Cuban Style Mojo Pork Tenderloin Recipes

INSTANT POT CUBAN MOJO PORK

Steps:

• For the mojo: Combine the orange juice, lime juice, onion, garlic, olive oil, oregano, cumin, 3 teaspoons kosher salt and a few grinds pepper in a blender. Blend until smooth and the mojo is emulsified. Set aside.
• For the pork: Pierce some small slashes in the pork with a sharp paring knife to allow the mojo marinade to penetrate. Place the pork in a large bowl. Add the mojo, cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 8 hours.
• When ready to cook, remove the pork from the bowl and dab off the excess marinade. Reserve the marinade in the bowl for cooking.
• Set a 6- to 8-quart Instant Pot® to saute and add the canola oil (see Cook's Note). Cook each piece of pork until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Depending on the size of your pork and Instant Pot, you may need to do this in batches. Combine all the pork with the reserved marinade in the pot. Follow the manufacturer's guide for locking the lid and preparing to cook. Set to pressure cook on high for 1 hour. (It will take 8 to 10 minutes to come up to pressure.)
• After the pressure-cook cycle is complete, follow the manufacturer's guide for natural release. After 20 minutes, being careful to release any remaining steam, unlock and remove the lid.
• Remove the pork to a medium bowl. Strain the liquid from the Instant Pot through a fine-mesh sieve, then remove and discard the grease and solids. Return the liquid to the pot, set to saute and simmer until the sauce is reduced by half, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, shred the pork with 2 forks. Once the sauce is reduced, toss with the shredded pork and serve.

JUICY CUBAN MOJO PORK ROAST (CHEF MOVIE RECIPE)

Steps:

• Combine Marinade ingredients in a food processor and blend until the herbs and garlic are finely chopped. Alternatively, you can finely chop/mince the garlic and herbs then mix all ingredients in a bowl.
• Place in a large ziplock bag with the pork. Place in the fridge overnight (in a bowl, just to be safe).
• Remove the pork from the Marinade and leave on counter for 1 hour (bring to room temp). Reserve the Marinade.
• Preheat oven to 220°C/425°F (200°C fan).
• Roast, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Base with pan juices.
• Reduce heat to 190°C/375°F (170°C). Roast for another 1 1/2 - 2 hours, basting every half hour, until the internal temperature reaches 70°/160°F. At this temperature, the pork is cooked, still juicy, and carvable, as it is intended to be (Note 1)
• Fall-apart tender alternative (not slicable, meat falls apart): Roast at 160°C/320°F (all oven types) for 3 1/2 hours, or until the meat can be easily shredded using 2 forks (check on side).
• Remove from the oven and place on a plate, loosely covered with foil. Rest for 20 minutes before serving with the Mojo Sauce on the side. I decorated mine with pan fried slices of oranges and extra cilantro/coriander leaves.

CUBAN MOJO MARINATED PORK

Steps:

• If you have a food processor: Add the orange juice, cilantro leaves, mint leaves, and smashed (not minced) garlic cloves, and pulse until everything is finely chopped. Add this mixture to a ziplock bag, along with the rest of the oil, zest, lime juice, oregano, and cumin.
• If you don't have a food processor: In a large ziplock bag, combine olive oil, orange zest, orange juice, lime juice, chopped cilantro, chopped mint, minced garlic, oregano, and cumin. Shake it around a bit to mix it up, then add the pork shoulder.
• Place the zipped up bag in a baking dish, and put it in the fridge overnight, or several hours at least.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place a wire rack (I used a cooling rack) over a rimmed baking sheet.
• Place the pork on the rack and discard the marinade. Salt and pepper the pork well.
• Roast the pork for 30 minutes. It should be lightly browned.
• Turn the oven down to 375 degrees F. Roast for another 1 hour and 20-30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 160.
• Transfer to a cutting board, cover with aluminum foil and let rest at least 20 minutes.
• Carve against the grain and serve.

CUBAN PORK TENDERLOIN

Steps:

• Using thin knife, trim silver skin from tenderloin. Mix orange juice, grapefruit juice, cilantro, cumin, oregano, garlic, salt, and hot pepper in gallon-sized zip-top plastic bag. Add pork, close, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours. Meanwhile, make Rice and Black Bean Salad.
• Prepare outdoor grill for direct medium-hot grilling. For a gas grill, preheat grill on high. Adjust temperature to 400°F. For a charcoal grill, build fire and let burn until coals are covered with white ash. Spread coals and let burn for 15-20 minutes.
• Lightly oil cooking grate. Remove pork from marinade, drain briefly, but do not scrape off solids. Place on grill and cover grill. Cook, turning occasionally, until browned and instant-read thermometer inserted in center of pork reads 145°F, about 20-27 minutes. Transfer to carving board and let stand 3-5 minutes. Cut on slight diagonal and serve with rice and black bean salad.
• Rice and Black Bean Salad:
• To make salad, bring a medium saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add rice and cook (like pasta) until tender, about 16 minutes. Drain in wire sieve, rinse under cold water, and let cool.
• In medium bowl, whisk orange zest and 2 tablespoons orange juice, 1 tablespoon vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Whisk in oil. Add cooled rice, black beans, scallions and cilantro, and mix. Let stand at room temperature for up to 4 hours. (If refrigerated, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving, or rice will be hard.)

CUBAN ROAST PORK WITH MOJO CRIOLLO

Steps:

• Combine 1/2 of the grated garlic, all of the dried oregano, 2 teaspoons salt and the pepper into a paste.
• Score the trimmed roast with a knife point and rub the paste into the roast, then place roast in a gallon freezer bag or other dish/container that will fit in the refrigerator.
• Pour juice of 3 oranges, juice of 3 limes, the red wine, and 2 teaspoons of the lite olive oil over the roast, seal bag and turn the bag several times to combine the ingredients.
• Place in refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or the day before you plan to serve.
• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Place roast and marinade in a roasting pan, cover with foil, and roast until the meat falls apart when pulled with a fork, 3 to 4 hours, up to 6 depending on the cut- it must become fork tender.
• Remove roast from oven and let it rest for 20 minutes, then pull roast into shreds with a fork, leaving the meat in the pan juices- it's ready to serve.
• Prepare Mojo Criollo: put onion slices in a bowl deep enough for the onions to be covered with the juice (I use a 2-cup glass measuring cup).
• Put the rest of the fresh grated garlic, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, juice of 3 limes and juice of 5 oranges and the optional juice of 2 blood oranges over the onions, press down to make sure onions are submerged in the juice.
• Allow the onions to marinate in this mixture for at least 20 minutes (important step).
• Heat 1/4 cup of the lite olive oil in a skillet.
• Quickly and carefully, pour the onions and all the juices into the hot oil and"stir fry" for about 2 to 3 minutes, just to soften the onions.
• Pour the Mojo into a serving dish and serve with the roast on the side.

HAVANA SLOW COOKER PORK TENDERLOIN

Steps:

• Arrange onion slices in the bottom of a slow cooker; top with pork tenderloin. Sprinkle garlic evenly over onion and pork. Pour orange juice, vinegar, and lemon juice over pork. Sprinkle cumin, grill seasoning, salt, red pepper, bay leaves, and lemon zest over pork.
• Cover and cook on Low until pork is very tender, 6 to 7 hours. To serve, slice tenderloin into 1 1/2-inch slices, arrange on a platter, and drizzle juices over top.

CUBAN-STYLE ROAST PORK SHOULDER WITH MOJO RECIPE

Steps:

• For the Mojo: Combine garlic, cumin, pepper, oregano, orange juice, lime juice, and olive oil in a large bowl and whisk. Season to taste generously with salt. Transfer half of mojo to a sealed container and reserve in refrigerator. Add pork to remaining mojo and turn to coat. If desired, transfer pork and marinade to a gallon-sized zipper-lock bag and refrigerate 2 hours or up to overnight before continuing.
• For the Pork and to Finish: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 275°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place pork and juices on top and fold up foil, crimping to seal loosely but making sure that there is room for air to circulate inside. Place in oven and roast for 3 hours. Fold back foil, increase oven temperature to 325°F, and continue roasting, basting pork with pan juices occasionally, until pork shows almost no resistance when a metal skewer or knife is inserted into it and the surface is crackly and brown, 2 to 3 hours longer. Remove pork from oven and let rest 10 to 15 minutes.
• Pour accumulated pork juices into a bowl and discard all except 1 cup. Add reserved mojo to pork drippings, along with fresh chopped mint and oregano. Whisk together and season to taste with salt.
• Serve shredded pork, passing mint mojo and lime wedges on the side. Serve rice, beans, and plantains on the side. Reserve any leftovers for sandwiches.

CUBAN STYLE MOJO PORK TENDERLOIN

Steps:

• Mash the 2 garlic cloves with the salt, either using a fork or a mortar and pestle. Mix in the cumin, oregano, and red pepper flakes.
• Combine the garlic/salt mash with the orange juice and lime juice in a gallon zip top bag and add the trimmed pork tenderloin. Press out as much of the air as possible and then place in the refrigerator.
• Marinade the pork for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, flipping it occasionally to ensure all parts of the pork are marinaded.
• When you're ready to start cooking, adjust a rack to the middle position of your oven and preheat it to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking tray with aluminum foil. This will make your clean up so much easier!
• While the oven is heating, create your spice rub mixture. Again, smash the garlic and salt together, then combine with the other ingredients. You can actually just put everything in your mortar and pestle it around, if you'd like. If you don't have one, use a fork to mash minced garlic and the salt together, then combine everything with a fork in a small bowl.
• Remove the tenderloin from the marinade and pat it dry with paper towels. This is really important because it will not brown up well and develop the tasty crust if it's too moist on the outside!
• Rub the spice mixture into the pork tenderloin as evenly as possible.
• Place a large skillet over medium/medium-high heat and melt the butter. After the butter has melted and foaming has subsided, add the tenderloin and let it cook without moving it for 3-4 minutes so it can develop a nice, browned exterior. Flip the pork and continue browning, turning when necessary, until all sides are browned. This should take about 8-10 minutes total.
• Once the tenderloin is fully browned, move it to the prepared baking tray, place in the oven, and cook for approximately 15-18 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer shows 140-145 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Remove the tenderloin from the oven, tent it loosely with foil, and allow it to sit for 5-10 minuets. After waiting, the internal temperature should be about 150 degrees.
• Cut on a slight diagonal, serve, and enjoy!