Cebu Lechon Manok Baked Recipes

LECHON MANOK (PINOY ROAST CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Combine onion, garlic, calamansi juice, fish sauce, salt, black pepper, and brown sugar in a bowl to make marinade.
• Place chicken in a roasting pan. Rub marinade over chicken, including inside the cavity. Let chicken marinate in the refrigerator, about 4 hours. Reserve leftover marinade in the bowl.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Trim lemongrass, discarding tough outer stalks. Pound inner stalks with a heavy object until bruised. Place lemongrass and bay leaves inside the chicken cavity.
• Stir oil into the leftover marinade in the bowl.
• Roast chicken in the preheated oven, basting with the oil mixture from time to time, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), 60 to 90 minutes.
• Remove chicken from the oven and allow to rest in a warm area for 15 minutes before serving.

RICO'S LECHON PORK CUBAN STYLE

Steps:

• For the pork marinade: Rinse the pork with warm water and place on a half-sheet pan preferably 1 to 2 inches deep. Carefully stab 8 to 10 slits with the tip of a chef's knife in different areas of the meat. (Note: If you are using a pork shoulder instead, cut under the thick cap of fat using a fillet knife, cutting while pulling the fat out of the way to one side, revealing the meat; do not remove the layer of fat, just detach it to make way for stabbing slits with your knife.) Using your hands, fill all the slits with garlic cloves, pressing them down into each slit. Add salt and pepper and spread evenly. Pour lemon and lime juices over the pork. Add the achiote, coriander and oregano. Using your hands, massage and spread evenly. Pour the olive oil and spread evenly. Let the pork rest at room temperature for 2 hours.
• For the blending ingredients: Add the onions, basil, olives, olive oil, green onions, green peppers, lemon, red pepper, yellow pepper and 2 quarts water to a blender. Blend until thick. Set aside.
• For the mojo marinade: Stir together the achiote, lemon and lime juices, olive oil, garlic, coriander, cumin, salt, pepper and orange slices in a bowl.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Transfer the pork to a deeper roasting pan, preferably 4 inches deep. Add the blending mixture by pouring it evenly over the pork. Now pour the mojo marinate evenly over the pork. Add water, making sure to pour on the sides of the pan and not on top of the pork, and fill at least two-thirds of the way. Cover the pork with foil, sealing tight, and place in the oven. Roast 3 1/2 hours, then remove the foil and turn the oven up to 425 degrees F. Continue to roast for an additional hour.
• Serve hot with your favorite rice and beans.