Cuban Roast Pork Shoulder (Lechón Asado)
Mise en Place / Ingredients[9]
- 7 lbs Bone-in skin-on pork picnic shoulder (pernil)
- 1.5 cups Seville sour orange juice (Badia Naranja Agria)
- 2 heads Heads of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 whole Large white onion, thinly sliced into rings
- 0.25 cup Extra-virgin olive oil or melted pork lard
- 1 tbsp Ground cumin (Badia Ground Cumin)
- 1 tbsp Dried oregano
- 2 tbsp Coarse Kosher salt
- 1 tbsp Freshly ground black pepper
🛒 US Supermarket Brand Guide
Provides rind for authentic crackling. • 📍 Meat department.
Cooking Sequence & Checkpoints
Mash the 2 heads of garlic with 1 tbsp kosher salt, 1 tbsp black pepper, 1 tbsp ground cumin, and 1 tbsp dried oregano in a mortar, then whisk in 0.25 cup warm olive oil (or pork lard) and 1.5 cups sour orange juice. Pierce the pork flesh deeply (avoiding the top skin), rub the mojo into the meat over a bed of 1 sliced white onion, and refrigerate for 8 hours (480 minutes) overnight.
✓ Checkpoint: Deeply seasoned citrus-garlic pork with dry top skin.
Pat the skin thoroughly dry with paper towels and rub the remaining 1 tbsp coarse kosher salt evenly over the rind.
✓ Checkpoint: Chalk-dry salted skin.
Roast covered tightly with foil at 325°F (165°C) for 3.5 hours until the internal temperature reaches 195°F–205°F (90°C–96°C) and the meat pulls effortlessly from the bone.
✓ Checkpoint: Ultra-tender pork and aromatic pan juices.
Uncover and roast at 425°F (220°C) for 25 minutes until the skin blisters into glass-crisp crackling (cuerito). Rest 20 minutes before shredding and spooning the pan mojo and onions over top.
✓ Checkpoint: Glass-crisp crackling over succulent shredded pork.
🔬 Why It Works:
Salt Desiccation: Salting and leaving the skin dry encourages thermal blistering at 425°F (220°C) and glass-like crackling.
⚠️ Troubleshooting:
Chewy skin: Blast at 425°F (220°C) for 20–25 minutes uncovered.