cuban tradition

Slow Roasted Mojo Pork Shoulder (Pernil)

pork shoulder

Abuela’s Mojo marinade

garlic

salt Salt

olive oil

-5 onions, thickly sliced

Abuela’s sazon

bay leaves

Two days before roasting, clean pork shoulder with cold water and pat dry.  Then only on the flesh side, slit deep cuts into the meat.  Add a garlic clove into each slit.  This will give flavor and help the marinade penetrate the meat.

Pour the mojo marinade all over the pork.  Add 3 tablespoons of salt all over the pork. Add the sazon only to the bottom part of the pork. You want to avoid adding the sazon to the skin because it can burn.

Leave in the fridge at least one night. But- two nights is ideal.

The day you are ready to roast, remove the pork from the refrigerator 2 hours before roasting time.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare a large roasting pan.  Cover the bottom with the onions and bay leaves. Drizzle the remaining marinade all over the onions. Place the marinated pork on top.

Scrape any marinade off the pork shoulder’s skin and season with the remaining salt all over. Add the olive oil just over the skin. Remember- you don’t want anything on the skin because it can burn.

Roast for 4 hours.

Every hour move the pork around to be sure it is evenly cooking. ***Do not baste with the juices. The skin can become soggy.mmIf the skin gets too much color, lower the heat to 300 degrees or very loosely cover the most cooked area with aluminum foil.

The roast is ready when the skin is crispy. The meat will easily pull apart and the juices run clear.

Cuban Mojo Roasted Pork Shoulder (Pernil)

Classic Cuban Rabo Encendido Recipe

oxtail

red wine, we

all purpose flour

sazon

saffron leaves

tomato paste tomato sauce

Cardenal Mendoza or a dry sherry

beef

avocado oil

red pepper flakes

habanero pepper, left whole

red bell pepper, finely chopped

onions, finely chopped

cumin

olives

parsley,

Salt and pepper

Prep: Trim away some of the fat from the oxtails. In a deep baking dish lay all the oxtails in one layer if possible. Cover with 3 cups of red wine, 2 oregano sprigs and 2 bay leaves. Cover with plastic wrap and soak overnight or at least for 4-6 hours. 

When ready to cook: Once you are ready to start cooking, remove the oxtail from the wine and pat dry with paper towel. Discard the wine where the oxtails were soaking. Season with salt and pepper. Dust each oxtail with flour on all sides. 

Heat a large heavy bottom pot to medium/ medium high. Add the avocado oil.  Sear each side of the oxtail until golden brown working in batches. It will be about 2-3 minutes per side. As you sear each one you can place them on a plate. Set them aside as you begin to make the sauce. Discard the extra oil in the pot.

Add the onions and peppers to the pot. Season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, sazon and the saffron. Heat the pot to medium. Cook the vegetables for 5 minutes or until softened. If you need more oil to help soften the vegetables then add about 2-3 tablespoons of oil. 

Push the vegetables to the side and saute the garlic for 2 minutes until it is just golden brown. Combine everything together. Adjust heat to high. 

Add the tomato paste, Cardenal Mendoza, 2 cups of broth and 2 cups of red wine to deglaze the pan. Add the carrots and the seared oxtails back into the pot. Try to line up as many oxtail as you can into one layer. Do this even if you have to creative and put some on their side. If there's too many and you have to pile some on top of each other it’s ok. At this point you want to make sure the liquid is covering the oxtails about ¾ of the way up. 

Raise the heat to high so the liquid is vigorously boiling. Add the habanero pepper. If you want more spice, split the pepper in half so it releases its spicy oils. 

Cover the pot and lower the heat to low. It will take about 2.5-3.5 hours. Check on it every 30-40 minutes stirring everything around in the pot and scraping the bottom to be sure nothing sticks to the bottom. 

You want to be sure there is always a soft boil so the oxtails breakdown and soften.  About an hour into the braise, add another cup of wine and a cup of water if necessary.  

At about 2 ½ hours, check on the meat to be sure it is pulling apart from the bone. If it needs more time leave it covered on low.

Once the meat is ready, skim the fat from the top. Discard the fat. Taste for salt and spice. If you can tolerate a little more heat add a few dashes of hot sauce and taste again.

Add olives and parsley. Serve 1-2 oxtails per person and spoon over plenty of sauce.

Sheet Pan Sausage and Peppers

chicken sausages

onion, thinly sliced

garlic cloves, smashed

cherry tomatoes, left whole

tomato sauce

poblano pepper, sliced in large strips

yellow pepper, sliced in large strips

red pepper,

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or a silpat mat. 

Leave sausages whole and poke small holes with a fork or knife. (This will help the steam escape so they don’t explode in the oven) 

Add all the onions, garlic, peppers, cherry tomatoes and sausages to the sheet pan. Drizzle with oil and toss to coat all the veggies. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and add the tomato sauce and herbs. 

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Give everything a stir. Bake for another 10 to 12 minutes until all the vegetables have softened and some parts have turned golden brown. You can always broil for a few minutes to char up some of the veggies. 

Discard the herbs. Slice the sausage diagonally and serve with onions and peppers. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. 

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Slow Roasted Mojo Pork Shoulder (Pe...

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Top 3 cuban tradition recipes from across the web

The most viewed cuban tradition recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Slow Roasted Mojo Pork Shoulder (Pe...

Classic Cuban Rabo Encendido Recipe

Sheet Pan Sausage and Peppers

The most viewed cuban tradition recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine