CraigC
Guru
Cochinita Pibil
Ingredients
1 medium white onion, cut in quarters
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup achiote paste**
1/3 cup fresh orange juice*
1/3 cup fresh lime juice*
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano, preferably Mexican
2 teaspoons coarse salt (kosher or sea)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pork shoulder roast (4 to 5 pounds)
Fresh or frozen banana leaves or a 12 x 24 inch sheet of aluminum foil (optional)
*Note, If you have access to sour oranges (Seville oranges), Use 2/3 cup of fresh juice to replace the orange and lime Juice.
**Note, Achiote paste is made from annotto seeds.
Method
1)Heat a dry frying pan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and garlic until they are nicely browned on all sides: 8 to 10 minutes for the onion, 4 to 6 minutes for the garlic.
2)Place the onion, garlic, achiote paste, orange juice, lime juice, vinegar, oregano, salt, and pepper in a blender jar and puree until smooth.
3)With a sharp knife, make shallow slits (about 1/2 inch) on the surface of the meat.
4)Place the pork shoulder in a deep bowl just large enough to hold it or in a large resealable plastic bag.
5)Pour the marinade over the pork and marinate for at least 4 hours, or more ideally, overnight, turning two or three times.
6)Wrap the pork in banana leaves (or in aluminum foil), pinning the leaves shut with toothpicks or bamboo skewers.
7)When ready to cook, set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium (350 degrees F). If using a charcoal grill, put an aluminum drip pan in the center. Brush and oil the grill grate.
8)Place the pork shoulder in the center of the grill, over the drip pan, and away from the heat. Cover, and indirect grill until the pork is cooked through inside. Cooking time will be 3 to 5 hours. To test for doneness, insert an instant-read thermometer in the meat; the temperature should be about 198F to 205F.
9)Transfer the pibil to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minute. If you need to keep the pibil for later, wrap in foil (banana leaves in place), cover with a kitchen towel and stick in an empty cooler. I did this with a pork shoulder and drove 2-1/2 hours to my brother's house. It sat on a counter for another hour. Tried to "pull" it with my fingers big mistake as it was still hot enough to burn fingers.
10)Pull out and discard the shoulder bone and any large lumps of fat.
11)Finely shred the pork, using 2 forks, or finely chop with a cleaver. If you have any drippings from the drip pan, you can stir in a few spoonfuls.
12)Transfer the meat to a platter. Serve the pibil on warm tortillas (warm them for 10 seconds per side on the grill). Serve with Yucatecan Pickled Onions (red onion, sliced thin and pickled in lime juice with a pinch of salt and Pico de Gallo or what ever sauce or salsa you like.
Marinated and placed on the banana leaves
Wrapped and ready for the grill (BGE in my case)
Done and ready to pull. I did wrap it in foil to keep it hot.
Pulled for our tacos. We almost didn't have the tacos as we kept stuffing our faces during the pulling.
Ingredients
1 medium white onion, cut in quarters
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup achiote paste**
1/3 cup fresh orange juice*
1/3 cup fresh lime juice*
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano, preferably Mexican
2 teaspoons coarse salt (kosher or sea)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pork shoulder roast (4 to 5 pounds)
Fresh or frozen banana leaves or a 12 x 24 inch sheet of aluminum foil (optional)
*Note, If you have access to sour oranges (Seville oranges), Use 2/3 cup of fresh juice to replace the orange and lime Juice.
**Note, Achiote paste is made from annotto seeds.
Method
1)Heat a dry frying pan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and garlic until they are nicely browned on all sides: 8 to 10 minutes for the onion, 4 to 6 minutes for the garlic.
2)Place the onion, garlic, achiote paste, orange juice, lime juice, vinegar, oregano, salt, and pepper in a blender jar and puree until smooth.
3)With a sharp knife, make shallow slits (about 1/2 inch) on the surface of the meat.
4)Place the pork shoulder in a deep bowl just large enough to hold it or in a large resealable plastic bag.
5)Pour the marinade over the pork and marinate for at least 4 hours, or more ideally, overnight, turning two or three times.
6)Wrap the pork in banana leaves (or in aluminum foil), pinning the leaves shut with toothpicks or bamboo skewers.
7)When ready to cook, set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium (350 degrees F). If using a charcoal grill, put an aluminum drip pan in the center. Brush and oil the grill grate.
8)Place the pork shoulder in the center of the grill, over the drip pan, and away from the heat. Cover, and indirect grill until the pork is cooked through inside. Cooking time will be 3 to 5 hours. To test for doneness, insert an instant-read thermometer in the meat; the temperature should be about 198F to 205F.
9)Transfer the pibil to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minute. If you need to keep the pibil for later, wrap in foil (banana leaves in place), cover with a kitchen towel and stick in an empty cooler. I did this with a pork shoulder and drove 2-1/2 hours to my brother's house. It sat on a counter for another hour. Tried to "pull" it with my fingers big mistake as it was still hot enough to burn fingers.
10)Pull out and discard the shoulder bone and any large lumps of fat.
11)Finely shred the pork, using 2 forks, or finely chop with a cleaver. If you have any drippings from the drip pan, you can stir in a few spoonfuls.
12)Transfer the meat to a platter. Serve the pibil on warm tortillas (warm them for 10 seconds per side on the grill). Serve with Yucatecan Pickled Onions (red onion, sliced thin and pickled in lime juice with a pinch of salt and Pico de Gallo or what ever sauce or salsa you like.
Marinated and placed on the banana leaves
Wrapped and ready for the grill (BGE in my case)
Done and ready to pull. I did wrap it in foil to keep it hot.
Pulled for our tacos. We almost didn't have the tacos as we kept stuffing our faces during the pulling.
Last edited:
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