Baked to juicy perfection, this Cuban pork is packed with garlic, onion, and citrus flavors from the inside out.
Prep Time15 minutesminutes
Cook Time3 hourshours
Additional Time4 hourshours
Total Time7 hourshours15 minutesminutes
Ingredients
6-8lbpork bone-in shoulder roast
2heads of garlic, peeled and divided
1large onion, peeled and sliced
1 ½cupsolive oil
1teaspoonoregano
2teaspoonsea salt
1teaspoonfreshly cracked black pepper
1cupfreshly squeezed orange juice, bitter/sour oranges are best!
2small limes, juiced
1medium lemon, juiced
Instructions
Place garlic (reserving 10 garlic cloves for later) and onion in a food processor and pulse until you make a paste.
To prepare the Mojo marinade, heat the olive oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium high heat. Make sure to not boil the oil. When the oil is heated, add the onion and garlic mixture and cook in the oil for 2 minutes, stirring often.
Add in the oregano, sea salt and pepper. Stir to combine and remove from the heat source. Carefully stir in the orange juice and freshly squeezed lemon and lime juice. Stir to combine.
Place the roast in a large baking dish with the fat layer facing up. With a sharp knife carefully detach the fat layer from the meat, making sure to keep the last 1⁄3 attached. (This will help get a crispy layer on top.) With the sharp knife, poke roughly 10 holes deep into the meat. Stuff a garlic clove in each hole.
Pour all but 1 cup of the mojo marinade evenly over the top of the roast, making sure to push some of the marinade down into the holes and under the skin.
Cover the roasting pan with foil and place it in the refrigerator to marinade a minimum of 4 hours, or overnight for the most flavor.
When ready to roast, preheat the oven to 450°F. Roast uncovered for 20 minutes. Then lower the heat to 225°F and cook for an additional 25 minutes per pound, or until you reach an internal temperature of 145°F on a meat thermometer. About 2 hours into the roasting time, loosely tent the pork with foil.
Take the pork out of the oven and keep the foil on top. Allow the meat to rest for 20 minutes before slicing or shredding.
Serve pork with the cooked juices and/or extra reserved mojo sauce on the side.
Notes
Storage: Once fully cooled, refrigerate this Cuban pork in an airtight container for up to 4 days. To reheat it, sprinkle the pork with 1/2-1 teaspoon of water and microwave it in 30-second intervals until warm. You can also heat it in a pan over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes on each side.Sour Oranges: If you can't find sour oranges, you can use regular oranges. Or, you can purchase jarred sour orange juice - Naranja Agria.