Cuban Style Barbecue Pork

[Habanero Smoker]

I've been meaning to post this for some time. Here is a recipe for Cuban Style Barbecue Pork. Traditionally you should use a picnic shoulder, but a pork butt can also be used. I have made several of these, and getting the skin crispy is very tricky, and most of the time I am unsuccessful. If the skin is not crisp it can't be used as a side dish, and you loose a lot of flavor. So when it doesn't crisp up for me, I generally will cut it into pieces, process it in a food processor until it is fairly ground up, and add some Mojo sauce to make it into a sauce and drizzle it over the meat.

If you don't want to deal with the skin, you can remove the skin and surface fat prior to brining, and apply the paste directly to the meat. Without the skin, you can fully cook the shoulder in the smoker, at 225 degrees F. If brining with out the skin, only brine for 12-18 hours

Cuban Style Barbecue Pork
The following is based on recipes that were published in the 2006 July/August issue of Cook's Illustrated; and modified for the Bradley Smoker.

Citrus Brine (add per quart of water)
2/3 cups fresh squeezed orange juice (a good commercial 100% orange juice can be substituted)
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cups pickling salt
4 medium size garlic cloves, unpeeled cloves separated and crushed
Cold Water
1 bone-in, skin-on pork picnic shoulder (7 to 8 pounds) or bone in pork butt
Injector; optional
(Example: If you are making 4 quarts of brine you will need 2 2/3 cups of orange juice; 2 cups of sugar, 1 1/3 cups salt, and 16 cloves garlic.)

1. Use a nonreactive stock pot or other large container that will hold the pork and at least one gallon of brine. Using a container that is taller than it is wide; you will use a lot less brine. Place pork in the container and add water until the pork is fully submerged. Remove pork, and measure the amount of water that is left in the pot. This will be how much brine you will need.

• If you do not have at least one gallon of water, and the container cannot hold any more water then you will need a larger container. Keep in mind that the orange juice, salt and sugar will increase the volume to almost 1 quart per gallon. If you inject this will give you plenty of extra brine.

2. With sharp paring knife, cut 1-inch-deep slits (about 1 inch long) all over roast, spaced about 2 inches apart. Another method you can use, which is faster but not as effective, is to use a large two prong fork and stab the meat all over.

• If you decide to inject, you can skip this part.

3. Dissolve sugar and salt in cold water in nonreactive stockpot or large container. Stir in garlic and orange juice. Cool brine to 38-40 degrees F and place pork in brine, making sure the pork is fully submerged. If necessary weight the pork down with a plate to keep it fully submerged. Refrigerate 24 to 36 hours.

• If you injected the brine, reduce brining time to 12-18 hours. For this method you will need to inject the pork with some of the brine. Make sure that the brine is now cooled to at least 38 – 40 degrees F. The amount of brine needed to be injected should equal 10% of the weight of the pork. Example: If your pork weight 10 pounds, 10% of that equals 1 pound. So you will need to inject 16 ounces of brine; either measured or weighed (1 pound of brine will equally approximately 2 cups).
• pork at the shank and in the front around the bone. Once the pork can not hold any more brine around the shank and bone, then start injecting further out away from the bone, until all the measured brine is injected.

4. Remove pork from brine. Pat dry and apply Garlic-Citrus paste.

• Optional: After taking the shoulder out of the brine and before applying the paste, I like to rest the shoulder in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours to give the brine time the equally distribute through out the shoulder.

Garlic-Citrus Paste
12 medium garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped (about ¼ cup)
2 Tbs. ground cumin
2 Tbs. dried oregano
1 Tbs. table salt (or pickling salt)
1 ½ tsp. ground black pepper

6 Tbs. orange juice
2 Tbs. distilled white vinegar
2 Tbs. olive oil

1. Process the first five ingredients in a food processor until they reach the consistency of a coarse paste; about ten 1 second pulses.

2. In a small bowl mix orange juice, vinegar and oil. With the food processor running add the liquid ingredients through the feed tube and process until a smooth mixture forms a wet paste, about 20 seconds.

• You may want to withhold about 2 tablespoons of liquid, and at the end add that gradually until you get the desired thickness, or your paste may end up too thin.

3. Rub paste all over pork and into any crevices, and allow to air dry for 30 minutes to an hour.

4. Put pork on an inverted rack, and place in a preheated 225 degrees F smoker, and apply 3-4 hours of smoke. Continue to cook until the pork reaches 130 degrees F.

• Rack must be inverted so you can use it as a rack in the oven.

5. Remove from smoker and put the rack with the pork on an 18x13 inch jelly roll pan that is lined with foil. Place pork in a 325 degree F preheated oven, middle position. Roast pork in oven until skin is browned and crisp and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 175 degrees F. Transfer roast to cutting board and let rest 1 hour.

• Be careful not to burn the skin.

6. To carve, first remove skin in one large piece. Scrape and discard top layer of fat off the pork, then cut pork away from bone in 3 or 4 large pieces. Slice pieces 1/4 inch thick, against the grain.

7. To serve drizzle Mojo Sauce over pork just before serving. To serve skin, scrape excess fat from underside and cut into strips.  Traditional accompaniments include black beans, rice, and fried plantains.

Mojo Sauce (makes 1 cup)
4 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 4 teaspoons)
2 tsp. kosher salt
½ C. Olive oil
½ tsp. ground cumin
¼ C. distilled white vinegar
¼ C. Orange juice
¼ tsp. dried oregano
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

1. Place minced garlic on a cutting board, and sprinkle with kosher salt. Using the flat side of a chef's knife, drag garlic and salt back and forth across cutting board in small circular motions until garlic is ground into a paste. (If the salt doesn't draw moisture out of the garlic to help it turn into a paste, you might have to add a drop or two of olive oil).

2. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Add garlic paste and cumin and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Remove pan from heat and whisk in remaining ingredients. Transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Whisk sauce to recombine before serving. Drizzle over sliced meat. If you refrigerate the sauce, it must be brought back up to room temperature, and whisked before serving.

Other Information:

• The recipe calls for fresh squeezed orange juice, but I have used a 100% Orange Juice with pulp that was not made with concentrate and the recipe turned out alright.
• If possible use Epazote instead of oregano.
• This Mojo sauce also makes a good dipping sauce for Cuban bread

[huhwhatliar]

Habs, that looks good. I'm going to have to try it soon. Is this the brine that needs sour orange juice and you used regular orange juice?

Domenick

[Wildcat]

 :o  Now that is impressive!  Are you going to post on the recipe site?

[Mr Walleye]

Sounds very impressive Habs!  8)

Another one for the list.  ;)

Mike

[3rensho]

That's a great sounding recipe.  Absolutely have to give it a try.  Thanks for the post.

Tom

[FLBentRider]

I'm putting this recipie on my short list.

[La Quinta]

I bet that garlic citrus paste would do really well on chicken too! Like a whole "chicken on the throne"!! Or just thighs and breasts. Thanks for the post Habs!!

[Habanero Smoker]

Habs, that looks good. I'm going to have to try it soon. Is this the brine that needs sour orange juice and you used regular orange juice?

Domenick

The recipe from Cook's Illustrated didn't mention or use sour orange. After reviewing La Quinta post on the sour orange, it seems that the sour orange taste is simulate in the paste by adding vinegar.

I bet that garlic citrus paste would do really well on chicken too! Like a whole "chicken on the throne"!! Or just thighs and breasts. Thanks for the post Habs!!

La Quinta;
You are right, the garlic citrus paste is really good. Though I haven't tried it on chicken, I know it would be great.

[Smoking Duck]

Now, that certainly sounds like an awesome way to make pork.  I sure hope it gets on to the recipe site and doesn't get lost in the sea of threads here.

Now, just gotta get me some plantains!

[tturaider]

Gona have to try that habs it sounds great

[tsquared]

Habs, we have a pot luck supper club with several friends which we take turns hosting. Usually the host picks a country and provides the main meat dish, with  the other guests finding recipes from the same country to match for the different parts of the meal. You have just provided my next choice. Thank you!
T2

[Habanero Smoker]

Habs, we have a pot luck supper club with several friends which we take turns hosting. Usually the host picks a country and provides the main meat dish, with  the other guests finding recipes from the same country to match for the different parts of the meal. You have just provided my next choice. Thank you!
T2

Have you seen this post by Domenick. This looks like a winner also.

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=7136.msg71006#msg71006