Pernil (Roasted Pork)
Courtesy of “Daisy: Morning, Noon and Night” cookbook by Daisy Mart√≠nez
Ingredients:
1 6 lb. skin-on, bone-in pork shoulder roast
Wet Adobo Rub* (see below)
- Marinate the roast up to three days before you plan to cook it. Make several slits about 2 inches apart and 1.5 inches long through the skin of the roast and into the meat, going about halfway through the roast (unless you hit the bone). Wiggle your finger in the slits to make them easier to fill. (Wearing a pair of latex gloves is an option for this task.) Fill each slit with the adobo, filling it as much as possible. Turn the roast and do the same on all sides. Rub the outside of the roast with any leftover adobo.
- Cover and refrigerate the roast for one to three days.
- When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 450¬∫
- Set the roast skin side up on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast for one hour. Turn the heat down to 400º and roast until the skin is golden deep brown and crackly and there is no trace of pink near the bone (approximately two hours, but do check at the one hour mark.) An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roast should read 150º. Check the temperature in a few spots on the roast. Let the roast rest for at least 15 minutes before carving.
- To serve, remove the crispy skin that should pull off in big pieces. Cut them into smaller pieces and pile them in the center of the serving platter. Carve the meat parallel to the bone all the way down to the bone.
Makes 12 servings plus leftovers
Wet Adobo Rub (Adobo Mojado)
12 cloves garlic
1.5 Tbsp kosher or fine sea salt
1 Tbsp black peppercorns
2 Tbsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
Place the garlic and salt in a mortar and pestle (the salt keeps the garlic in place) and pound them to a paste. Add the peppercorns and oregano, pounding each into the mix before adding the next. Stir in the olive oil and vinegar. This is best used when freshly made.
The mix can also be made in a food processor by pulsing the garlic and salt until the garlic is coarsely chopped. Add the remaining ingredients, substituting coarsely cracked peppercorns for the whole peppercorns (the processor won’t crush them.) Process until the garlic is lively chopped.
