Pernil (Puerto Rican Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder)

 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pork shoulder, 4 to 7 pounds (or use fresh ham)
• 4 or more cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves or 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ancho or other mild chili powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
•  Olive oil as needed
• 1 tablespoon wine or cider vinegar
•  Lime wedges for serving

• PREPARATION

  1. Score meat’s skin with a sharp knife, making a cross-hatch pattern. Make 1 inch cuts into the meat. Pulse garlic, onion, oregano, cumin, chili, salt and pepper together in a food processor, adding oil in a drizzle and scraping down sides as necessary, until mixture is pasty. (Alternatively, mash ingredients in a mortar and pestle.) Blend in the vinegar.
  2. Rub this mixture well into pork, getting it into every nook and cranny and into the cuts. Marinate for 1-3 days.
  3. Heat oven to 200 degrees.
  4. Put pork in a roasting pan and film bottom with water. Cover with foil. Roast pork for 8-12 hours, adding more water as necessary, until meat is very tender. Increase temperature to 400 degrees to finish roasting with the skin side up until crisp, for 30-60 minutes.
  5. Let meat rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting it up; meat should be so tender that cutting it into uniform slices is almost impossible; rather, whack it up into chunks. Serve with lime.