Best Pernil Ever Recipes

PERNIL

Steps:

• Score the fat on the pork shoulder in a criss-cross hatch fashion. Then, cut deeply once in each direction across the pork, like you are going to cut it into four quarters, but then leave them attached at the bottom. Use a sharp knife to make about 20 slits, about 1 inch deep, all over the meat. Place the meat in a 13 x 9 baking pan, or another shallow baking pan large enough to comfortably hold the meat with some space around it.
• Combine the oil, garlic, fresh and dried oregano, Adobo, paprika, salt and pepper. Rub the mixture all over the meat, working it all over the surface and into the slits. Cover the pork with foil and refrigerate overnight.
• Bring the pork to room temperature, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300F°. Bake the pork, covered for 3 hours, then remove the foil and bake for another 3 to 4 hours at the same temperature, until the pork is fall-apart tender. The internal temperature should be at least 165°, but it may be higher, which is fine - it's most important that the meat is super tender. If you would like a crustier exterior, turn the heat to 375°F and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the outside of the pork has a nice browned crust.
• Let the pernil sit for at least 20 minutes, then use your fingers (if it's not too hot; some people like to wear kitchen gloves to protect their fingers from the heat), or two forks to pull the meat into chunks. Sprinkle the meat with the lemon and orange juice, season with additional salt and pepper, and serve hot or warm.

BEST PERNIL EVER

Steps:

• Crush garlic into small pieces in a mortar and pestle. Add olive oil, salt, oregano, and black pepper; mash into a paste.
• Make 12 deep incisions a few inches apart in the roast using a sharp knife. Pack the seasoned garlic paste evenly into the incisions and over the roast.
• Transfer roast to a large bowl. Pour in red wine, covering roast completely. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the refrigerator, 24 hours.
• Pour out red wine. Place roast fat-side up in a roasting pan; cover with aluminum foil. Let sit at room temperature, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place roast in the preheated oven; reduce temperature to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Bake until slightly pink in the center, about 4 hours.
• Increase temperature to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Uncover roast and continue baking until fat is crispy and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 160 degrees F (71 degrees C), about 1 hour more.
• Remove from oven and let rest before carving, 20 to 30 minutes.

DADDY EDDIE'S ROAST PORK (PERNIL), PUERTO RICAN-STYLE

Steps:

• Combine olive oil, vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt, and black pepper in a mortar and pestle; mash into a paste.
• Make deep slits into the pork with a small knife. Stuff slits with the paste; rub any remaining paste over the pork.
• Place pork in a plastic roasting bag and put in a roasting pan with a rack. Let marinate in the refrigerator, 8 to 48 hours.
• Take pork out of the refrigerator, uncover, and bring to room temperature, 1 to 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• Roast pork skin-side down in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 2 hours. Flip pork and continue roasting, skin-side up, until juices run clear and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C), 2 to 4 hours more.

THE BEST PUERTO RICAN PERNIL (PORK SHOULDER)

Steps:

• Make the marinade:.
• In medium bowl, combine garlic, lime juice, oregano, soy sauce, olive oil and salt and black pepper. Set aside.
• Wash the pernil in vinegar and water, pat dry with paper towel.
• Place on a cutting board fat side up.
• Leaving the fat in a single piece and attached at one end, use a knife to remove the layer of fat from the shoulder, opening it like a book to reveal the meat. Then, use the knife to poke 1-inch deep holes into the meat on all sides (about 20 holes).
• Place pernil in roasting pan skin side up. Rub the marinade all over the pernil, making sure you work it into to the holes. Return the skin back to its original position. Score the skin with diagonal cuts and sprinkle salt to taste over the skin.
• Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours.
• On day of Cooking:.
• Remove pernil from refrigerator 45 minutes before roasting.
• Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
• Add a little water to the roasting pan so that it comes up about 1/2 inch up the sides.
• Cook pernil uncovered for 1 hour. Turn oven temperature down to 225 degrees F, tent pernil loosely with aluminum foil, and cook for 8 hours. Remove foil and cook for 1 hour.
• Let pernil rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

PERNIL

Steps:

• 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.

PERNIL

Steps:

• Place the pork shoulder, fat-side up, on a cutting board. With a sharp knife, score the skin and fat in a cross-hatch pattern, making diagonal cuts about 1 1/2 inches apart and cutting down to the meat so the marinade can penetrate. Transfer the pork to a large re-sealable plastic bag set over a baking dish or bowl.
• To a blender, add the garlic, oregano, cilantro, cumin, lime juice, orange juice, chipotle and adobo sauce, 3 tablespoons salt and 1 tablespoon pepper. Drizzle in the olive oil and pulse until you have a nice puree. Pour the marinade all over the pork, being sure to get it into the deep cuts. Zip the bag closed and refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Add about a 1/2 inch water to a roasting pan fitted with a roasting rack. Remove the pork from the marinade and place in the center of the rack.
• Cover with foil and roast until the pork is fork tender and deep brown in color, 4 hours. Check on the pork after 3 1/2 hours; if skin is not deep brown, remove the foil for last 30 minutes. Transfer the pork to cutting board and let rest for 20 minutes before slicing into thick pieces. Spoon any remaining pan juices over the meat to serve.