Step 1

Pat the skin of the roast completely dry and place on a cutting board, fat-side up. Use a paring knife to make small slits all over the fat, and then stud the meat with the garlic slices. Sprinkle all over with the salt and pepper, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours and up to overnight.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Unwrap the roast and place fat-side up on a rack set in a roasting pan.

Step 3

Roast the meat until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meat registers 120 degrees F, about 4 hours. Remove from the oven and let sit for 1 hour. The temperature will continue to rise another 10 to 14 degrees as it sits.

Step 4

Turn the oven to 500 degrees F. Place the roast back in the oven and bake until the fatty skin starts to crisp up and turn golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Let rest another 30 minutes before transferring to a cutting board for slicing.