Pernil, A Puerto Rican Style Roast Pork Shoulder

  It's that time of the week again! IHCC's cooking with Mark Bittman and this weeks challenge is Spice Caravan. Some of my favorite spices to cook with are my fresh ground chili peppers. I began thinking that the fresh ground chilies didn't really qualify as a spice, which is why I looked it up , so I added the link for all of you nay sayers.

  I have made this dish often, it is one of our favorite ways to cook a pork roast. Any leftover meat can be used in any numerous ways, as the flavor profile is very basic. Not bland in any way mind you, just that it adapts to many other recipes very well. Cuban sandwiches come to mind, as well as tacos, fajitas, carnitas, or even any type of casserole you could imagine. The recipe I have always used in the past is from Daisy Martinez, however I have to say I like Mark Bittman's Pernil far better. The difference is the addition of the chilies. The only adaption I made to this recipe was that I added a little orange juice and I replaced the ancho clili powder for a combination of guajillo and chipolte chili powders, as Mark suggests in his book How to Cook Everything (pg. 755) and on his webpage, the chilies are optional or interchangeable. If you've never made a pork roast this way, I suggest you give it a try. The ingredients are few and this is a "let the oven do all the work" recipe.

The few ingredients you will probably already have on hand are; garlic, onion, oregano, chili powder of your choice, cumin, salt and pepper, wine vinegar, and oil. And the pork of course. I did forget to put the cumin in the photo, however when I was mixing my spices I did remember to add it in. (Mark's website version includes the cumin in the mix). I also added some fresh squeezed orange juice as the original recipes usually call for sour orange juice (which I can not find up here).

Combine all ingredients and rub the mixture into the pork. Let this marinate for 1 to 24 hours.When ready to cook, heat oven to 300 degrees. Add a small amount of water to bottom of pan. Roast pork for about 3 hours, turning every 30 minutes or so, basting with the pan juices, until well done (internal temperature should read at least 150 but no more than 160) and very tender. The skin will be crisp. Let the meat rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting into it.

We seved this with red beans and rice. This is truly an all time favorite in our house. I think Michael likes the pressed pork sandwiches we make the next day even better.

Pernil

Adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

1 pork shoulder, 4 to 7 pounds (or use fresh ham)

4 or more cloves garlic, peeled
1 large onion, quartered
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves or 1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ancho or other mild chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil as needed
1 tablespoon wine or cider vinegar
1/4 cup of orange juice
Lime wedges for serving


Heat oven to 300 degrees. Score meat's skin with a sharp knife, making a cross-hatch pattern. Pulse garlic, onion, oregano, cumin, chili, salt and pepper together in a food processor, adding oil in a drizzle and scraping down sides as necessary, until mixture is pasty. (Alternatively, mash ingredients in a mortar and pestle.) Blend in the vinegar.
Rub this mixture well into pork, getting it into every nook and cranny. Put pork in a roasting pan and film bottom with water. Roast pork for several hours (a 4-pound shoulder may be done in 3 hours), turning every hour or so and adding more water as necessary, until meat is very tender. Finish roasting with the skin side up until crisp, raising heat at end of cooking if necessary.
Let meat rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting it up; meat should be so tender that cutting it into uniform slices is almost impossible; rather, whack it up into chunks. Serve with lime.
Makes 6 to 10 servings

This is our submission for IHCC's Mark Bittman's Spice Caravan Challenge.

Michael and Carla