A hard-working muscle, the pork shoulder packs lots of flavors when cooked properly. Its one of the most affordable ways to feed a large hunk of meat to a few people.
As someone who loves hosting family dinners, I’m always looking for new and better ways to cook the main dish. Recently, I discovered that using the Ninja Foodi Grill to cook pork roast makes for incredibly moist, flavorful meat with a crispy seared exterior. The grill’s smart thermometer and digital controls result in pork that’s cooked to ideal doneness from edge to edge, no babysitting required.
Follow my tips to learn how to cook a mouthwatering pork roast in the Ninja Foodi Grill We’ll cover choosing the right cut, proper seasoning techniques, recommended cook times, using the probe thermometer correctly, optimal internal temps, resting, slicing, and serving suggestions to highlight the scrumptious roasted pork flavor With this method, you’ll impress your guests with the juiciest, most tender and delicious oven-like pork roast with gorgeous grill marks.
Tips for Choosing a Pork Roast
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Select a boneless pork shoulder roast, ideally 3-4 pounds to serve 4-6 people.
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Choose pork with thin white fat marbling throughout which bastes the meat while cooking
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Get a roast with an even thickness so it cooks evenly without dried ends.
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Plan on cooking 0.5 pound of pork per person for generous portions.
Seasoning a Pork Shoulder Roast
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Pat roast completely dry before seasoning so flavors stick better.
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Generously rub pork all over with brown sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika.
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Consider adding herbs like rosemary, thyme or sage.
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Let seasoned roast rest 30-60 minutes at room temperature before cooking.
Grill Settings for Pork Roast
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Preheating the Foodi Grill is a must for delicious pork roast.
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Use the Roast function set to 325°F cook temp.
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Insert the probe thermometer into thickest part of roast and enable it.
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Set probe to alarm at 135°F for perfect medium doneness.
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Grill should take 35-50 minutes depending on size.
Check for Proper Doneness
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Probe thermometer alarms when roast reaches set temp of 135°F.
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Double check by using instant read thermometer in a few spots.
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Meat should be slightly pink in very center and juices run pale pink.
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If under 135°F, close grill and cook longer in 5 minute increments.
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Pork roast over 145°F will be dry and overcooked.
Resting and Carving the Pork
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Always let roast rest 15+ minutes before slicing to allow juices to redistribute.
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Temperature will climb around 10°F during resting time.
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Use sharp knife to cut roast across the grain into thin 1/4 inch slices.
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Be sure to slice diagonally across the grain for tenderness.
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Pour any accumulated juices from resting over sliced pork.
Serving Suggestions
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Gravy, barbecue or apple sauce pair especially well with roasted pork.
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Quick pan gravy can be made from grill drippings.
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Top pork medallions with a tangy apple chutney.
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Offer slices on buns for satisfying pork sandwiches.
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Stuff carved pork into corn tortillas with pineapple salsa.
With the Ninja Foodi Grill, you can achieve oven-roasted flavor and tenderness with added char and caramelization from the grill. Adjusting the thermometer accurately is key for pork cooked to moist perfection. Letting the roast rest before slicing will reward you with the juiciest meat possible. I hope you’ll give this easy roast pork recipe a try soon and treat your guests to an incredible meal straight from your kitchen counter grill.
So what temperature do you cook a boneless pork shoulder to?
Boneless pork shoulders typically get cooked to between 195F-205F. If you want the meat more sliceable for sandwiches cook closer to 195F. If you want the meat to be easy to shred for pulled pork sandwiches, cook it until it reaches 205F.
For this recipe, I wanted the meat to be somewhere between sliced and shred, so I cooked it to 200F and let it rest.
If you really want to change things up, brine the boneless pork shoulder the same way you brine the pork chops for the Moscow Mule. It will be delicious!.
The resting step is important in this recipe due to carryover cooking.
Carryover cooking causes the meat to continue to cook after its been removed from the heat.
Letting the meat rest will add more flavor to the dish and help the juices spread out again before you cut it.
You could also use a pork tenderloin to make this dish, but it would be better sliced for deli sandwiches than shredded for Ninja Food® pulled pork.
Boneless pork shoulder can handle a lot of seasoning
The Ninja Foodi Grill can coax tons of flavor out of the pork shoulder, but I prefer to use a seasoning blend or rub to make the meat even more delicious.
For this dish, I used a seasoning called The Cure by Flavor Anonymous. I’m not sure what’s in The Cure, but it has hints of garlic, pepper, salt, and brown sugar that go well with pork, especially smaller cuts like pork loin.
If you’re smart enough to season your meat ahead of time, the roast will have some extra flavors that you have to taste to understand. It doesn’t taste quite as good as charcoal-grilled food, but it cooks in a lot less time.
The pork roast can be seasoned up to two days ahead of time, which gives the flavors time to get to know each other.
When I season meat ahead of time, I like to wrap it tightly in aluminum foil so that air doesn’t get to it. Sometimes I will rub the pork butt with olive oil before seasoning to help the seasoning stick better.
Ive seasoned pork this way as many as five days ahead of cooking and had brilliant results.
When I dont have a few days to let The Cure do its magic, I use this Woodfired Garlic Rub with a hint of smoke because I feel that the kiss of smokey flavor adds a nice depth of flavor to the meat.