Lechon Asada Cuban Style Shredded Roast Pork Recipes

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-STYLE ROAST PORK

Steps:

• Grind garlic, salt, black pepper, cumin, oregano, and coriander into a paste using a mortar and pestle.
• Transfer half of the garlic and spice paste to a bowl; add lime juice, orange juice, olive oil, and vinegar. Beat the mixture with a whisk until smooth.
• Cut several inch-long, deep slits into the fatty side of the pork roast. Rub the reserved garlic paste into the slits.
• Put rubbed roast into a gallon-size resealable plastic bag. Pour the liquid mixture over the roast, squeeze as much air from the bag as possible and seal; refrigerate, turning occasionally, 8 hours to overnight.
• Remove pork roast from refrigerator, put into a roasting pan, and let warm at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Roast pork in preheated oven for 30 minutes, reduce heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and continue cooking until pork is no longer pink in the center, about 2 hours more. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 170 degrees F (75 degrees C).

LECHON ASADO CON MOJO (CUBAN GRILLED PORK WITH MOJO)

Steps:

• Combine the garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl and whisk in the juices. Reserve 1/2 cup of the mojo and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Use a paring knife to make 20 deep slits all over the pork. Using your fingers, push the remaining mojo into the slits. Wrap the pork well in plastic wrap, place skin side up on a rimmed baking sheet or platter, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
• Let the pork sit at room temperature for 1 hour before cooking. Meanwhile, set up a charcoal or gas grill for indirect cooking between 325°F and 350°F; if using a charcoal grill, bank the lit, ashed-over coals to one side of the grill. Cover the grill, and adjust the vents as needed to reach the temperature range. For a gas grill, cover the grill, turn off one or more of the burners, and adjust the active burner(s) to reach the temperature range.
• Pat the pork skin dry with paper towels. Put the pork, skin side up, on the cooler part of the grill and cook, rotating (but not flipping) every couple of hours, until the skin is crisp and an instant-read thermometer registers 190°F to 200°F in the center of the pork, 6 to 8 hours.
• Toward the end of the pork's cooking, combine the reserved 1/2 cup mojo, the onion, olive oil, and lemon juice in a 2-quart saucepan. Cook, stirring often, over medium-low heat, until the onion softens and the flavors meld, about 8 minutes. (The mojo can sit at room temperature for a few hours.)
• Transfer the pork to a cutting board. Remove the skin. Tent just the pork with foil and let sit for up to an hour before serving. Scrape off and discard the soft fat underneath the skin, then cut the crispy part (the crackling) into bite-size pieces. Transfer to a small platter, add a few lemon wedges, and serve the chicharrones (cracklings) as an appetizer.
• Meanwhile, use your hands to break the meat into chunks and transfer to a large bowl. Pour about 1/3 cup of the mojo over it and toss to coat. Transfer to a large platter along with the remaining lemon wedges. Sprinkle with the sea salt and serve, passing the remaining mojo around the table with it.

CUBAN GRILLED PORK (LECHON ASADO)

Steps:

• Prepare the marinade
• Mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.
• Marinate the pork
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Cover well with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
• Boil the marinade for basting
• 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
• Before heating your grill, remove the pork from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature.
• 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.
• If your cut has the skin still attached, begin the cooking process with the skin side up (away from the direct heat).
• 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).

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.

SLOW COOKER CUBAN PORK

Steps:

• In a food processor or a blender combine garlic, salt, smashed peppercorns, orange and lemon juice, onions and oregano. Process until smooth.
• Heat 1/2 cup of olive oil in a saucepan, the oil should be hot but not deep frying temperature hot.
• Take it off the heat and stir in the contents of the food processor and keep stirring to avoid burning.
• Pour the mixture of the pork and let it marinate overnight.
• In the morning put the pork together with the marinade in a slow cook and cook on low for 8 hours.
• At the end of cooking time pull pork with two forks and mix it well with the juices.
• In a large pan cook chopped bacon with a tablespoon of olive oil. If your bacon is very fatty omit oil.
• Add chopped onion and green pepper and cook over low hear for 7-10 minutes until tender.
• Add garlic, bay leaf, cumin and oregano and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
• Then add red wine vinegar, black beans, salt to taste and stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook on low for 15 minutes.
• Serve pork and beans with long grain rice.

LECHON ASADO, CUBAN ROAST PORK

Steps:

• Pat dry the pork roast and prepare a plastic container or freezer bag big enough to hold it plus some liquid.
• Squeeze the juice from the orange, lime and lemon. Crush or finely chop the garlic and thinly slice the onion. Mix the juices with rest of ingredients (dry or fresh oregano, cumin, salt, garlic, onion and pepper) in the container/bag.
• Add the pork into the marinade and turn or seal the bag and shake a little to cover all over. Leave the pork to marinade overnight in the fridge, ideally turning at least once.
• When ready to cook, bring the pork out of the fridge ahead of time - around 30-60min - to allow it to come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 325F/ 160C.
• Place the pork in a roasting dish with the skin side up, sitting in a little of the citrus marinade juice. Save the rest of the marinade, including all of the onions. Baste the pork with the juice in the dish after 1-2hr and continue cooking. Roast for 3 hours, or a little more if needed, covering with foil if the top gets too brown. You should get an internal temp of at least 170F to be able to slice, or 190-200F to be able to shred when it's ready.
• While the pork is cooking, bring the remaining marinade to a gentle simmer and cook for around 5 minutes to soften the onions. Serve this as a sauce over the pork when serving.

CUBAN SHREDDED PORK

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine water, juice of one lime, thyme sprig, peppercorns, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Bring mixture to a boil. Add pork chops, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until meat is very tender. Add more water as necessary to keep chops covered.
• Turn off heat and let the chops rest in the broth for 30 minutes. Remove chops from broth and shred, removing excess fat; set aside.
• In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shredded pork and fry until it is almost crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and continue to cook until the onion is just tender yet slightly crisp, about 10 minutes more. Add the juice of one lime, mix though and toss with cilantro. Serve and enjoy.

MOJO CUBAN ROAST PORK (LECHON ASADO)

Steps:

• Add the onion, garlic, cilantro, mint, jalapenos and fresh oregano (if using) to your food processor and pulse until very finely chopped, scraping the sides down as needed. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in all remaining mojo marinade ingredients.
• Remove 1 1/2 cups of the marinade and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator (to serve with roasted pork).
• Transfer the rest of the marinade to a freezer bag and add the pork; turn to coat, squeeze out excess air and seal. Marinate the pork in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours (no longer!), turning the bag occasionally.
• When ready to cook, remove the pork from the refrigerator and let rest on the counter for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large cast iron skillet. Wipe excess marinade off pork, then sear on all sides until browned.
• Place the pork on a rack in a roasting dish (or use halved onions to prop up if you don't have one) with 1 cup of water in the bottom. Spoon some of the marinade from the bag over the top of the pork. Cover the pork with foil, slightly tenting in the middle so it is not touching the pork.
• Bake at 425 F for 30 minutes then reduce the temperature to 325 F and continue to roast for an additional 3 hours, adding additional water as needed so the water doesn't dry up. Only check the water once an hour but don't stress it, it's not the end of the world if you need to leave and it dries up.
• After 3 hours, remove the foil and baste the pork with the water/drippings in the bottom of the pan. Roast for an additional 30 minutes. The meat should very tender; about 180-190 F on an instant read thermometer, without touching the bone. (Although this pork does not require a meat thermometer because it will be cooked beyond overdone until tender.) If it's not tender, cook for an additional 30 minutes as needed.
• At this point, you can turn your oven to broil (without moving the pork) for a more caramelized exterior if desired; broil for 5-10 minutes, keeping an eye on it so it doesn't burn.
• Transfer the pork to a cutting board and loosely tent with foil. Rest for 20 minutes before carving.
• Meanwhile, transfer the 1 1/2 cups reserved UNUSED mojo sauce to a saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes while stirring occasionally, or until reduced by half. Stir in a couple tablespoons of drippings if desired for more succulent flavor. Slice the pork and brush with some of the mojo. Serve remaining mojo on the side.

LECHON ASADA (CUBAN STYLE SHREDDED ROAST PORK)

Steps:

• In a food processor, add parsley, cilantro, garlic, vinegar, lime juice and jalapeños. Pulse the processor for 30 seconds until the herbs are chopped. With the processor running, add the oil slowly to incorporate evenly. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl and set aside 1 cup for later preparation. Lechon Asada: With a sharp knife, carefully make deep cuts into the roast on all sides. Coat the roast with the Chimichurri Marinade, cover with plastic wrap and let marinate 2 to 4 hours. Preheat oven to 325°F. After marinating, remove the pork from marinade and place into a roasting pan. Once there, cover the pork with foil and cook for 2 1/2 hours. Remove the foil and cook for an additional 1 hour to deepen color. The roast is done when a fork pierced into side will easily flake meat. Once out of the oven, place on cutting board and using a fork, "pull" the meat into medium size bowl. Shred the meat about the size of a postage stamp. Put the shredded pork in a clean mixing bowl and toss with reserved Chimichurri Marinade Lechon Asada can be enjoyed on fresh Cuban bread as a sandwich for a fantastic lunch, or served with yellow rice and black beans as a homestyle Cuban entrée, enjoy!