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Active Time
30 min
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Total Time
9 hours
Cochinita pibil
A popular dish in the Yucat´n, where it is traditionally cooked in a pit,cochinita pibilmay be the most tender, flavorful pork preparation on the planet. Some of its subtle earthiness is imparted by the banana leaves that envelop the meat while it's cooking. The leaves aren't meant to be eaten, though.
Ingredients
Makes 8 to 10 servings
Special Equipment
Step 1
Put pork in a large bowl and rub with 1 teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoons juice.
Step 2
Toast peppercorns, cumin, and allspice together, then cool slightly. Transfer to grinder along with annatto seeds and grind to a powder. Transfer to a small bowl.
Step 3
Mince garlic and mash to a paste with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt using side of a large heavy knife. Add to ground spices along with oregano and remaining 6 tablespoons juice and stir to make a paste.
Step 4
Toss pork with paste to coat well. Add onion and toss to combine.
Step 5
持有两端的香蕉叶子,叶子拖过去a burner on moderately high heat slowly until it changes color slightly and becomes shinier, then turn over and toast other side. Toast remaining banana leaves in same manner.
Step 6
Line roasting pan with leaves, shinier sides down, by arranging 1 leaf lengthwise and 2 leaves crosswise, letting excess hang over sides. Trim overhang to about 8 inches on all sides.
Step 7
Transfer pork mixture to banana leaves, then fold overhang of leaves over pork to enclose completely. Cover pan tightly with foil and chill, at least 6 hours.
Step 8
Put oven rack in middle position, then put pan with pork in oven and heat to 400°F (to take chill off pork gently).
Step 9
Once oven has reached 400°F, bake until pork is very tender, 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hours.
Step 10
Discard foil and open banana leaves, then serve pork with salsa and tortillas.
·In place of the Seville (bitter) orange juice, you can use 1/4 cup fresh regular orange juice plus 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, stirred together.
·Pork in banana leaves (not baked) can be chilled up to 1 day.
Leave a Review
Reviews (14)
Back to TopBought 2 oz. at the asian grocery for 89¢ today.
sarabranscum
Oklahoma City
8/7/2014
亚洲杂货卖红木种子非常小money. In a spice grinder or old coffee grinder they are no problem. I serve it with roasted tomatillo salsa. I recently tried cooking it in the slow cooker on low for about six hours and it used less energy and turned out great.
sarabranscum
Oklahoma City
8/5/2014
Just an FYI - Annatto seeds are available by mail order from Penzey's Spices. But as others say, achiote paste is MUCH easier to deal with.
kittypro
2/10/2012
We really enjoyed this. We used Meyer lemons instead of the bitter orange. The local Whole Foods had never even heard of annatto, but lucky for us we have a Mexican grocery store close by. They had several forms, including the paste and pre-ground seeds, which is what we used. No banana leaves, but small foil packets worked great. Served with tortillas, everyone really liked this. We will definitely do this again.
kowboy77
4/2/2011
This turned out very good -- I couldnt find banana palm leaves in Montana so I substituted with corn husks instead. If you go with corn husks I would suggest using twine to wrap the chunks of pork. I also added 2 Bell peppers on the top of everything and they tasted great after they carmelized a little under the broiler in the oven. Next time I will increase the amount of spices used to bump the flavor up a bit. Also I highly recommend grinding up the spices beforehand rather than using whole seeds.
Picomp314
Grand Forks, ND
4/18/2009
Great dish, super easy. I found ground annatto very easily, but then this is Los Angeles. I actually split the meat with 1/2 pork and 1/2 boneless chicken thighs and breasts (cooking only 1 1/2 hours for the chicken). Delicious. Everyone, including kids ate it up. I will definitely make again.
PrivateChef1
Beverly Hills, CA
3/16/2009
I made this dish for mothers day and it was fantastic!!!!I to added a red pepper.i also cooked it for about an hour at 400 then turned it gown to 300 for about an hour and a half.everyone raved about it .they said they thought they were at a beach party on an island somewhere.definetly a staple in my home now.it was VERY easy to make.i also marinated it over night.
fireftrmom
califas
5/19/2008
Super Good!! I used 2 Tbsp. achiote paste instead of the Annato seeds. Also added some red peppers. Turned out awesome. This receipe will be a staple in my home from now on!
Anonymous
Folsom, Ca
2/24/2008
Super Good!! I used 2 Tbsp. Achiote paste instead of the annato seeds. Turned out awesome. Also added some red peppers. This receipe will be a staple in my home from now on!
blondiegirl
2/24/2008
This is delicious, and easier to make than it sounds. The salsa is critical to the success of the dish.
harxao
Charlottesville, VA
2/24/2008
This is one fantastic recipe. I found the achiote seeds through Pensey's spices. We have no banana leaves up here but collard leaves seem to have worked just as well.
Anonymous
Sauk Rapids, MN
1/10/2008
This is one of my favorite Mexican recipe. I agree that Annatto seeds are quite difficult to find. I recommend also the Asian grocery, they have some sometimes (used in Thai cuisine). However, you can always go for "Achiote" paste (I think that every Spanish grocery have some). It's basically grind annatto with salt, garlic and some other stuff. Way easier to use than the super hard seeds. I prefer achiote since it's easier to use. For the receipe, you can have a look at the movie "Once upon a time in Mexico" by Robert Rodriguez. The special features show a 10 minutes cooking school and that receipe is amazing. Another place would be the Rick Bayless website. He is the Mexcain cuisine reference.
destroye7
Melbourne, Australia
7/5/2007
The flavor really was delicious. However, the annato seeds were very difficult to find and I live in New Mexico with lots of Spanish markets. I finally got them online. Then grinding them up with the other spices was even more difficult. They are like rocks!!! The next time, and there will be a next time, I will have my friend who has an industrial grinder grind the annato seeds and I will either lower the oven temperature or cook for less time get a moister result.
natalie85
Santa Fe, NM
6/25/2007
overall, this is a great recipe with rice or tortillas. however, you must bear in mind three things with this recipe. first, you must marinate the pork with the sauce for at least six hours. second, when roasting in the oven, line the bottom of the pan with foil or otherwise, the juice will burn onto the pan. lastly, philosophically, you must attempt to create a pit with a roast pan by sealing it.
dionysusolympus
6/6/2007
