Mark Bittmans Pernil Recipes

MARK BITTMAN'S PERNIL (CUBAN ROAST PORK)

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:

• 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.

SLOW ROAST PORK SHOULDER WITH HERB RUB

Steps:

• Mix together herbs, garlic, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon sea salt and crushed peppercorns.
• Untie the pork if rolled. In a large bowl, thoroughly dissolve 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup brown sugar in 2 quarts of cold water. Add bay leaves and 2 tablespoons of herb mixture. Place pork in a container or strong sealable bag and add this brine to completely cover. Cover or seal well and chill for from 8 hours to overnight.
• Remove the pork from the brine (discard the brine) and dry thoroughly. Cover with the remaining herb mixture, patting it in all over, then use kitchen twine to roll up pork and secure it tightly.
• Heat the oven to 225 degrees. Prepare a triple layer of aluminum foil large enough to comfortably enclose the pork. Put the rolled pork on the foil, skin/fatty side up. Gather the foil, scrunching it over to form a loose but well-sealed parcel. Place in a roasting pan in the oven. Take the first check for the internal temperature after 8 hours. For very tender meat that can be sliced, it should be 160 degrees and will probably take 10 hours. Check more often if needed. For a "pulled pork" consistency, the internal temperature should be 200 degrees and it will take about 12 hours.
• Rest the meat 20 minutes before unwrapping completely. Warm the applesauce and the rolls. Slice the pork not too thin (removing the twine as you go) and put in the sliced rolls with some of the cooking juices and lots of applesauce.