As far as the hierarchy of my favorite foods goes, good roasted cuban pork has to be top five. Maybe even top three. Top two if it’s from Paseo.
Plus, cuban pork has a whole lot of residual benefits.
A few little-known facts:
1) Cuban pork can cure cancer.
2) It prevents road rage.
3) It will call your Aunt Mildred back for you.
4) It makes an excellent Christmas gift.
5) It will make you more physically attractive.
So how can you not make this recipe?
Out of exscuses?
Good. Let’s go.
First, a caveat: this dish requires thinking ahead. Like, a day ahead. Normally I would not give into such foolishness. But the meat needs to marinate to get all nice and tasty. So forgive me this one and do this first step the night before you wanna eat delicious pork.
Oh, and another caveat: I’m lazy. So I don’t “roast” it. I stick it in the slow cooker. That’s how I roll.
Alright. Let’s make the marinade.
It starts with gaaaahlic. About half a head.
About a third of a can of orange juice concentrate, thawed.
Wow. This whole picture is orange. It was contagious.
One lime. We’re gonna use the skin and the juice. Not a thing wasted. Being green.
Get it?
Sorry. It was too darn easy.
And lots of gorgeous cilantro. If you’re a hater, go ahead and leave it out. If you love it, can I get a HEY-YO!
Grab the garlic and get it neekid. And I mean nay-kehd.
Give it a good chop, and then take a blurry photo of it.
Throw it in a bowl and zest the lime right over the top. You only need about a teaspoon of zest. More if you’re feeling ambitious.
Poor little naked lime. He never asked for it.
Now chop that sucker in half and squeeze the juice on in. Squash that lime, baby.
Chop up that bee-youtiful cilantro. Oh, it smells divine.
Or it smells like dish soap. Depends on your sniffer.
Throw it on in the bowl…
…add a couple of tablespoons of cooking oil…
…and a teaspoon or so of dried oregano. Give it a good stir.
Now then. Rinse and pat dry your pork roast.
Do not trim the fat. That’s the part that prevents road rage. And the part that makes it dee-licious.
Pour it on into a big ‘ol Ziploc and stick it in the fridge overnight. Or one or two days, if you’re an overachiever.
In the morning, dump that sucker into the slow cooker.
Without the Ziploc bag. I have to say that for legal reasons.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (or, you know, until you get home from work), or high for 4-5.
Sometimes it just “falls apart on it’s own.” Or so my husband tells me.
I think a little pork fairy tried to take a nibble and hide the evidence.
Alright, folks. Before we eat, there are a few more things we have to make.
Like beans. Dump a couple of cans of black beans into a pan.
Spoon in about 1/4 cup of the juices from the pork.
Add some kosher salt…
…one bay leaf…
…and a couple dashes of cumin.
Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for about an hour (or more, if you’ve got the time). Give it a stir once in a while.
Also, if you’d like, put on a pot of white rice. The beans would appreciate it. They would be lonely otherwise.
To serve, layer the rice, beans and pork. Top with a spoonful of sour cream and a few sprigs of fresh cilantro.
Oh, baby. Come to mama.
It does not get better than this.
And you simply cannot eat it fast enough.
Make this for your hungry ones this week. It will keep them quiet for at least 3 minutes.
Happy monday!
-RDG
Cuban Pork: The Recipe
- 1/3 can orange juice concentrate, thawed
- 6-8 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1/3 cup loosely packed chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp lime zest
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 3-4 lb pork shoulder roast
Combine all ingredients. Wash and pat dry the pork roast and place in a large Ziploc bag. Pour marinade over the top, seal, and place in refrigerator overnight or for 1-2 days.
Place pork roast and marinade in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 8-9 hours. Shred meat and serve with cooked white rice, cuban black beans (recipe below), sour cream, and fresh cilantro.
Cuban Black Beans
- 2 cans black beans
- 1/3 cup pork juices
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp kosher salt (you may want to add more if you’re going to cook the beans for say, 3-4 hours)
- 1 bay leaf
Combine all ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for at least one hour, or up to 4 hours.
Hey!! I didn’t know you had a blog. This dish looks tasty.
Wow- impressive photos! This is my first visit to the website and I can see myself becoming a regular reader. I am aslo planning to finagle an invitation to dinner
Welcome, Salty Seattle ; ) We’d love to have you over for dinner anytime.
You were the inspiration, by the way. I had always wanted to do this and when I saw Salty Seattle I realized that I was just using Lucy as an excuse. So I started.
You left out the lime in the list of ingredients in the recipe!
Thanks, Peter! Added. You are now my designated editor. Your salary will be cookies, with a potential for cupcakes based on performance.
You know exactly how to motivate me!
Made this tonight. Verdict: Pork was yummy and easy. 3 lb boneless pork shoulder roast didn’t quite fall apart after 8 hours on low. 10-12 hours probably would have been about right. Will likely make again.
HOWEVER: Black beans were too salty. Fortunately I had more beans in the cupboard and made the dish again, this time with 1 tsp kosher salt. Much better.
Hi there!!! I made this for dinner last night, and it was the best ever!! I love easy recipes, especially since I’m not a very good cook….so thanks a bunch!!!!
Glad you enjoyed it, Shannon! Thanks for reading!
Filled. With. Win.
When I was buying the meat at Costco I was able to get pork sirloin for way cheaper than the shoulder was for whatever reason, so I got that. Took Peter’s advice and gave it right around 10 hours on low, and the meat fell right apart and was delicious. (And there are leftovers. Mmmmm, glorious leftovers.
) We went the Paseo / medianoche route and served it with hoagie rolls and swiss cheese and sliced pickles.
This looks delicious! I love Cuban Pork. Definitely going to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Mark! I hope you enjoy it, and thanks for reading
Just a follow up…I made this the other week and it was absolutely delicious!! I’m making it again today to take over to a friend’s house for dinner. I have passed on your recipe and blog to two other friends who have also already made it and they are in love with this recipe! Thanks again for sharing. I will definitely be making this many more times!
I made this today – only problem, I couldn’t find pork shoulder and used loin instead – way too dry, but the sauce was still nice and we loved the beans – will make again but with the shoulder. Thx
Oh no! I’ve had them run out of shoulder on me a few times too
Yummyness in my crockPot!! It’s making my whole house smell delicious and outside of the house too! I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it!!
Just made this for dinner. My husband had 2 bowls before I could finish 1. So easy to make and yet so flavorful. I marinated this for 2 days & cooked for 10 hours. I put the beans in a smaller slow cooker and simmered on low for 4 hours. We will definitely be making this again!!!