Lechon Asado (Cuban Roasted Pork)

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As any of you who follow my Facebook page and my website here, you know I am currently in South Florida.  I have so many wonderful Latin friends and this has enabled me to learn more about Latin foods, especially Cuban dishes.  Some of you may know of my “Cuban Sister” in Key West – Olga.  When she and her husband Hank came into our lives it was like a blessing.  We truly became a “family” as if we always had been.  She has taught me so much about Cuban cooking.  She makes the most amazing Cuban meals and desserts.  She was the inspiration to my Bistec en Cazuela (Cuban Steak In a Pot).

So for our Christmas Eve dinner I decided to do the traditional Christmas Eve Meal which includes the Lechon Asado. Cuban style roast pork, aka lechon asado , is traditionally made by roasting a whole pig (like Olga descibes in the video below) until cooked and the skin is nice and crispy but I am going to make a smaller cut of pork, say the shoulder in the oven. Lechon asado is made in many different spanish speaking countries and what makes this one Cuban is the Cuban style mojo sauce marinade. The mojo sauce is made with sour orange juice and
plenty or garlic along with some oregano and cumin and it is used to both marinate the pork before roasting and also at the table for drizzling or dipping.

I’ve included the video making this meal and brought Olga in to assist via Zoom.  We had to fix up the video here and there because it was hard to see the computer monitor.  Still learning how to insert video in a video….LOL

So here is the recipe.  I hope y’all enjoy it, I know it went very quick in our house.

Ingredients:

• 1 bone in, skin on pork shoulder
• 20 cloves garlic – minced
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups sour orange juice (or 1 cup orange juice + 1/2 cup lime juice)
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 large onion, sliced

1. Mince the garlic and then using a sharp knife, make 1-2 inch slits all over the pork and push the garlic down into the holes.
2. Mix remaining ingredients.  Place the pork shoulder in large bag or bowl and cover with the marinade.
3. Refrigerate 1-2 days prior to roasting.
4. Roast at 350° oven for 5-6 hours to be able to slice, or 7-8 hours to make pulled pork which I did.
5. To crisp up the skin, you can put in a preheated 425° oven for 20 minutes, then reduce to 350° for remaining cooking time.