Caribbean Braised Pork With Citrus Recipes

SLOW-ROASTED PORK WITH CITRUS AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Pulse the garlic, oregano, thyme, coriander and cumin seeds, bay leaves, 2 tablespoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper in a food processor to make a thick paste. Trim off all but a thin layer of fat from the pork, then make deep slits all over the roast (about every 2 inches) with a paring knife. Rub the spice paste over the pork and into the slits.
• Mix the citrus juices, Worcestershire sauce and olive oil in a large glass bowl. Submerge the pork in the marinade and top with the onions and reserved orange and lemon peels. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 8 hours or up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature 1 hour before roasting.
• Preheat the oven to 450. Remove the citrus peels from the bowl and refrigerate. Place the pork on a rack in a large roasting pan (reserve the marinade and onions); roast, uncovered, about 1 hour. Add the marinade to the pan and pile the onions on top of the meat. Cover with foil, lower the oven temperature to 350 and roast 2 more hours. Uncover, place the citrus peels around the pork and continue to roast, basting occasionally, until the meat browns and a thermometer inserted into the bottom half registers 190, 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours.
• Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile, skim any excess fat from the pan juices. Slice the pork and serve with the onion and pan juices. Garnish with citrus peels.

BRAISED PORK IN ORANGE SAUCE (CARNE DE PUERCO A LA NARANJA)

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pot, add pork cubes and saute over medium-high heat until cubes start to brown, about 10 minutes. The cubes may give off a lot of water; if so, continue cooking and stirring until water evaporates. Add caramel coloring and continue cooking and stirring until pieces are a rich brown. Do not let caramel coloring burn.
• Add all the remaining ingredients except the flour and orange juice paste. Stir to mix well. Then add flour paste and mix well so there are no lumps in the sauce. Lower heat to barely simmering, cover pan and leave to cook 1 hour or longer, until pork cubes are tender and sauce is thick and unctuous.
• Serve immediately, removing bay leaves, cinnamon stick and fresh thyme sprig. Garnish with thin slices of unpeeled orange or orange wedges, and serve with rice and beans, and West Indian vegetables, such as yams, yautia and malanga.

CARIBBEAN BRAISED PORK WITH CITRUS

Steps:

• Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl and add the pork, stirring to coat the meat.
• Refrigerate covered overnight, stirring occasionally.
• Remove the pork from the marinade, reserve the marinade.
• Heat the oil in a large pot over high heat and brown the pork in batches.
• Transfer the pork to a plate and add the reserved marinade to the pot, stirring to dissolve the brown bits in the bottom of the pot.
• Cook until the marinade is reduced by half and add the pork and remaining ingredients.
• Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer covered until the meat is tender, about 1 hour.
• Serve garnished with cilantro and lime wedges.

CITRUS-BRAISED PORK

Steps:

• Mix orange juice, onion, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, brown sugar, salt, oregano, cumin, lime zest, pepper, and bay leaves in a heavy Dutch oven. Add pork shoulder; turn to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator, 4 hours to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Remove Dutch oven from the refrigerator and cover tightly with aluminum foil.
• Bake pork in the preheated oven until heated through, about 1 1/2 hours. Flip pork carefully. Replace foil and bake for 1 hour more. Remove aluminum foil. Continue baking uncovered, turning once halfway through, until pork falls apart and marinade is reduced, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Remove pork from oven and let rest for 20 minutes. Shred pork in the Dutch oven using 2 forks; mix shredded pork with the reduced marinade. Discard bay leaves.

PORK SHOULDER "PERNIL" WITH CILANTRO-CITRUS ADOBO

Steps:

• Place the pork, fat side up, in a roasting pan fitted with a rack insert, and using a sharp knife, score the surface of the meat with small slits. Prepare the adobo: In a food processor, add the garlic, oregano, cilantro, cumin, salt, and pepper. Add lime juice and orange juice. Drizzle in olive oil and pulse until you have a nice puree. Rub the marinade all over the pork, being sure to get into the incisions so the salt can penetrate the meat and pull out the moisture - this will help form a crust on the outside when cooked.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Roast the pork for 3 hours, uncovered, until the skin is crispy-brown. Let the meat rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes before slicing, covered lightly with aluminum foil. Drizzle with lime juice and garnish with cilantro.

ORANGE AND MILK-BRAISED PORK CARNITAS

Steps:

• Season pork with pepper and salt.
• Heat oil in large pot over high heat. Working in batches, cook pork in the hot oil until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Return all cooked pork and accumulated juice to pot.
• Season pork with bay leaves, cumin, dried oregano, and cayenne pepper. Stir in fresh orange juice, orange zest, and milk. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until meat is fork tender but not falling apart, about 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Remove pork from liquid. Skim some fat from the pot to grease a baking dish. Transfer the pieces of pork to the baking dish. Drizzle about 2 more tablespoons of the floating fat over the meat. Season with more salt, if needed.
• Bake in preheated oven until pork is browned, about 15 minutes. Stir pork.
• Turn on oven's broiler. Cook pork under broiler until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes.

CARIBBEAN CITRUS PORK

Steps:

• Remove the white membranes and seeds from the orange segments; set aside.
• Heat oil in a skillet over mdim-high heat.
• Season pork medallions with salt and pepper; add to pan and cook, turning once, until pork loses its pink color, about 6 minutes Remove from pan and set aside.
• Heat butter in the skillet; cook shallots, bell pepper and chili until softened, about 3 minutes.
• Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stir in broth, rum, brown sugar, ginger and lime juice.
• Cook to reduce by half; about 3 minutes.
• Return pork to pan with orange segments; cook to heat through, 3 minutes.
• Serve over rice if desired.

CARNITAS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large Dutch oven, combine pork, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and the oregano, and toss to evenly coat the meat in the spices. Squeeze orange juice all over the pork and add the juiced orange quarters to the pot. Add onion, garlic, cinnamon stick and bay leaf, and toss until well incorporated, nestling everything in an even layer. Drizzle oil evenly over the meat. Cover and braise in oven until pork is tender, about 2 1/2 hours, stirring once halfway through the cooking.
• Heat broiler to high, setting a rack 6 inches from the heat source. Transfer pork to a rimmed baking sheet and shred the meat. Strain juices from the pot through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing on the solids; discard solids. Skim fat from top and reserve the juices.
• Broil pork until golden and crisp in spots, about 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer carnitas to serving plates and drizzle with some of the reserved juices. Serve warm with tortillas and toppings of choice.