Pernil horneado, or roasted pork shoulder, is a staple for many Latin dishes and is found is a range of Latin countries from Venezuela to Mexico. This is the perfect dish if you are expecting a crowd and want a simple, inexpensive way to impress everyone. Pernil is seen at almost every Puerto Rican wedding, anniversary, birthday, or large party event.
The best part about this recipe is that there is very little preparation required for aninstant crowd pleaser. All you need to do is make sure there is an oven available for some time before you plan on serving.
The best pernil comes from large, 10 - 12 pound, slabs of pork shoulder. Because of this massive size, you are almost guaranteed to have leftovers. These can be used for everything from tamales to nachos to enchilladas to pulled pork sandwiches.
This dish goes really well with rice and peas and fried plantains.
Pernil de Horneado Puertoricano
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 3-6 hours
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- 10 - 15 pound pork shoulder (preferrably bone in and skin on)
- 5-10 cloves of garlic (although some versions have quite a bit more garlic)
- 2 large onions, quartered
- 2 Tablespoons fresh oregano (or half the amount of dried oregano)
- 1 Tablespoon of your favorite chili powder (ancho powder works well, or even your favorite hot sauce)
- 1 half cup wine or cider vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon of sugar
- Oil as needed
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- Optional: Some recipes call for a Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce as well.
Process
- In a blender combine all of the ingredients except for the pork and the oil. Whiz until well smooth.
- Slowly add oil to thicken the mixture. About 2 Tablespoons should do the trick, but use your judgement. You want to make a mixture you can spread all over the pork.
- Place the pork shoulder into a deep baking dish. Score the skin with a knife in a criss cross fashion.
- Pour the spice mixture all over the top and rub into the pork. Make sure you get the mixture underneith and into the scores you made in the skin.
- Place the roast into a preheated 350 degree oven for at least 3 hours. If you have time, you can even turn the heat down to 275 and cook the roast for even longer. It really is difficult to overcook a pork shoulder.
Serve the pernil with slices of lime, diced cilantro, and diced onion.
If you liked this recipe, then you may want to check out how to make:
For more information on pork shoulder and brining check out this article on roast pork shoulder.
