Cuban Roast Pork Shoulder

Today we have easy to prepare roast pork shoulder. Of course, the ideal and most authentic way to cook it – is on a grill outside.

So, if you do have such a possibility (especially now, in the middle of the warm season, I guess, many of you should have one), and also if you have a grill like that or similar – I suggest to cook outside.

All you have to do at home is to prepare a marinade and leave the meat in it overnight. Unfortunately, I didn’t have such a possibility, so I had to cook within the 4 walls.

Why is this recipe interesting? Because of the marinade and the way we roast it!

We use a Cuban sauce mojo as a marinade here. It consists of garlic, orange and lime juice, and also butter with spices. It adds citrus–spicy flavor with a bit of sourness.

The main feature of roasting is that at first, we bake it on the low-heat in the foil, and then we open it and bake on the high temperature until done. Thanks to this technique, meat loses less moisture and remains juicy and mild. Meanwhile, at the second stage, it gets a fine golden crust.

You’ll see that you will accidentally snap off a piece of meat if you press on it with the tip of the knife and move a bit from side to side. It’s so gentle, that it literally falls apart under a bit of pressure. Though it would seem a large 2-3 kg piece of meat.

By the way, pork shoulder, cooked by this recipe, is one of the main ingredients of Cuban sandwiches. But that’s a topic for another time.

⏱ Cooking time — 9 hours overall. Includes 20 minutes of preparation and cooking + 8 hours 40 minutes unattended.

🔪 Ingredients

For 10 servings:

For marinade/sauce mojo:

• 8 cloves of garlic
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. oregano (use a fresh one if possible)
• 120 ml (8 tbsp.) of orange juice (1-2 medium oranges)
• 60 ml (4 tbsp.) of lime juice (2-3 medium limes)
• 60 ml (4 tbsp.) of olive oil
• A few twigs of fresh mint
• Salt

For pork:

• 2-3 kg (4,4 – 6,6 lb) pork, shoulder blade (one whole piece, without skin)
• Lime for serving

Equipment:

Nothing, that you wouldn’t have

🥣 Directions

STEP 1. LET’S PREPARE MOJO

Finely chop 8 cloves of garlic (or use a garlic press as I did). Squeeze the orange (1-2 medium oranges) and lime juice (2-3 medium limes) in order to get 120 (8 tbsp.) and 60 ml (4 tbsp). Mix chopped garlic and juice in a medium-sized bowl.Add 2 tsp of cumin, 2 tsp. of freshly grounded pepper, 1 tsp of oregano, 60 ml (4 tbsp.) of olive oil and a pinch of salt.

Using a whisk (or a fork in a pinch) whip all the ingredients in order to get a homogeneous mass. Taste it, the marinade should seem a bit salty. Add more if needed.

Divide the mass into 2 parts, one put into the fridge.

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STEP 2. MARINADE THE MEAT.

To keep the plates clean, I suggest marinating in the bag. Take a suitable bag, put the meat 2-3 kg (4,4 – 6,6 lb) pork in there, and use one more for durability. Pour the rest of the sauce to the bag and tie it up.

The second bag you can just wrap up.

Additionally, I put the meat into the big bowl, just in case. Then put it to the fridge for 2-10 hours. The longer it’s marinating, the richer would be the taste and flavor. It’s preferable to wait as long as possible and leave it overnight.

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STEP 3. PUT THE MEAT INTO THE OVEN

15-20 minutes before cooking, warm the oven up to 135 degrees. Meanwhile, prepare a small deep baking sheet and cover it with 2 layers of foil crisscrossed. Fold it twice in advance.

Keep in mind that foil should rise above the baking sheet for 10-15 cm (4- 6 inches). It’s important in order to wrap up the meat into an ‘envelope’ and also leave a bit of space for air circulation.

Put the meat on the foil and pour the rest of the sauce remaining in the bag.

Wrap the meat up in the following manner: firstly, put together the ends, and then wrap the meat like an envelope in the middle.

Put it in the oven for 2,5 hours.

In 2,5 hours. As time passes, open the ‘envelope’ and increase the temperature up to 165 degrees. Continue baking and pour with juices from the bottom once in a while (once in 20-30 minutes).

Bake until golden crust, the meat becomes mild and will be falling into pieces even under the small pressure. It’ll take 2-3 hours more.

After the shoulder is ready, take it out of the oven, wrap up into the foil again and let rest for 10-15 minutes at room temperature.

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STEP 4. COOK THE SAUCE.

Pour 1 glass of the remaining juices. Even if there’s less than 1 glass, use all you have.
Mix it with mojo, which we’ve left in the fridge, and add 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint.

Mix the sauce, add salt to taste.

Serve the pork, tired into pieces beforehand. Put into the serving plates, pour with a sauce, and decorate with a slice of lime. As a side dish, you can serve rice with baked beans.

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