Cochinita Pibil is a famous Mexican pork dish that is always a hit. It can be toned down with less or no pepper and still taste amazing. The preparation is pretty easy! Your whole family will love this delicious dish! Cochinita pibil, also known as puerco pibil or cochinita con achiote, is native to the Yucatán Peninsula but is now popular throughout Mexico and beyond. The pork itself is seasoned with a super simple marinade made from tart citrus juice and achiote paste. After the pork is marinated in the achiote mixture, it is traditionally wrapped in banana leaves and grilled underground until it is extremely juicy, buttery tender and insanely delicious. Then it's chopped up and served with pickled red onions and fresh cilantro, and maybe a few sliced habañero peppers if you're looking for an extra kick. Have we piqued your interest? Then try our Cochinita Pibil recipe!
Ingredients for the Cochinita Pibil recipe
what do you needfor the marinade:
1 whole head of garlic, divided into individual unpeeled cloves
2 tablespoons (30 ml) lard or vegetable oil
40 g Achiote (Annatto) Samen
2 tablespoons (about 6 g) Mexican oregano
3 whole cloves
1 Ceylon cinnamon stick or a piece of cassia cinnamon
2 tablespoons (about 8 g) whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon (about 4 g) whole cumin seeds
1 tablespoon (about 4 g) whole allspice berries
175 ml bitter orange juice (Seville) or 60 ml each lime, orange and grapefruit juice
60 ml white vinegar
1 tablespoon (15 ml) soy sauce
kosher salt
For the pork:
1.8 kg boneless pork shoulder or 2.7 kg bone-in pork shoulder, cut into 1 cm thick slices
6 to 8 banana leaves
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
1 red or green pepper, sliced
1 white onion, sliced
12 bay leaves
To serve:
Warme Maistortillas
Pickled onions and salsa
Instructions for preparation
- Thread the garlic cloves onto a metal skewer directly over the flameof a grillSet until completely blackened on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes. Alternatively, fry the garlic cloves in a dry skillet over high heat until blackened. Peel off the blackened skins when they are cool enough to handle.
- Heat oil or lard in a skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add achiote, oregano, cloves, cinnamon, black peppercorns, cumin, and allspice and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Place in a blender along with the peeled garlic, bitter orange juice, vinegar, soy sauce and a large pinch of salt. Puree until everything is smooth. Season with more salt. It should be fairly salty and have a consistency similar to ketchup. If it is too thick, dilute with water until it flows slowly.
- Roast spices and cinnamon sticks in a pan.
- Drizzle the marinade over the meatPour and rub in with your hands. Cover, place in the refrigerator and let rest for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Rub a raw pork shoulder in a bowl with a cochina pibil rub.
- Lay 2 to 3 banana leaves overlapping on a work surface. Place a piece of pork in the middle and top with some of the tomatoes, peppers, onions and bay leaves.
- Form a tight package by folding the bottom up, the top down and rolling up the sides. Secure the package with kitchen twine and place the pork on an ovenproof baking sheet or a disposable aluminum baking sheet.
- Repeat the process with the remaining pork and banana leaves.
- Light 3/4 of the fireplace with charcoal. When all of the charcoal is lit and covered in gray ash, dump the coals and place them on one side of the charcoal grate. Insert the grill rack, cover the grill and allow it to preheat for 5 minutes. Alternatively, turn half the burners on a gas grill to medium-high, cover, and preheat for 10 minutes.
- Place a few large pieces of hardwood on the coals (no need to soak them). Place an aluminum tray or baking tray on the side opposite the fire and close the lid. Smoke the pork, aiming for a temperature of between 120 and 150°C in the chamber the entire time, until a metal skewer inserted into the pork shows no resistance, 4 to 5 hours total. (Adjust heat by adding coals and/or adjusting vents.) Add additional pieces of wood to coals once per hour.
- The porkRemove from the grill and place the packages on a deep plate or in a shallow bowl. Unwrap the banana leaves, shred the pork with two forks, add to the drippings, stuff into tortillas with pickled red onions and salsa, and serve immediately.
Special accessories for the Cochinita Pibil recipe
metal skewer; smoker or grill (charcoal or gas); 450 g hardwood chips, e.g. E.g. hickory, mesquite or applewood. Bon appetit!
