I was in the mood for some Cuban pork the other day so I cobbled together a recipe and fired up the Yoder!
Here's the recipe...
Although this classic Cuban dish is usually made with Boston Butt (pork shoulder), I’ve modi-fied it a bit to use a boneless pork loin roast to reduce the cooking time. While traditionally served with black beans, fried plantains (if you can find them) or rice I served this with roasted asparagus and sweet potatoes. (This requires advance preparation as the pork needs to marinate.)
Because I don’t have a La Caja China roasting box, I used my Yoder YS640 pellet cooker with and an A-Maze-N tube smoker.
1 3 1/2-pound boneless pork loin roast
8 cloves garlic, cut into slivers
For the mojo marinade:
2 teaspoons cumin seed
1 teaspoon cracked mixed peppercorns
1 teaspoon minced dry garlic
1 teaspoon minced dry onion
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried jalapeño chile (or one jalapeño, seeded and finely minced)
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon zest, divided
2 tablespoons lime zest, divided
2 tablespoons orange zest, divided
Combine the dry ingredients in a small food processor. Add the orange, lemon and lime juices. Pulse to combine; while running the processor at a low speed slowly pour in the olive oil.
Pat the pork dry. Using a paring knife, cut about a dozen slits through the fat cap. Insert a sliver of garlic into each slit. Place the loin in a container and add the marinade and one tablespoon of each of the zests. Cover and refrigerate for three hours. After three hours turn the loin over and continue marinating for another three hours.
Remove the pork from the marinade and pat dry. Pour the marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer the marinade for five minutes adding more orange juice if necessary.
Prepare your smoker for 180 degrees F. cooking and smoke the loin for one hour using apple wood (or apple pellets in the tube smoker). Increase the temperature to 250 degrees F. and con-tinue cooking, basting with the marinade occasionally, until the pork reaches an internal tem-perature of 145 degrees F. (about another hour). Remove the loin, tent with foil and allow it to rest for 20 minutes.
Purée the remaining marinade; heat until slightly reduced and thickened.
Slice the loin into serving portions and drizzle with the reduced marinade. Garnish with lemon and lime zest to add a nice citrus finish.
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