Puerco Asado Recipes

ASADO DE PUERCO (MEXICAN PORK STEW)

Steps:

• Combine pork cubes, 1/2 cup water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a Dutch oven. Cover and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Uncover, increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring constantly, until water evaporates. Continue cooking until the pork browns in its rendered fat, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cut tops off the dried chiles and remove seeds. Heat chiles in a large skillet over low heat until they start to soften. Do not toast. Place chiles in a bowl of hot water and soak for 20 minutes.
• Remove pork and set aside. Do not wash, wipe out, or clean the Dutch oven.
• Transfer chiles to a blender, reserving soaking water. Add cilantro, chicken bouillon, peppercorns, garlic, cinnamon stick, Mexican oregano, thyme, cumin seeds, bay leaves, and cloves. Pour in 1 cup soaking water and blend until smooth. Add 1 more cup soaking water, season with salt, and blend until completely smooth.
• Melt lard in the Dutch oven. Carefully add blended chile mixture and scrape up all browned bits. Bring to a boil and add pork. Reduce heat and cover partially, leaving about 1 inch open. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened and reaches the desired consistency, 15 to 20 minutes.

PERNIL ASADO

Steps:

• Mix all the ingredients and reserve this preparation to season the meat.
• Place the pork in a baking dish that can be refrigerated.
• Mix the garlic powder with the salt and season the pork. Add the fresh garlic on top of the meat. Marinate for 3 hours in the refrigerator.
• Using a small, sharp knife, remove the fat from the meat by letting it stand on one edge and keeping it in one piece.
• Start at the wide end and go to the narrow end.
• Leave enough fat on the meat to turn the fat on its side while seasoning the meat.
• The fat will be added back on the seasoned meat and cooked on the meat.
• With a little marinade, season the side of the fat that covers the meat. The other side (the top) should only have salt.
• Make very deep cuts on all over the meat and season with the marinade, ensuring that the seasoning penetrates well into all the cuts.
• Put the fat on the meat so that it looks the same as before cutting and sprinkle with salt.
• Cover the meat with a cling film and refrigerate for 12 hours.
• Remove the meat 1h30 before cooking and let the meat come back to room temperature before cooking.
• Place the meat in a deep oven dish with the fat side up. There will be a lot of fat, so be sure to use a deep dish.
• Preheat the oven for 45 minutes at 400 F / 200 C before baking (while the meat comes back to room temperature).
• Bake at 400 F / 200 C, and covered for 1 hour, then reduce the temperature to 300 F / 150 C, and cook again covered for 3 hours. Do not turn the meat over. Then uncover and cook for an additional hour.
• When the meat is cooked, poke it on the side with a fork to see if it is falls off from the bone. If the top (cuerito) is not crisp enough, continue cooking at 400 F / 200 C for 15 minutes or until crisp.
• Remove the meat from the oven and let it rest for 30 minutes before cutting it.
• To cut it, completely remove the fat (cuerito) and reserve it.
• Slice the meat then cut the fat (cuerito) into pieces and sprinkle on the meat.
• Serve the meat with a piece of cuerito.

CUBAN PUERCO ASADO

Steps:

• Place the pork shoulder in a shallow dish.
• In a blender, put all the marinade ingredients. Pulse until all the ingredients are pureed.
• Pour over the meat, evenly. Cover with a lid or food wrap.
• Refregirate for at least 6-8 hours or ideally overnight.
• Pre-heat the oven at 300F.
• Once your oven is at temperature, take your meat out of the marinage and place it in a cast iron without the lid.
• Cook for 3 and a half hours. if you have a meat thermometer, make sure it reaches 145F. In doubt, leave it another 20-30 minutes, it's slow and low, it won't dry.

PUERCO ASADO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Squeeze enough juice from limes to measure 1 cup. Mince garlic. In a bowl stir together 3 tablespoons lime juice, garlic, 2 1/2 tablespoons salt, oregano, and cumin. Pat pork dry and with a sharp small knife make 1-inch-long by 3/4-inch-deep incisions 2 inches apart in pork skin. Push about 1 teaspoon garlic mixture into each incision and rub remainder on meaty ends not covered by skin.
• Transfer pork to a large roasting pan (about 18 by 12 by 2 inches) and pour remaining lime juice around pork. Roast pork, uncovered, in middle of oven until most of juice is evaporated and brown bits begin to form on bottom of pan, about 30 minutes.
• In a bowl stir together water and vinegar and pour mixture around pork. Cover pan tightly with foil and roast 1 hour. With a small ladle baste meat only (not skin) with pan juices and roast pork, covered, 1 hour.
• With cleaned sharp small knife gently loosen skin from meat (without cutting through skin) and with a spoon baste meat under skin with pan juices. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 tablespoon salt over skin and roast pork, uncovered, basting meat (not skin) every 20 minutes, 1 1/2 hours more, or until skin is crisp. Transfer pork to a cutting board, reserving pan juices, and let stand 20 minutes. Skim fat from reserved pan juices.
• Cut pork into 1/4-inch-thick slices and serve with pan juices.