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Pernil
Pernil al horno: Puerto Rican garlic-and-oregano roast pork shoulder with crackling
No Puerto Rican Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) is complete without pernil, a whole pork shoulder rubbed with a pounded paste of garlic, oregano and black pepper, left in the fridge overnight and roasted low for hours until it falls apart. This is a pork dish. Families fight over the cuerito, the crackling skin on top, and the meat goes with arroz con gandules, salad and more rice the next day. The usual mistake is smearing the marinade over the skin: the garlic burns and the skin never crackles, so push the paste into slits and under the skin, and keep the skin itself dry and salted. Chef's tip: marinate for a full 24 hours if you can; the garlic and vinegar soak right into the meat.
- Total time
- 360 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
For the pork
For the adobo marinade
For roasting
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: A day ahead, pound 12 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp dried oregano, 1 tbsp coarse salt, 2 tsp black peppercorns and 1 tsp ground cumin to a coarse paste with a pestle and mortar (or blitz in a mini chopper). Stir in 3 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp white wine vinegar.
Step 2: Pat 7 ¾ lb bone-in, skin-on pork shoulder dry. Using a small sharp knife, separate the skin from the meat on one side, leaving it attached on the other, like a flap. Cut 12–15 deep slits, 3 cm long, all over the meat side and under the flap.
Step 3: Push the paste into the slits and rub it over the meat and under the skin. Keep the top of the skin clean. Fold the skin back down, put the pork in a dish, cover and marinate in the fridge for 12–24 hours. Wash your hands, board and knife after handling raw pork.
Step 4: Take the pork out of the fridge 1 hour before roasting. Heat the oven to 325°F (275°F fan). Put the pork skin side up in a roasting tin, pat the skin very dry with kitchen paper and rub with 1 tsp salt.
60 minStep 5: Pour 1 cup water into the tin (not over the pork), cover loosely with foil and roast for 3 hours.
180 minStep 6: Remove the foil and roast for 1 hour 30 minutes more, adding a splash of water if the tin dries out, until the meat pulls away easily from the bone with a fork. The thickest part must reach at least 145°F for safety; for pull-apart pernil it will be 194°F or more.
90 minStep 7: Turn the oven up to 450°F (400°F fan) and roast for 20–30 minutes more, watching closely, until the skin puffs, blisters and crackles when tapped.
25 minStep 8: Rest the pernil, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Break off the crackling, then pull or carve the meat and spoon over the juices from the tin. Cool leftovers within 2 hours and keep them in the fridge for up to 4 days.
20 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 46 g
- Carbs
- 2 g
- Fat
- 40 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pernil take?
- About 360 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 330 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of dried oregano?
- Dried thyme or marjoram, same amount.
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