← Nouns Cooking · Caribbean

Ingredients

• 3 kg bone-in pork shoulder, skin on
• 10 cloves Garlic
• 4 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Dried oregano
• 1 tsp Black pepper
• 1 tsp ground cumin (optional)
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 60 ml sour orange juice (or orange juice with a squeeze of lime) (optional)

Method

1. Crush the garlic with 3 tsp of the salt, the oregano, pepper and cumin (if using) into a paste, then stir in the oil, vinegar and juice.
2. Pat the pork dry. Carefully lift the skin from the meat with a knife, leaving it attached on one side. Stab deep slits all over the meat and push the paste into them and over the surface, then lay the skin back down.
3. Rub the remaining salt over the skin. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours or up to 2 days.
4. Bring the pork to room temperature for 1 hour. Heat the oven to 165°C (325°F). Put the pork skin side up in a roasting tin, cover tightly with foil and roast for 4 hours.
5. Uncover and roast for 45 min more, until the meat is very tender and reaches at least 85°C (185°F) in the thickest part.
6. Turn the oven up to 220°C (425°F) and roast for 20–30 min, watching closely, until the skin puffs and turns crisp. Rest for 20 min, then break up the crackling and pull the meat into chunks.

Tips

• The crackling (cuerito) is the prize: dry skin crisps best, so leave the pork uncovered in the fridge for the last few hours of marinating.
• Leftovers make wonderful Cuban-style sandwiches.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

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