Recipe Cochinita Pibil

CraigC

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Cochinita Pibil

Ingredients

1 medium white onion, cut in quarters
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup achiote paste**
1/3 cup fresh orange juice*
1/3 cup fresh lime juice*

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano, preferably Mexican
2 teaspoons coarse salt (kosher or sea)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pork shoulder roast (4 to 5 pounds)
Fresh or frozen banana leaves or a 12 x 24 inch sheet of aluminum foil (optional)
*Note, If you have access to sour oranges (Seville oranges), Use 2/3 cup of fresh juice to replace the orange and lime Juice.
**Note, Achiote paste is made from annotto seeds.

Method

1)Heat a dry frying pan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and garlic until they are nicely browned on all sides: 8 to 10 minutes for the onion, 4 to 6 minutes for the garlic.
2)Place the onion, garlic, achiote paste, orange juice, lime juice, vinegar, oregano, salt, and pepper in a blender jar and puree until smooth.
3)With a sharp knife, make shallow slits (about 1/2 inch) on the surface of the meat.
4)Place the pork shoulder in a deep bowl just large enough to hold it or in a large resealable plastic bag.
5)Pour the marinade over the pork and marinate for at least 4 hours, or more ideally, overnight, turning two or three times.
6)Wrap the pork in banana leaves (or in aluminum foil), pinning the leaves shut with toothpicks or bamboo skewers.
7)When ready to cook, set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium (350 degrees F). If using a charcoal grill, put an aluminum drip pan in the center. Brush and oil the grill grate.
8)Place the pork shoulder in the center of the grill, over the drip pan, and away from the heat. Cover, and indirect grill until the pork is cooked through inside. Cooking time will be 3 to 5 hours. To test for doneness, insert an instant-read thermometer in the meat; the temperature should be about 198F to 205F.
9)Transfer the pibil to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minute. If you need to keep the pibil for later, wrap in foil (banana leaves in place), cover with a kitchen towel and stick in an empty cooler. I did this with a pork shoulder and drove 2-1/2 hours to my brother's house. It sat on a counter for another hour. Tried to "pull" it with my fingers big mistake as it was still hot enough to burn fingers.
10)Pull out and discard the shoulder bone and any large lumps of fat.
11)Finely shred the pork, using 2 forks, or finely chop with a cleaver. If you have any drippings from the drip pan, you can stir in a few spoonfuls.
12)Transfer the meat to a platter. Serve the pibil on warm tortillas (warm them for 10 seconds per side on the grill). Serve with Yucatecan Pickled Onions (red onion, sliced thin and pickled in lime juice with a pinch of salt and Pico de Gallo or what ever sauce or salsa you like.

Marinated and placed on the banana leaves
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Wrapped and ready for the grill (BGE in my case)
36788-albums991-picture5960.jpg

Done and ready to pull. I did wrap it in foil to keep it hot.
36788-albums991-picture5966.jpg

Pulled for our tacos. We almost didn't have the tacos as we kept stuffing our faces during the pulling.
36788-albums991-picture5967.jpg
 
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I've bought the pork shoulder from an excellent butcher here in Saffron Walden where I'm staying. Here it is sold with the skin on so that when roasted you get crispy crackling. I'll marinate overnight.

Question: do I remove the skin (reserving fat layer)? I am thinking I should - I can cook the crackling separately as a snack on its own - or even served with the Pibil.
 
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I've bought the pork shoulder from an excellent butcher here in Saffron Walden where I'm staying. Here it is sold with the skin on so that when roasted you get crispy crackling. I'll marinate overnight.

Question: do I remove the skin (reserving fat layer)? I am thinking I should - I can cook the crackling separately as a snack on its own - or even served with the Pibil.

How are you going to cook it and at what temperature?
 
Off topic perhaps, but this is the vertical rotisserie unit..was making Donairs - the "Halifax Pizza Corner" type..
It spatters a fair bit, hence the foil everywhere.

Ordered the unit from Australia, but as we have 120V here, I made a splitter for 240V (yes, it's kosher- quick220.com)
Works well ~1500W+ (measured)..a chefs jacket helps keep the belly cool while slicing :geek:


donair slab start 600g .jpg donair slab done.jpg machine wiring 240V 1.jpg
 
Off topic perhaps, but this is the vertical rotisserie unit..was making Donairs - the "Halifax Pizza Corner" type..
It spatters a fair bit, hence the foil everywhere.

Ordered the unit from Australia, but as we have 120V here, I made a splitter for 240V (yes, it's kosher- quick220.com)
Works well ~1500W+ (measured)..a chefs jacket helps keep the belly cool while slicing :geek:


View attachment 13817 View attachment 13818 View attachment 13819

Nice! Jealous...
 
The pibil is going in a very low oven (not really any alternative here), wrapped in foil for 3 to 4 hrs.

I don't know how long the sliced pieces will take to become tender. I did the whole piece and took it to between 198F and 205F internal, in order to "pull" it. It can be served as is. I would make some refried black beans and some type of rice. Pickled red onions and lime wedges for sure. Maybe a sliced avocado with salt and lime.
 
I'm very impressed by this pibil! The flavour of he achiote is unique and I can't understand why it hasn't caught on in the UK. I deviated a bit from your recipe @CraigC and I might post it up separately. I can see that it could also be good with hot chillies added to the marinade. A big thank you for inspiring me to eplore something new. Saw you post too late to add beans and avocado - but there is loads left over and I can see how both would work very well. I wished I'd had the avocado for the photos...

Here are before and after photos:

In the marinade:

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After 4 hrs in low oven:

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Dished up:

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fullsizeoutput_2c2a.jpeg
 
Excuse me for reviving this post, but I thought I´d share one of my first experiences in Mexico City.
I got off my flight at like 1pm, and my son, who picked me up, said " we´ve got to move - have to get to La Montejo before 2-30".
So we arrived at this lovely cantina around 2.15 - still almost empty - and picked a table. By 3pm, it was packed solid.
La Montejo is a Yucatan-cusine cantina, and their speciality is cochinito pibil. We were immediately served nacho chips, with a potent hot sauce; then came potato turnovers, which surprised me, but which were extraordinary. A chicken Mole like I´ve never eaten before, but the star was the pibil. The pork was pulled; literally tiny strings of long-cooked pork, and serve in tortillas. The "secret" to making it so delicious (and I asked the chef) is to pour a little bit of the cooking juices over the pork just before wrapping it in the tortilla. NOT hot - but the yucatan salsa which everyone piled on top ( diced habanero, lots of lime juice, and red onion), was.
A memorable meal - which continued until about 11pm.....
 
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