip, parsnip, and sweet potato.

Yes, once again, we chowed down before we remembered that I needed a pic for the blog! Too damn good!