Cuban slow roasted pork, also known as "lechon asado," is a traditional Latin American dish that is a cornerstone of Cuban cuisine. This succulent pork dish is a staple at celebrations and is popular among locals and tourists alike. The key to a great Cuban slow roasted pork lies in the slow cooking process, which tenderizes the meat and infuses it with an explosion of flavors. Our comprehensive guide will take you step-by-step through the process of making this mouthwatering dish, from selecting the right cut of pork to creating a flavorful marinade. Whether you are an experienced cook or a novice in the kitchen, we have all the tips and tricks to help you create an unforgettable Cuban slow roasted pork that will leave your taste buds dancing.
Here are our top 8 tried and tested recipes!
CUBAN-STYLE ROAST PORK
Fragrant, savory, and succulent pork roast the whole family will love. Serve with cumin scented black beans, and mashed sweet potatoes.
Provided by Michele Kerr Fielding
Categories World Cuisine Recipes Latin American Caribbean
Time 2h48m
Yield 8
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Grind garlic, salt, black pepper, cumin, oregano, and coriander into a paste using a mortar and pestle.
- Transfer half of the garlic and spice paste to a bowl; add lime juice, orange juice, olive oil, and vinegar. Beat the mixture with a whisk until smooth.
- Cut several inch-long, deep slits into the fatty side of the pork roast. Rub the reserved garlic paste into the slits.
- Put rubbed roast into a gallon-size resealable plastic bag. Pour the liquid mixture over the roast, squeeze as much air from the bag as possible and seal; refrigerate, turning occasionally, 8 hours to overnight.
- Remove pork roast from refrigerator, put into a roasting pan, and let warm at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Roast pork in preheated oven for 30 minutes, reduce heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and continue cooking until pork is no longer pink in the center, about 2 hours more. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 170 degrees F (75 degrees C).
Nutrition Facts : Calories 265.1 calories, Carbohydrate 2.1 g, Cholesterol 85.5 mg, Fat 14.8 g, Fiber 0.4 g, Protein 29.4 g, SaturatedFat 4.1 g, Sodium 539.9 mg, Sugar 0.6 g
SLOW-COOKER CUBAN PORK
Provided by Food Network Kitchen
Categories main-dish
Time 7h25m
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Toss the onion, bell pepper, cilantro and garlic with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker. Rub the pork chops with the cumin, 3/4 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper; add to the slow cooker. Drizzle with the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil, squeeze in the juice of 1 orange and add the squeezed orange halves. Cover and cook on low until the pork is very tender, 7 to 8 hours.
- Cook the rice as the label directs, sprinkling the peas on top of the rice during the last 3 minutes of cooking. Remove the pork chops to a bowl; discard the bones and orange halves and shred the meat with 2 forks. Stir the vinegar and the juice of 1/2 orange into the slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper; add the juice from the remaining 1/2 orange to taste.
- Return the pork to the slow cooker. Fluff the rice with a fork, stirring in the peas. Serve the pork with the rice; top with cilantro.
CUBAN-STYLE OVEN-ROASTED PORK
Letting the cooked roast rest for a full hour will yield noticeably more tender meat. This roast has a crispy skin that should be served along with the meat. Top the meat with Mojo Sauce (see related recipe). Traditional accompaniments include black beans, rice, and fried plantains. Cook's Illustrated Note: I have made this about 4 times and I have only used the shoulder once and it was amazing! I have never eaten cracklin before but it was so good on this. The other times I made it with pork loin and I learned to halve the recipe due to them being half the weight. IT was pretty intense at full strength esp. with the brine. My grandfather was Cuban and I'm sure he never made it this way, but now I will never make it any other way!
Provided by nsomniak6
Categories Pork
Time P1DT7h
Yield 1 roast, 6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- TO BRINE THE PORK: With sharp paring knife, cut 1-inch-deep slits (about 1 inch long) all over roast, spaced about 2 inches apart. Dissolve sugar and salt in 6 quarts cold water in stockpot or large bucket. Stir in garlic and orange juice. Submerge pork in brine and refrigerate 18 to 24 hours.
- TO APPLY THE GARLIC-CITRUS PASTE: Process garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper in food processor until they reach consistency of coarse paste, about ten 1-second pulses. With machine running, add orange juice, vinegar, and oil through feed tube and process until mixture forms smooth, wet paste, about 20 seconds. Remove pork from brine and rinse under cool running water; pat dry with paper towels. Rub paste all over pork and into slits. Refrigerate pork while oven is preheating to 325 degrees with rack in lower-middle position.
- TO ROAST THE PORK: Place pork with skin side down on wire rack set over rimmed baking sheet or in roasting pan with rack. Cook, uncovered, 3 hours. Flip roast skin side up and continue to cook until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 190 degrees, about 3 hours more, lightly tenting roast with foil if skin begins to get too dark.
- Transfer roast to cutting board and let rest 1 hour. To carve, first remove skin in one large piece. Scrape off and discard top layer of fat, then cut pork away from bone in 3 or 4 large pieces. Slice each piece against grain into 1/4-inch slices. To serve skin, scrape excess fat from underside and cut into strips. Drizzle Mojo Sauce (see related recipe) over pork just before serving.
SLOW COOKER CUBAN PORK
This is from an authentic Cuban recipe site, although I couldn't tell you how "authentic" it is, considering I have never been to Cuba. Serve with black beans and rice. Authentic or not, however, this recipe is amazing, especially the second day on a Cubano sandwich!
Provided by duetfreak
Categories World Cuisine Recipes Latin American Caribbean
Time 10h30m
Yield 12
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Cut pork loin into 3 equal pieces.
- Turn a slow cooker to Low. Add orange juice, lime juice, lemon juice, and peppercorns, then add onion.
- Mix garlic, salt, and oregano into a paste and rub all over pork pieces. Place pork in the slow cooker.
- Cook on Low until pork is slightly pink in the center, 9 to 10 hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C). Pull apart meat with 2 forks and let sit for 1 hour before serving.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 298.2 calories, Carbohydrate 7.6 g, Cholesterol 89.6 mg, Fat 15.4 g, Fiber 0.9 g, Protein 31.3 g, SaturatedFat 5.8 g, Sodium 1176.1 mg, Sugar 2.8 g
CUBAN ROAST PORK RECIPE
Steps:
- Gather your ingredients. If your pork loin isn't wrapped in string you can choose to do so. It also works without the string.
- Whisk together the olive oil, oregano, cumin, paprika, brown sugar, garlic, orange juice, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
- Add the pork loin to the marinade. You can do this in a large plastic bag or in a large bowl, covered with plastic wrap. Place the pork in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, but ideally overnight. Turn the pork once if you can if it is in a bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Add the pork loin to your roasting pan rack fat side up. Place the rack in the middle position of the oven. Put the roasting pan in the oven and bake for about an hour or until the internal temperature reaches 165 F. The cooking time will vary based on the thickness of the roast.
- Allow the roast to rest for about 10 minutes. Remove the strings if they were in place.
- Cut the roast into round. You can decide what thickness you want. If you are using it for a sandwich, then cut them on the thinner side.
- Serve the roast pork with your favorite Cuban sides like rice and beans or plantains, or use slices in a Cubano or medianoche sandwich.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 837 kcal, Carbohydrate 16 g, Cholesterol 272 mg, Fiber 1 g, Protein 91 g, SaturatedFat 12 g, Sodium 695 mg, Sugar 13 g, Fat 44 g, ServingSize 1 roast (serves 4), UnsaturatedFat 0 g
CUBAN STYLE SLOW ROASTED MARINATED PORK
Provided by Lord Byron's Kitchen
Time 17h
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- Begin by washing the pork under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Transfer the pork to a glass dish and set aside.
- Next, whisk together the garlic, olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, salt, oregano, onion powder, cumin, chili powder, sugar, and black pepper.
- Rub this half of the mixture over the surface of the roast. Flip the roast over and rub the remaining mixture into the pork.
- Wrap the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate the pork to marinate for a minimum of 12 hours. Do not let the pork marinate for more than 18 hours.
- An hour or two before you're ready to start the roasting process, remove the pork from the fridge and let the pork come back to room temperature.
- In the meantime, cut up the onions and place them under the pork. Nestle the pork roast on top of the bed of sliced onions. Pour one cup of water into the pan.
- With the oven preheated to 425 degrees, bake the pork, uncovered, for 1 hour.
- Lower the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees and bake the pork, covered with aluminum foil, for 3 hours. Check the pork every 30 minutes. Add half cup of water if the pan is starting to dry out. You want to keep the moisture in the pan.
- After 3 hours has passed, remove the aluminum foil and increase the heat to 425 degrees. Bake for 30 more minutes.
- Next, turn off the heat and leave the pork in the oven for 30 more minutes.
- Before slicing, allow the pork to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
CROCK POT CUBAN PORK ROAST
Make and share this Crock Pot Cuban Pork Roast recipe from Food.com.
Provided by Audrey M
Categories Roast Beef
Time 10h20m
Yield 10 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- To prepare marinade for pork roast mix together fruit juices, water, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt, pepper, and bay leaves in a small mixing bowl.
- If necessary, trim fat from pork roast.
- With a large meat fork, pierce meat several times.
- Place roast in a large Ziploc bag; add marinade.
- Marinade in refrigerator for 6 to 24 hours; turning several times.
- Place onion in bottom of slow cooker topped with meat and marinade.
- Cook on low for 10 to 12 hours or High 5 to 6 hours.
- Remove meat from slow cooker and cool slightly before carving.
- Skim fat from gravy.
- Shred meat; remove onions with a large slotted spoon and add meat.
- Remove bay leaves and discard.
- Serve meat in flour tortillas with small bowls of gravy.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 472.3, Fat 36.7, SaturatedFat 12.7, Cholesterol 128.9, Sodium 240.9, Carbohydrate 3.1, Fiber 0.3, Sugar 1.4, Protein 30.6
CUBAN PORK ROAST
A citrus and spice marinade seasons this moist, tender roast. "The pork is flavorful but mild, so everyone likes it," says Virginia Cronk of Little Torch Key, Florida. "You can serve it Cuban-style with black beans and rice, or make a traditional Cuban sandwich of pork, ham, Swiss cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, mustard, mayonnaise and dill pickle." -Virginia Cronk, Little Torch Key, Florida
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Dinner
Time 1h10m
Yield 12 servings.
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Pour half of the marinade into a large resealable plastic bag; add the pork roast. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 2 hours. Refrigerate remaining marinade., Drain and discard marinade from pork. Place roast in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Pour reserved marinade over the roast. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. , Cover and bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Uncover; baste with pan drippings. Bake 15 minutes longer or until a thermometer reads 145°. Discard bay leaves. Let roast stand for 10 minutes before slicing.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 168 calories, Fat 6g fat (2g saturated fat), Cholesterol 66mg cholesterol, Sodium 88mg sodium, Carbohydrate 1g carbohydrate (0 sugars, Fiber 0 fiber), Protein 26g protein. Diabetic Exchanges
Tips:
- Choose the right cut of meat: Pork shoulder (also known as pork butt) is the best cut of meat for Cuban slow-roasted pork. It is a tough cut of meat, but it becomes tender and flavorful when cooked slowly.
- Use a flavorful marinade: The marinade is what gives the pork its flavor, so make sure to use a flavorful one. The recipe in the article uses a marinade made with garlic, cumin, oregano, and orange juice.
- Cook the pork slowly: Cuban slow-roasted pork is cooked for a long time at a low temperature. This allows the meat to become tender and fall apart easily.
- Use a Dutch oven or slow cooker: A Dutch oven or slow cooker is the best way to cook Cuban slow-roasted pork. These appliances allow the meat to cook slowly and evenly.
- Serve the pork with traditional Cuban sides: Cuban slow-roasted pork is traditionally served with white rice, black beans, and a side salad.
Conclusion:
Cuban slow-roasted pork is a delicious and flavorful dish that is perfect for a special occasion. It is easy to make, but it does take some time to cook. So, be sure to plan ahead. If you follow the tips in this article, you will be able to make a delicious Cuban slow-roasted pork that your family and friends will love.
Are you curently on diet or you just want to control your food's nutritions, ingredients? We will help you find recipes by cooking method, nutrition, ingredients...
Check it out »
You'll also love