Spice up your holiday feast with Chef Tom's delicious brown sugar glazed pork roast Recipe. Cooked to perfection on the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill! Enjoy the succulent flavor and tender texture with this unforgettable holiday recipe!
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Deboning and rolling the pork butt into a tight cylinder: Removing the bone and tying the roast into an even cylinder with butcher's twine lets it cook and slice uniformly, instead of the irregular shape a bone-in roast holds onto.
- A two-stage cook: dry roast, then glazed and basted: Roasting plain to 170°F first builds bark and renders fat before the glazing stage begins, so the sugar in the glaze doesn't burn over the full multi-hour cook.
- Glazing over an apple cider bath: Setting the roast in a pan with apple cider underneath while basting every 30 minutes keeps the glaze from drying out or scorching, and the drippings turn into a ready-made sauce.
- Pushing past 170°F to a final 185°F: Continuing well past the point where pork is safely done renders more of the connective tissue in the shoulder, giving the roast a tender, sliceable texture instead of a tougher, chewier bite.
Brown Sugar Glazed Pork Roast
Tom Jackson
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Entree
Cuisine
American
Servings
12-14 servings
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
5 hours
Calories
624
Chef Tom fires up the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill for a Brown Sugar Glazed Pork Roast that is perfect for you next holiday gathering!
Ingredients
-
1 each (~8 lb) Creekstone Farms Duroc Bone-in Pork Butt
-
Plowboys BBQ Yardbird Rub
- 1-2 cups apple cider
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup apple cider
-
3 tbsp Kozlik's Amazing Maple Mustard
-
1 tbsp Cattleman’s Grill Pit Fire Hot Sauce
For the glaze:
Directions
- Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 350ºF.
- Debone the pork butt. Season on all surfaces with Plowboys BBQ Yardbird Rub, then roll and tie together with butcher’s twine into a tight cylinder.
- Season the outside of the roast with Plowboys BBQ Yardbird Rub.
- Place the roast on the second shelf of the smoker. Roast on until the internal temperature reaches 170ºF.
- Combine glaze ingredients and whisk.
When the temp hits 170ºF (3.5 hours), place roast on a small sheet pan. Add enough apple cider to cover the bottom pan. Glaze the roast every 30 min until the internal reaches 185ºF, about 5 hours total. Remove and rest.
- Cut the twine away from the roast. Slice and serve drizzled with the apple cider/glaze combo from the pan.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why debone and roll the pork butt into a cylinder instead of cooking it bone-in?
Removing the bone and tying the meat into an even cylinder lets it cook and slice uniformly. A bone-in roast's irregular shape cooks unevenly and is harder to carve into consistent slices.
Why roast the pork plain first, then start glazing later in the cook?
Roasting to 170°F before introducing the sugary glaze lets the bark and fat render first. Starting the glaze too early over a multi-hour cook would burn the sugar long before the roast finishes.
Why set the roast in a pan of apple cider while glazing it?
Basting every 30 minutes over a shallow bath of cider keeps the glaze from drying out or scorching on the surface, and the drippings that collect underneath turn into a ready-made sauce for serving.
Why keep cooking past 170°F all the way to 185°F?
Pushing well past the point where pork shoulder is safely done renders more of the connective tissue in the meat, giving the roast a tender, sliceable texture instead of a tougher, chewier bite at a lower temperature.
What internal temperature should the roast actually reach?
This recipe pulls it at 185°F, well above the USDA minimum of 145°F for whole-muscle pork. That higher target isn't about safety — it's what breaks down the shoulder's connective tissue into a tender, sliceable roast.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
3 out of 5 — a regular oven can handle the roasting and glazing in place of the pellet grill; you'll just miss out on the smoke flavor a wood-fired cook adds.
Recipe Highlights
Deboned and rolled roast: Cooks and slices more evenly than a bone-in cut.
Two-stage cook: Plain roasting first protects the glaze from burning later.
Cider-bath basting: Keeps the glaze moist and builds a ready-made sauce.
Extended cook to 185°F: Breaks down connective tissue for a tender slice.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 5.16 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 624
- Carbs
- 15 grams
- Protein
- 53 grams
- Fat
- 37 grams
- Sodium
- 255 milligrams
