Cuban Pork

Since stumbling into them many years ago in Miami’s Little Havana, Bev and I have maintained our fondness for Cuban sandwiches and have made a version of them on occasion.  Key components of the sandwich are the Cuban Pork and the Mojo sauce and Bev decided they would make a good Thursday night meal for our friends – not as sandwiches.

We had a 4½ lb. pork butt in the freezer along with 1½ lb. of country style ribs (which are just sliced-up pork butt) and we believed this would provide plenty of meat for all of us.  In an effort to get the sauce over more of the butt surface area and have it cook the same as the ribs, I broke it down into smaller pieces – except for the bone.

Bev found a recipe for Mojo Cuban Pork Roast on Nagi’s Recipe Tin Eats blog.  Since I had six pounds of meat, I increased the marinade amounts by 50% to get the recipe below.  You can click on the above link for the original recipe.

Mojo Cuban Pork – Adapted from Recipe Tin Eats

The Ingredients:

MARINADE

1 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 ½ cup cilantro / coriander, lightly packed

1 ½ tbsp orange zest

1 1/8 cup orange juice, fresh

¾ cup lime juice

1/3 cup mint leaves, lightly packed

12 garlic cloves

1½ tbsp fresh oregano leaves, packed (or 1/2 tbsp dried oregano)

3 tsp ground cumin

1½ tsp salt

1½ tsp black pepper

PORK

4½ lb pork butt, broken down into smaller pieces

1½ lb country pork ribs

MOJO SAUCE

3 tbsp lime juice

3/8 cup orange juice

Salt and pepper

The Instructions:

1. Combine Marinade ingredients in a food processor and blend until the herbs and garlic are finely chopped. Alternatively, you can finely chop/mince the garlic and herbs then mix all ingredients in a bowl.

2. Place in a large ziplock bag with the pork. Place in the fridge overnight (in a bowl, just to be safe).

3. Remove the pork from the Marinade and leave on counter for 1 hour (bring to room temp). Reserve the Marinade.

4. Preheat oven to 425°F.

5. Roast, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Base with pan juices.

6. Reduce heat to 375°F. Roast for another 1/2 - 1 hours, basting every half hour, until the internal temperature reaches 160°F. At this temperature, the pork is cooked, still juicy, and carvable, as it is intended to be.

7.Remove from the oven and place on a plate, loosely covered with foil. Rest for 20 minutes before serving with the Mojo Sauce on the side.

MOJO SAUCE

8. Place the reserved Marinade, Mojo Sauce ingredients and 2 tbsp of the roasting pan drippings into a small saucepan. Bring to boil and add salt and pepper to taste. You might also want to add more lime juice or even a touch of sugar. Turn the heat down and simmer for 1 minute, then remove from the stove and set aside.

The Verdict:

I forgot to get cooked shots, but it just looked like roast pork, then I cut it into bite-sized pieces for delivery to our friends along with the black beans some yellow rice and a container of sauce.

We ate our pork as Cuban sandwiches so I chopped the pork into smaller pieces and used the same method as I had for the Reubens.  On a plate, I added a slice of ham, the chopped pork and the cheese then nuked for a minute to warm it up.

I put it between two slices of French bread and used my homemade Panini press to mash it down while cooking in a skillet.

After removal from the pan, Bev added dill pickle and mustard and dipped it in the sauce to eat and she said it was outstanding and once again warming the meat stack before grilling worked perfectly.

I’m watching my carbs so ate my open-faced without grilling and topped with the sauce and it was also very good.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

1/7/21 event date