LECHÓN ASADO -- ROAST PORK CUBAN-STYLE

LECHÓN ASADO -- ROAST PORK CUBAN-STYLE image

Yield 4

Number Of Ingredients 13

Prep time:
Cook time: 4 to 8 hours
Total time:
Yield: 8 servings
INGREDIENTS:
6-pound fresh ham or pork shoulder roast
20 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 and 1/2 cups sour orange juice (If you can't get sour orange juice in your area, use two parts orange to one part lemon and one part lime)
1 cup onion, minced
1 teaspoon oregano
1 and 1/2 cups olive oil

Steps:

Mash the garlic, salt, and peppercorns together with a mortar and pestle. Add dried oregano, onion, and the sour orange to make a mash -- mix thoroughly. Heat the olive oil in a 2-quart saucepan until hot, but NOT deep frying hot! We're looking for something in the neighborhood of 220 degrees F. Remove the saucepan from the heat source. Carefully add the mash to the hot oil and whisk gently. Let cool. Pierce the pork as many times as you can with a sharp knife or fork. Pour garlic mixture (save a little for roasting) over pork, cover and let sit in refrigerator for 2-3 hours or preferably overnight. To roast in the oven, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place the fresh ham or pork shoulder, fattest side up, in an open roasting pan. Place pan in oven and reduce temperature to 225 degrees F. Spoon extra marinade over the roast occasionally as it cooks. Using a meat thermometer, roast should be removed from the oven when the internal temperature reaches 195 degrees F. -- for fork tender, "pulled-pork" quality. (If you want a roast you can slice, remove when the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F.) Immediately cover with foil and let rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.