Mark Bittman's Pernil (Cuban Roast Pork)

Name: Mark Bittman's Pernil (Cuban Roast Pork)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 h
Total time: 5 h 15 min
Yield: 6-8 serving(s)
Ingredients: 1 (4 -7 lb) pork shoulder (or use fresh ham); 4 garlic cloves, peeled (you can use more garlic, this is the minimum); 1 large onion, quartered; 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves or 1 tablespoon dried oregano; 1 tablespoon ground cumin; 1 teaspoon dried ancho chile powder or 1 teaspoon other mild chili powder; 1 tablespoon salt; 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper; olive oil, as needed; 1 tablespoon wine or 1 tablespoon cider vinegar; lime wedge, for serving

Submitted by evelynathens

"Unconventional in some of the additions, but delicious. Cooking time is approximate as it depends on the size of your roast."

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Ready In:: 5hrs 15mins
Ingredients:: 11
Serves:: 6-8

ingredients

1 (4 -7 lb) pork shoulder (or use fresh ham)
4 garlic cloves, peeled (you can use more garlic, this is the minimum)
1 large onion, quartered
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves or 1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried ancho chile powder or 1 teaspoon other mild chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
olive oil, as needed
1 tablespoon wine or 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
lime wedge, for serving

directions

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Score meat’s skin with a sharp knife, making a cross-hatch pattern. Pulse garlic, onion, oregano, cumin, chili, salt and pepper together in a food processor, adding oil in a drizzle and scraping down sides as necessary, until mixture is pasty. (Alternatively, mash ingredients in a mortar and pestle.) Blend in the vinegar.
Rub this mixture well into pork, getting it into every nook and cranny. Put pork in a roasting pan and film bottom with water. Roast pork for several hours (a 4-pound shoulder may be done in 3 hours), turning every hour or so and adding more water as necessary, until meat is very tender. Finish roasting with the skin side up until crisp, raising heat at end of cooking if necessary.
Let meat rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting it up; meat should be so tender that cutting it into uniform slices is almost impossible; rather, whack it up into chunks. Serve with lime.