Editor's note:Chef, nutritionist, and cooking teacher Lourdes Castro shared this recipe from her cookbook,Latin Grilling.It's a classic Cuban dish and the centerpiece of a festive party menu she created for Epicurious. If you have leftover pork, Castro recommends makingGrilled Cuban Sandwiches.
古巴人热爱他们的猪肉。很难找到一个古巴or Cuban-American who doesn't have a memory of spending hours waiting for a lechon, a whole pig, to finish cooking in someone's backyard, and then sharing it with family and friends (I am certainly no exception). What sets Cuban-style pork apart is the use of mojo criollo, a highly seasoned marinade made up of tangy citrus juice, vast amounts of garlic, cumin, and oregano. And while roasting a whole pig is deliciously fun, smaller cuts are far more manageable and easier to work with.
Ingredients
Serves 10 to 12
Citrus garlic marinade
Pork
Prepare the marinade
Step 1
Mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.
Marinate the pork
Step 2
If using a flavor injector (see cooking notes), strain half the marinade into a bowl, adding the strained-out garlic to the other half of the marinade. Use the injector to take in some strained marinade, pierce the pork with the tip of the needle, and inject it into the flesh. Do this all over the meat until the strained marinade has been used up.
Step 3
If you are not using a flavor injector, use a long, thin knife to create deep gashes all over the flesh and pour the marinade over the pork.
Step 4
Place the marinated pork in a deep bowl or container. Generously season the outside of the pork with salt and pour the remaining marinade all over it, spreading the onion rings all over the top.
Step 5
Cover well with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
Boil the marinade for basting
Step 6
Remove the pork from the marinade and place it on a platter. Transfer the marinade to a saucepan, add the onions, and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Place the boiled marinade and onions in a blender and puree until smooth. The marinade is now ready to use as a basting liquid.
Grill the pork
Step 7
Before heating your grill, remove the pork from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature.
Step 8
Heat your grill to 550°F and close the lid. Wait at least 15 minutes before lowering the temperature to 300°F. Oil the grill grates with a vegetable oil-soaked paper towel held with a long pair of tongs.
Step 9
If your cut has the skin still attached, begin the cooking process with the skin side up (away from the direct heat).
Step 10
Grill your meat about 2 1/2 hours total. Turn the meat over once when you are one quarter through with the cooking time, again when you are halfway through, and once more when three-quarters of the cooking time has elapsed. The pork is ready when it reaches an internal temperature of 150°F on the grill (it will continue to cook when it's off the heat, raising the internal temperature to the desired 160°F).
Ingredients
Seville oranges
A Seville orange is a bitter orange that is sometimes referred to as a sour orange. Its thick skin is pale yellow and its flesh contains many seeds. Due to its very sour taste, it is not an eating orange. In the event you cannot find Seville oranges, substitute a 2:1 ratio of lime juice and regular orange juice.
Techniques
Flavor injector
Cuban-style pork is very well seasoned both inside and out. A flavor injector, a kitchen tool that resembles a needle and syringe, is used to marinate the interior flesh of thick cuts of pork. If you do not have one, simply make deep gashes with a thin knife all over the meat and pour the marinade over and into the cuts.
Injecting the flesh
To prevent the garlic from getting stuck in the injector tip, strain half of the marinade and use that in the injector.
When you inject the marinade into the pork, you will see a bulge appear close to the site of the injection. That is the marinade settling into the flesh. When the pork is cooked, you may see pockets of darker flesh in the areas where the marinade was injected; this is normal.
Freezing citrus juice
Because I use so much citrus juice in my cooking and insist on using only juice from fresh fruit, I always freeze leftover juice from recipes or from fruit that is just about to go bad for future use. If placed in an airtight container, citrus juice will keep for a few months. Simply thaw at room temperature before using.
Advance preparation
The marinade can be made a day in advance. All cuts can be left marinating for 24 hours.
Leave a Review
Reviews (37)
Back to TopThis was very good even though I could not find the Seville oranges. Works well as a marinade for chops and country ribs. I have also added some lemon juice instead of orange juice or just used all lime juice.
skginnny
Northern NY
8/28/2016
This is not a review - I haven't made it yet. I wonder if this can be made in a slow cooker or even in the oven. My family is Puerto Rican and my grandmother does Pernil in the oven. I don't cook ethnic meals, I'm too "Americanized"! But I'd like to learn a few dishes.
Anonymous
Maryland
5/20/2016
Loved the flavor. I used a combo cooking method. Placed Butt in smoker @ 225 degrees till it reached 150 degrees internal. I wrapped it tight in tin foil after applying a basting of reserved marinade. I cook at 300 degrees in the oven until it reached an internal temp of 204 degrees. It is hard to cook a butt by time. Internal temp is what saves the day. After removing from oven I place it in an ice chest coved with bath towels for an hour. You could separate it with 2 salad forks, it was that tender.
baltisraul
tallahassee, fl
5/19/2016
Not a review but questions - 1. I went ahead and put the onions in with the marinade in the first steps, because they're listed as part of the marinade. But later in the recipe, it says "Add the onions." Which way is correct, or do I marinate them and then remove, adding later? 2. Can you freeze the leftover marinade for later use, once it's pureed? This made way to much for my little 3 lb roast! Thanks, anyone answering.
janisian1
5/16/2015
My four stars are mainly for the mojo as I made some alterations in the cooking method. I am lucky enough to have a neighbor with a Seville orange tree, these otherwise inedible oranges do something magical to pork. Previous years when the sour oranges didnt come it I have used lime, and it is still exceptional but the Seville's are worth finding. Injecting the meat goes along way in getting the mojo flavor into the meat and tenderizing it as well. I also like to use a skin on pork shoulder because, seriously, the skin is the best part. Instead of the more rapid cooking in this recipe I opted for a 8 hour slow cook on my outdoor grill at 250 degrees which yielded meltingly tender meat with a beautiful crust. Have made this four times now and will make it again.
jbdavids
12/26/2013
Simply wow! Made this for our dinner club as one of the main dishes and everyone raved about it's taste and tenderness.
Sylvia_dewy
11/20/2013
When I made the marinade and tasted it before placing it on the pork, I was nervous that the meat would turn out to citrusy. But I put my faith in the other reviewers and I must say, it was amazing. We cooked it on a charcoal grill for a few hours and the meat was juicy and flavorful throughout. I served it with rice and beans, and sliced avocados. Perfect Labor Day meal!
Ashley_Deas
San Diego, CA
9/2/2013
Beware of the cooking time. The flavor from the marinade was delicious but the grilling time of just 2.5 hours was overly optimistic. I grilled a 4 lb. boneless shoulder blade cut as recommended at 300 degrees and the meat wasn't even close to ready at the 2.5 hour mark. I had to pull it off after 4 hours to serve my hungry guests when it finally hit 150 degrees but the meat hadn't reached the stage where it pulls apart yet. That would have taken another hour or two.
kristinnol
Berkeley, CA
7/17/2013
Delicious! Grilled with cover closed and I used indirect heat but put it over direct heat on occasion which gave it a nice crust. Using leftover's tonight to make Lourdes Castro's cuban sandwiches!
wallisjr
Seattle, WA
7/5/2013
有人知道你应该烧烤吗with the grill cover open or closed? use direct or indirect heat? thanks!
tesshb
7/6/2012
Delicious! I marinated some thick cut pork chops and grilled them (using the marinade from the recipe). It was divine with our citrus margaritas! This is a keeper.
Anonymous
Waco, TX
1/6/2012
Did this with pork tenderloin, on the grill. Served with Yukon gold mashed potatoes, since I had them to use up. Delicious.
Anonymous
Virginia
9/25/2011
The marinade was very flavorful, lots of fun to make. Our guests loved it and wanted to do it again. Need a propane grill, otherwise it's lots of extra work keeping the heat at a constant temperature.
fsixta
9/7/2011
To Cook from Santa del Fuerte: Do you really think that the equipment used in the recipe vs. the equipment used by Cubans out of necessity determines "authenticity?" Have you tated this recipe? Having LIVED in Cuba and learned to cook the food of their culture from Cubans I would say these flavors are authentic; try making the dish and tasting it...
Anonymous
9/1/2011
I made this with a boneless shoulder of pork, but I don't have an injector. However, I did marinate the roast in the refrigerator for 48 hours. I cooked it on a gas grill with the outside 2 out of 4 burners on, and the inside ones off. The roast was in the center of the grill. This allowed me to control the temperature perfectly, and the pork came out super delicious, amazingly tender. My guests raved. Next time I would definitely buy an injector and use it. Without the injector I found that a lot of the marinade went to waste.
Anonymous
8/30/2011
See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips
-
Our 51 Best Grilled Pork Recipes
Whether you're starting with pork chops or tenderloin or ribs, pork is at its best when cooked over an open flame.
