I grew up in a family of excellent cooks; starting with my mother. Her sisters, my aunts, are part of that wonderful circle that I call my life. I learned early on what good cooking was, what good food should taste like and those lessons have stayed with me. One of the most delicious meals was "pernil"...a pork shoulder roast. This meat was so flavorful, so tender that it seemed as if the cook had a special hand from the heavens because I did not think I could ever do it. Those that could make a "good" pernil were few and far between; some versions were dry, others too salty....nothing like what my mom or my aunts could make. Miles between us I had to learn how to make it...and 3 times is a charm. I searched, I asked and I delivered this New Year's Day the best pernil ever - my mother would be so proud! This recipe is for an 8-10 lb pork shoulder...and if I thought the main meal was delicious, the leftovers for pork roast sandwiches were even better!
I have pictures demonstrating the "how-to", and below is the recipe. By the way, you'll need a few cubes of the "Sofrito" recipe I posted a few weeks back! Drink of the day: that Sparkling Sangria!
In a food processor:
12 cloves garlic
1Tablespoon oregano
3Tablespoons Olive Oil
3Tablespoons Vinegar
1 teaspoon salt per pound, then less one teaspoon (8lb roast = 7 teaspoons)
1Tablespoon black pepper
Blend the above; it will be like thin mustard (not as thick)
Follow the pictures....using a knife, cut deep slits/holes into the meat and with your finger push the seasoning mix into the holes. Be generous; make lots of holes and stuff them well! Rub some of the seasoning to the underside of the skin (not the top). Rub the skin with 1 Tablespoon sea/Kosher/coarse salt. Wrap well in pastic wrap and then refrigerate at least overnight, best 48 hours.
When ready to cook:
Take roast from refrigerator and bring to room temperature (30-45 minutes); preheat oven to 350degrees. Add 2 sofrito cubes to 2 cups of water, set it aside.
Put the roast in the roasting pan (no rack, it sits on the bottom of the pan), place in oven, and now add the sofrito water to the roasting pan. Cover with an aluminium foil "tent" for the first 3 hours of cooking then remove. Keep room temperature water available to keep the bottom of the pan from burning. Cook 40 minutes per pound or when thermometer reads 185 degrees. Let rest 20-30 minutes. Serve with sauteed onions and wedges of lime. Rice and Beans on the side is the only way to go!
 |
| In the oven, ready to bake. Have water/broth to keep the pan from burning |
 |
| All cooked up, shredded and topped with butter-sauteed onions just squeeze a little lime juice. Serve up with rice and beans! Delicioso! |
No comments:
Post a Comment