Mexico / Main
Cochinita pibil
Pork in an achiote and sour orange marinade, baked in banana leaves.
Ingredients
- Pork shoulder, in large pieces2 1/2 kg
- Achiote paste100 g
- Oranges4
- Grapefruit2
- Limes2
- Garlic8 cloves
- Mexican oregano1 tbsp
- Ground cumin1 tsp
- Banana leaves6
- Red onions, for pickling3
- Habanero2
- Corn tortillas16
- Salt and pepperto taste
Quantities are auto-calculated from the original recipe as a guide. Items without numbers (e.g. “to taste”) are not changed.
Method 7 steps
Slake the achiote paste with the juice of two oranges, the grapefruit and the lime to a thin slurry.
Add the crushed garlic, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper and mix it smooth.
Coat the pork in the marinade, working it in by hand, and refrigerate overnight.
Pass the banana leaves over a flame and line a deep dish with them, overlapping and with an overhang.
Put in the pork with its marinade, fold the leaves over and seal the dish with two layers of foil.
Bake at 150 °C for four hours without opening it.
Pickle the sliced red onion with the habanero in the juice of the remaining oranges. Shred the meat and serve with tortillas.
