Cochinita Pibil
Jules Moreau Demo- Makes
- 6 servings
- Active
- 1 h 24 min
- Total
- 10 h 45 min
You’ll Need Spice grinder, Blender, Large roasting pan, Grill with a lid (gas or charcoal, set up for indirect heat) or Oven, Grill thermometer
Method
Achiote Marinade
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Put the , , , , and in a spice grinder and grind, in batches if needed, until as powdery as you can get them.
a fine brick red powder with only a few hard flecks -
Blend the ground spices with the , and until very smooth.
almost no grit when you rub a drop between your fingers -
For the smoothest marinade, pour it into a non-aluminum container, cover and refrigerate for at least , then blend it again before using. This step is worth it but not essential.
4 °CSafe to pause here[object Object]
Pork
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Turn the in the marinade in a large bowl or food bag until evenly coated, working quickly because achiote stains. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
4 °CSafe to pause here[object Object]
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Heat a gas grill to medium-high, or light charcoal and let it burn until the coals are covered in grey ash. Set it up for indirect cooking: turn the centre burners to medium-low, or bank the coals to the sides.
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Trim the hard edge off the . Line a large roasting pan with three overlapping lengths, each about 30 cm (11 ¾ in) longer than the pan, so they hang over the sides. Lay in the meat, pour over all the marinade, fold the overhanging leaves over it, then cover with three more lengths tucked in around the edges.
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Set the pan on the grill grate over the unlit area, close the lid and cook, keeping the lid temperature at about 163 °C, give or take a little, until the meat is completely tender. On charcoal, add a few pieces every half hour or so.
163 °C ± 14 °Ca fork pushed in near the bone pulls the meat away easily[object Object]
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Peel back the top leaves, tilt the pan so the juices collect at one end and spoon off the fat. Taste the juices and add salt if needed. Serve straight from the pan with a big fork and spoon, with the onions and salsa alongside.
Pickled Red Onions
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Put the in a non-aluminum bowl, pour boiling water over them, wait , then tip into a strainer.
the onions just lose their raw sting but stay crisp -
Return the onions to the bowl, pour over the and stir in the . Cover and leave until serving, then drain.
they turn bright pinkSafe to pause here[object Object]
Roasted Habanero Salsa
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Roast the and in an ungreased skillet over medium heat, turning regularly, for the chiles and about for the garlic. Let cool and slip the skins off the garlic.
soft and darkened in spots -
Blend the chiles and garlic with the and enough to make a spoonable salsa. Taste carefully and season with .
Safe to pause here
From Jules Moreau
Instead of a bought achiote block, the recado is ground from whole annatto seeds, oregano and warm spices, so it tastes bright and earthy rather than flat. Bone-in shoulder cooked slowly in a banana leaf parcel stays juicy, and the sharp pickled onions and fiery habanero salsa cut straight through the richness.
Notes
- Sour orange: if you cannot find Seville (sour) oranges, use 2 parts fresh lime juice to 1 part fresh orange juice: 1 cup lime and 1/2 cup orange for the marinade, 1 1/3 cups lime and 2/3 cup orange for the onions.
- Grinding achiote: the seeds are rock hard. Grind them as fine as your spice grinder allows, in batches, and blend the marinade long enough that it no longer feels gritty between your fingers.
- Oven method: bake the banana leaf parcel, loosely covered with foil, in a 325 F (165 C) oven for about the same time, until the meat slips off the bone.
- Cutting the meat: ask the butcher to saw the bone-in shoulders into 3 inch (7.5 cm) cross sections.
- Serving: pile the pork into warm corn tortillas or onto tortas, with the drained onions and a cautious dab of salsa.
Storage
Cooked pork with its juices keeps covered in the fridge for a couple of days (without the banana leaves). Rewarm slowly, covered, in a 300 F oven. The onions keep about a week and the salsa several days in the fridge.
Make Ahead
Day 1: make the marinade. Day 2: blend it again and marinate the meat. Day 3: cook. The marinade holds a week or more in the fridge; once the pork is marinated, cook it within 24 hours.
When to Start
Plan backwards from a time
Filed under Main · Latin America › Mexico › Yucatan · Pork · Roast · Roasting · Slow Cooking · Cochinita Pibil. Tags: #banana leaf, #make-ahead, #party.
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