Cuban Pork Roast

inDinner Recipes, Double Duty Recipes, Pork Recipes, Recipes, Recipes for Leftovers
  • YIELDS | 12-16 SERVINGS
  • PREP TIME | 20 MINS PLUS MARINATING TIME
  • COOK TIME | 3.5-4 HRS

This dish is hands-down my favorite pork roast to make for summer dinner parties and family gatherings. The tangy, citrus marinade adds a wonderful fresh and savory flavor to the pork. The blended onion, garlic, and spices add a warm rich flavor that combines deliciously with the citrus. It pairs equally as well with tortillas as it does with roasted or mashed potatoes. Make it on the grill or in the oven—your choice.

Double Duty Recipe: This recipe morphs from a roast into tacos, burritos, or pulled pork, and freezes well too. For some extra flavor, cut up or shred the leftover meat and put it under the broiler for 3-4 minutes until it gets a nice char.

Ingredients

Marinade

  • 2 2/3 cup lime juice
  • 1 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 2 tablespoons dried oregano
  • 2 heads garlic, roughly chopped
  • 3 tablespoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 2 onions cut into rings

Pork Roast

  • 6-8 pounds boneless pork shoulder butt, also known as a blade roast or picnic roast

Instructions

  1. Mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.
  2. Place the pork in a deep bowl or container, season generously with salt and pepper, and pour the marinade over the pork. Alternately, if using a flavor injector, place the pork in a deep bowl or container and strain half of the marinade to use to inject the meat. Set the other half of the marinade aside. Pierce the flesh with the tip of the needle and inject it. Do this all over the meat until the strained marinade is gone. Then generously season the outside of the pork with salt and pepper and pour the remaining marinade over the meat.
  3. Place the onion on the top of the meat and cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours. The longer the better.
  4. Remove the meat from the marinade and place it on a platter. Let it come to room temperature.
  5. Transfer the marinade and onions to a medium sized pot and bring to a boil for at least 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
  6. Place the boiled marinade and onions in a blender, working in batches if necessary, and purée until smooth. The marinade is now ready to use as a baste.

Grilling Method

  1. Preheat the grill to 500°F for at least 15 minutes, then reduce to to 300°F.
  2. Oil the grill grates with vegetable oil soaked paper towel held with a long pair of tongs.
  3. Salt and pepper pork on both sides and grill the meat for about 2 1/2 hours total. Turn the meat over about every 45 minutes and baste generously.
  4. The meat will be ready when it reaches an internal temperature of 150°F on the grill. It will continue to cook when you take it off the grill to the desired temperature of 160°F.

Oven Method

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
  2. Salt and pepper pork on both sides.
  3. Place pork fat side up in a Dutch oven and cover. Cook 3 1/2 hours.
  4. Add cooked and blended marinade to the Dutch oven and roast uncovered for 1 hour more, or until tender.
  5. Move pork to grooved cutting board to let cool.

Serve with remaining au jus, tortillas, or mash potatoes.