Cochinita Pibil Yucatán Style Barbecued Pork Recipes

COCHINITA PIBIL

Steps:

• Poke holes all over the pork with a fork. Rub achiote paste all over the pork, and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the orange juice, lemon juice, and habanero peppers. Mix in the cumin, paprika, chili powder, coriander, salt and pepper. Place pork in the mixture, cover, and refrigerate overnight, turning two or three times.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Wrap the pork and marinade in aluminum foil or banana leaves that have been soaked in water for 30 minutes. Place into a casserole dish, and cover.
• Bake for about 2 hours, until the meat falls off the bone. The slower you cook it, the better it is. You could also bake it in a 200 degrees F (95 degrees C) oven for 4 or 5 hours, or in a slow cooker without the foil or leaves.
• While the pork is cooking, make the sauce. Bring the red wine vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan. Add onions, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until tender. Pour sauce over pork, and serve with white rice and corn tortillas. Each person can make tacos or fajitas with the pork, the rice and the sauce.

PORK MIMI'S WAY, YUCATAN STYLE: COCHINITA PIBIL

Steps:

• Prepare marinade with the orange juice, vinegar, achiote, garlic, and salt, to taste, and mix thoroughly. Rub the mixture into the meat and marinate at room temperature for 1 hour, or refrigerated, for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Line a roaster pan with heavy foil and arrange the marinated pork in it, covering the meat with the marinade. Cover pan with foil tightly and bake for 2 to 3 hours. Check often and turn pieces of meat in their own juices. Roasting times vary according to the toughness of the meat.
• Chop meat into cubes and discard any fatty parts. Serve with a basket of freshly made corn tortillas.

COCHINITA PIBIL - YUCATAN STYLE BARBECUED PORK -

Steps:

• Grind the annato seeds (or achiote paste) and cumin seeds to a powder in a spice or coffee grinder, add the oregano, allspice, cinnamon, salt, coriander and chile powder and grind until the spices are thoroughly mixed. Place the powder in a small bowl, mix in the garlic, orange juice and lime juice. You want a smooth paste that spreads easily. If the rub seems dry add a little more juice.
• MARINADE: Pierce the pork all over and rub in the 2 teaspoons salt and 2 tablespoons orange juice. Set aside while you prepare the seasoning paste. Dilute the achiote paste in the lime and orange juice. Add salt and pepper to taste as well as chicken bouillon if desired. The mixture should be a thick paste. Coat the pork with the paste and marinate the pork in the achiote-juice mixture in a covered dish in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours. Marinating is essential to succes, so this step cannot be skipped. Prepare the hot salsa, cool and refrigerate until serving time.
• WRAP AND ROASTING: Preheat oven to 325ºF. In a rectangular pan lined with foil lenghtwise and another along its width. Place the marinated pork, pouring all the marinade on top of it and pour the vegetable oil over the pork. Fold the foil over the pork and flip the wrapped pork seam-side down in the pan. Cover with foil. (Some people just choose to cover the pork with foil without the banana leaves because they think they are just for show. However, the leaves do add their own unique, subtle flavor to the pork).
• Bake for 2 hours. Remove from oven and carefully remove foil. The pork should be very tender and fall apart easily when pulled with a fork. If not, return to the oven and cook until tender. Shred pork with 2 forks when done. Serve the cochinita pibil with warm corn tortillas and eat taco style. If prefered, serve it sandwich-style on warm bread. In either case, don't forget the pickled onion habanero salsa if you like it VERY SPICY!.
• TO MAKE THE HOT SALSA - BE VERY CAREFULL AND USE GLOVES:
• Toast the habanero chiles in a skillet over medium heat and don't smell it directly. Remove from heat and cool. Finely chop the chiles and add the onion, lime and orange juice. Add salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving with the cochinita pibil. Be prepared: it is a very hot salsa.