Thanksgiving 2.8 Recipe #1: Pernil O Pierna Asada Estilo Cubano, Cuban Roast Pork

Cuban Roast Pork w mojo sauteed onions and foliage.

Since Thanksgiving 2.8 is right around the corner (303 days as of this writing), I wanted to start taste testing as soon as possible. This is the very first recipe I have tried. I want to get the big centerpiece dishes out of the way as early as possible this year. I chose pernil because when I asked all of our friends who are of Puerto Rican/Caribbean descent they each mentioned one or two special dishes, but they all mentioned having pernil for Christmas dinner. When I did my cookbook research I noticed the same thing. Some form of pernil was mentioned in several islands' holiday recipes. I happen to like pork shoulder, and one of the better recipes I made for 2.7 was pork I thought this would be a logical place to start.

Ingredients:

4-6 pound pork shoulder

2 C sour orange or fresh lime or lemon juice

1 bay leaf

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp cumin powder

2 Tbsp salt and 1 teaspoon salt.

1/2 tsp black pepper

20 cloves garlic peeled (cloves can be left whole)

cuban mojo sauce 

2 large onions sliced in thin rounds

1/2 C roast pork pan drippings

1/2 C reserved garlic and lime sauce mixture 

Directions: 

THE NIGHT BEFORE: Take the pork shoulder and poke deep holes into the meat with a pairing knife. Make the holes at least 1/2" wide and at least 1/2" deep. This doesn't have to be exact. Just make holes all over the roast.

Next take the salt and rub about two tablespoons all over the pork. Try to stick your fingers in the poked holes to penetrate the salt into the meat. (It says about 2 tablespoons of salt, but if it is a larger piece of meat you might need as much as three tablespoons).

Next, in a blender add the lime/lemon/sour oange juice, garlic cloves, bay leaf, cumin, oregano, pepper, & the 1 teaspoon salt. Blend on high until all is liquified. This is the Cuban Mojo, pour one cup of the mojo in a jar cover and reserve for later. 

Pour the rest of the sauce all over the roast making sure to rub the mojo sauce deep into the pork meat into the holes. Finally, sprinkle a little more oregano, cumin, black pepper over the entire roast again.

Cover with aluminum foil; and refrigerate until the next day for roasting.

COOKING DAY: Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Remove pork from the refrigerator let stand on the counter for around hour (this is an important step, don't skip). Place the pork roast on an elevated rack in your roasting pan. Put it into the preheated oven.

Depending on how large a roast you have it will take from about 3 to 5 hours to cook (this is further changed if you have a bone-in roast or boneless). Pour a half cup of the reserved mojo and baste your roast every hour with some of the mojo. Cook uncovered.

The roast is done when the internal temperature reaches 145-150 degrees. Let the roast sit for 10-20 minutes before carving.

While the roast is resting. Pour the pan drippings into a frying pan over medium heat and add the onions. Fry them in the drippings until softened. Next take half cup of the reserved mojo from the refrigerator and pour into the onions sauteing everything for about five minutes more.

After the rest time, slice all of the roast and pour the mojo with onions over the meat.

     Overall, this was a fairly simple recipe. I love cooking these pork shoulder dishes. They may have a long prep time (marinade) and a long cooking time (4-6 hours), but they always taste great. The minor amount of work to make the sauce and only a few steps to prep the meat were so simple a knife capable child could have done them. The only change I made to the recipe was the removal of the bone. I took it out to make the carving afterward a bit easier. This is in no way necessary.

As far as flavor goes I can see why this is made every year. The outside had an almost sweet flavor to it, from the marinade I imagine. The interior meat itself falls apart as its eaten. That interior meat had a subtle flavor, but it was possible to taste the citrus and garlic. The onions were a great accompaniment. They have a much more powerful flavor, but when eaten with the meat as intended, it was great. I was very lucky with this recipe. The very first one and I know I will be making it for TH2.8. I couldn't ask for much more than that. The only caveat being that I would have to make two 5 pound roasts to serve as many people as I want. I could cook a 10 pound roast but I wouldn't get as much marinade penetration or browning. I will most likely make 2 seperate roasts. The tasting event I am going to plan for the end of February will help me make the final decision.