Cuban Lechon Asado Roasted Fresh Ham Recipes

CUBAN LECHON ASADO (ROASTED FRESH HAM)

Steps:

• The day before you plan to serve this dish, trim the excess fat off the pork leg; make shallow slits all over the pork, using the tip of a knife; mash the garlic, salt, oregano, cumin, pepper, bay leaf and olive oil to a paste in a mortar; rub this mixture all over the roast, forcing it into the slits; combine the sour orange juice, sherry, and onions in a small bowl; place the roast in a large, heavy plastic bag; add the sour OJ mixture, making sure that the whole roast gets covered with the mixture; refrigerate and marinate the roast in the bag overnight, turning occasionally during the time.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Drain the roast, and pat dry, reserving the marinade; place it in a lightly oiled, nonreactive, heavy roasting pan; cook the roast for 1 hour, turning once or twice to brown it on all sides.
• Reduce the heat to 325 degrees; pour the marinade and onions over the pork; tent the pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil; (tear off a piece that is 1 1/2 times the width of your pan; fold it in half and crease the top; open it up, and place over the pan like a tent, tightly crimping edges to seal) continue roasting the pork, basting from time to time with the pan juices, until almost cooked, about 1 hour; add a little water or sherry if the pan dries out.
• Uncover the roast and continue cooking until the internal temp reads*at least* 150 degrees F on a meat thermometer, about 30 minutes more; (most Cubans like the meat well done, so after sitting, it should be up to 180 degrees--it's safer, also).
• Let the roast stand for 10 minutes before carving.
• Note: this is traditionally served with black bean soup and white rice, and fried, sweet plantains; for dessert, serve a rich flan and you're set!

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.

ROAST PORK CUBAN STYLE (LECHON ASADO)

Steps:

• Mash the garlic, salt, and peppercorns together with a mortar and pestle.
• Add dried oregano, onion, and the sour orange to make a mash - mix thoroughly.
• Heat the olive oil in a 2-quart saucepan until hot, but NOT deep frying hot! We're looking for something in the neighborhood of 220 degrees F. Remove the saucepan from the heat source. Carefully add the mash to the hot oil and whisk gently. Let cool.
• Pierce the pork as many times as you can with a sharp knife or fork.
• Pour garlic mixture (save a little for roasting) over pork, cover and let sit in refrigerator for 2-3 hours or preferably overnight.
• OVEN.
• To roast in the oven, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place the pork, fattest side up, in an open roasting pan. Place pan in oven and reduce temperature to 225 degrees F. Spoon extra marinade over the roast occasionally as it cooks. When to temp, immediately cover with foil and let rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving. The roast will continue to cook after you remove it from the heat.
• GRILL.
• Use a covered grill, such as the Webber kettle or a covered gas grill. Bank the coals to each side, leaving an empty space beneath your ham. If using a gas grill, use front and rear burners only. The idea is to cook with indirect heat. You want a low heat.
• Spoon extra marinade over the roast occasionally as it cooks. If not using a gas grill, add charcoal to the sides as needed to maintain roasting temperature. When to temp, immediately cover with foil and let rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving. The roast will continue to cook after you remove it from the heat.
• STOVETOP OR CROCKPOT.
• Place ham in a large Dutch oven, or a covered stock pan. Add about one cup of marinade to the pan. Bring to a boil. Adjust the heat to low, cover and cook until completely done. Add additional marinade as needed to keep at least one inch of liquid in bottom of pan so the roast will not burn.
• All methods internal temp 195F to pull with fork OR 170F to slice. The time of 7 yours is an estimate. Could be less, could be more.
• Servings based on the size of your ham. Allow about 1/4 to 1/2 pound per person, depending on side dishes.

LECHóN ASADO

Steps:

• Combine the juices, garlic, dried oregano, cumin (optional), and black pepper for the marinade in a blender and process until smooth. Set aside until ready to use.
• Place the pork in a large roasting pan. With the tip of a sharp knife, make numerous incisions into the meat (do not score the skin). Toss the marinade over the pork, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to marinate overnight, turning the meat several times if possible.
• Preheat the oven to 250°F.
• Bring the pork to room temperature. Remove the meat from the marinade, pat it dry, and reserve the marinade. Place the pork skin-side up inside the roasting pan and add the marinade back into the roasting pan. Cover the pork with aluminum foil and insert into the oven.
• Cook for 8 to 9 hours until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 170°F to 190°F near the bone, shreds easily, and the liquid runs clear when the meat is pierced.
• To get crisp skin, remove the pork from the oven and turn the oven up to 450°F. Once the oven is preheated, remove the foil from the pork and put it back in the oven. Check the pork every few minutes so the skin does not burn. Remove the pork when it has crisped nicely, 15 to 30 minutes total.
• Remove the pork from the oven and let it rest 15 to 20 minutes before carving. Discard the braising liquid. Serve in chunks and drizzle with Mojo Criollo sauce.

CUBAN ROASTED WHOLE PORK, CUBAN LECHON ASADO

Steps:

• The day before marinating the pig, squeeze the sour oranges, strain of all pulp and seeds. Peel the garlic bulbs removing the cloves into a large bowl. In your blender pour about 2 cups of the juice add a large handful of garlic cloves add half the oregano, half the cumin, 1 bay leaf, 1 tablespoon salt, and half the black pepper. Blend on high as if you were making a shake. Blend for about half a minute until all the garlic is liquified with the sour orange juice. Take the remaing juice, garlic cloves and spices and blend again until all is throughly blended. put into a large glass bottle or plastic bottle. Do not store in any metal container. Store overnight for flavors to meld.
• Next day your pig should be fresh or defrosted Open pig with a meat clever hitting along the spine so as to open the pork completely. Pork should lay flat open. With a sharp knife make deep slits between the ribs and along the inside of the pork shoulders and pork fresh ham thighs. Next take your 4/5 tablespoons of salt and throughly salt your pork completely. Do not be afraid to salt the pork. A whole pork sucks up a lot of salt. Rub the salt all inside the pork on the fresh ham legs and pork shoulders. With your fingers push the salt deep into the slits you made before. Use all of the salt. Rub over the slits in the ribs sticking your fingers deep into the slits so the pork will be salted inside. Next pour the citrus marinade all inside the pig into the slits of the ribs and with your fingers pushing the marinade into the deep slits in the pork meat. Use about 12 ounces and only pour inside the pig. Do not marinate the pig on the outside. The skin is to tough so the marinade will not penetrate the thick skin. Leave your pig lying on its back face up so the marinade will penetrate the meat. We leave the pork with the marinade for about 12 hours.
• The next day the pig can be roasted in the Caja China the Cuban roasting box or some people dig a long deep hole in the ground and line the bottom with a large layer of charcoals about 8 or 9 pounds half of a very large bag they mound them up and light the pile with lighter fuel and leave the coals catch and light real good when the coals start to turn white they spread them in a large lawyer in the bottom of the hole spread the length of the hole. Two large cinder blocks are used one on each side. the pig is laying in a very large metal rack or tray that is special made to hold the a whole pig up to 65 to 75 pound pig. Another large metal tray is layed over the pig and then large banana leaves are spred over the top to ensure no heat escapes. Roasting the pig in a pit takes a lot longer because after an hour or two you have to remove the tray add more coal and ensure it is lit to continue roasting the pig. A much easier way is to order a Caja China on the internet. You can type in Caja China Roasting Box or Cuban Caja China. This translates to The Chinese Roasting Box which is the name the Cubans have given it. The invention however is totaly Cuban. If you order your Caja China you will have a much easier time of roasting your pig. the heat sourse comes from the top and circulates all around your pig in the box. Your pig will not burn it will cook a lot faster and a 65 to 75 pounder as we did this Christmas cooked in six hours. The first three hours we did not uncover the pig. We lit and added a total of 8 to 9 pounds of charcoal on the top of the lid at two hour intervals. The pig came out after three hours and was turned over and roasted in the box back side up so as to crisp and brown the skin. The pig came out succulent, juicy and the meat moist. The skin came out crispy and crackly. Totaly delicious. Once your pig is roasted you can take it out and cut the pork in small pieces sprinkle the remaing marinade over the meat basting the meat and serving with the traditional black beans and rice, yucca or casava and fried sweet plantains. A traditional avacado salad and Cuban tamales is also served with the roasted pork. Whole roasted pig is traditionaly made for Christmas Eve and New Years Eve dinner. However is is not uncommon for Cuban families to roast pigs for special family get togethers any time of the year. Enjoy.