Ingredients
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 boneless pork shoulder (7 pounds)
2 cups packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 cup fresh sage leaves
1/4 cup fresh rosemary leaves
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
6 cloves garlic, smashed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 small dried red chile pepper, crumbled
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
10 to 12 ciabatta rolls, for serving
1 head fennel, quartered and thinly shaved, for serving
Preparation
Toast fennel seeds in a small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 4 minutes.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Using a sharp knife, score fat (but not meat) on pork in a diamond pattern. Pulse herbs, garlic, and fennel seeds in a food processor until combined. Slowly add oil and continue pulsing until a thick paste forms. Stir in 2 tablespoons salt, 1 tablespoon pepper, chile pepper, and lemon zest; rub mixture all over pork.
Place pork, fat-side up, in a roasting pan or a large Dutch oven; add 1 1/2 cups water. Cover and roast until meat is starting to become tender, about 3 hours. Remove lid and continue cooking until meat is fork-tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours more. Carefully transfer pork to a large bowl, leaving juices in pan. When cool enough to handle, use two forks to shred meat into bite-size pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat. Transfer shredded pork back to pot and toss with juices. Serve on rolls with extra pan juices, topped with shaved fennel.
