Cochinita Pibil Pork

Cochinita Pibil
(Yucatecan Style Pork)
Serves 8 to 10
Gourmet Magazine May 2007, page 108

6LB boneless pork shoulder (not lean), cut into 3 inch chunks
2-1/2 teaspoons salt
½ cup Seville (bitter) orange juice
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon whole allspice
3 tablespoons annatto (achiote) seeds
6 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican), crumbled
1 large white onion, cut in half and sliced into rings
3 fresh or thawed banana leaves

Put cut pork in a large bowl and rub with 1 teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoons of the juice

Toast the peppercorns, cumin, and allspice together, and cool. Grind to a powder

Mince the garlic and mash into a paste with the remaining salt, add to the spices and mix thoroughly

Toss and coat the pork with the paste; add the onions

Hold both ends of the banana leaves, drag over a lit burner on moderate high heat and heat slowly until it changes color slightly and becomes shinier, then turn over and toast the other side – do this for all of the leaves

Line a roasting pan with the leaves, shinier side down, trimming as necessary – transfer the pork onion mixture to the leaves and wrap, enclosing pork completely – cover pan tightly with foil and chill at least 6 hours

Put rack in middle oven, place pan with pork inside and set heat to 400F top take chill off of the pork slowly, once oven reaches 400F, bake until pork is very tender, about 2-1/4 – 2-1/2 hours

Discard foil and banana leaves, serve pork with tortillas

Dear All: A request was made to post this recipe - used in the WSM Smoke day (posted with photos). This is the original recipe, I omitted the onions and cooked it in the WSM in a glass baking dish instead of the banana leaves (which I couldn't find). Enjoy!

- ron

Ron, buddy(!)--banana grows everywhere in Dade. You scarcely need to walk a block in any direction from virtually anywhere in the county. Get a leaf or two next time--the flavor is pretty essential in C.P.--but don't toast to 'shiny', toast till the leaf becomes supple. Drag it over the lit burner, as noted; it will change color but don't focus on 'shiny' or it will likely just burn. The heat will force out some water and the leaf will become quite bendable. That's what one looks for. (Don't worry about the central rib. Remove it or cut it here and there so that it bends easily.)

A pan is optional if you use banana leaves (see recipe/process/pics here), but if you don't then I'd recommend not covering the pan and using a little smokewood on the coals to add to authenticity of flavor. Baste with pan juices, as needed, to keep the meat moist if it's not covered with leaves, and cook till tender.

C.P. is a favorite at my place.

Kevin: Thanks! Yes, I definately know about the banana leaves here in Dade - but I don't have any in my backyard anymore (I used to) and I get a little concerned about chemical sprays and junk in the soil. When we move in a few months, I'll plant my own, so I can make sure they're "clean". Thanks for the prep tips!

- ron

You're right of course. I've lived long in the country and didn't even think of the sprays, etc., common in the city. I never used them when I lived on Miami Beach but I was probably the only one on the block who didn't.

Are you staying in Dade? Though there are some retail nurseries down towards and in Homestead that actually carry varities--named varities, with info on culture--few do, and fewer know what they're talking about so, if you do decide on bananas (and plantains!) in your next place check out Stokes. Really good offering of bananas and plantains.