Cochinita Pibil
User Reviews
5
16 reviews
Excellent
-
Prep Time
25 mins
-
Cook Time
4 hrs
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Total Time
4 hrs 25 mins
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Servings
8 people
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Calories
450 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Mexican
Cochinita Pibil
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Cochinita Pibil is a traditional Mexican slow-cooked pork dish featuring meat marinated in a red achiote paste with bitter orange juice, seasoned with smoky salt, and cooked with aromatic leaves. The preparation involves making a homemade recado rojo spice paste which includes annatto seeds, garlic, and several spices ground into a rich, thick paste that imparts deep color and flavor to the pork.
Description
This dish uses pork shoulder, either whole or cut into pieces, marinated and cooked with recado rojo, a red seasoning paste made by grinding annatto seeds with vinegar, dried oregano, cumin, peppercorns, allspice, charred garlic, and bitter orange juice. The annatto seeds create a vivid red color while the complex spices and citrus balance provide a smoky, tangy, and earthy flavor profile.
The pork is cooked in a heavy covered pot to retain moisture and tenderness, often with avocado or bay leaves for extra aroma. Upon serving, it is commonly accompanied by pickled red onions, minced habanero or manzano chiles, and fresh cilantro to add layers of freshness and heat.
For preparing your own achiote paste, the garlic should be charred carefully over an open flame, avoiding overburning, to develop a smoky undertone important to the recado rojo.
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup achiote paste
- 1/4 bitter orange juice see above, to 1/2 cup
- 2 tablespoons lard room temperature or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons smoked salt (see above)
- 2 pork shoulder meat wild pig or javelina, to 4 pounds
- 1 epazote optional, bunch, fresh, chopped
- 3 avocado leaves or bay leaves
- 1/2 cup lard
- red onion pickled
- habanero pepper chile manzano, minced or rocoto
- cilantro chopped
RECADO ROJO
- 1 cup annatto seeds aka achiote seeds
- 3/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 cup oregano dried, Mexican
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds whole
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 12 allspice berries
- 1 garlic see note below, head, charred on stovetop and peeled
- 3/4 cup bitter orange juice (see note below)
Instructions
- If you are making your own recado rojo, the achiote paste, grind the annatto seeds in a spice grinder. The seed are hard, to you will need to grind, sift into a bowl, then grind some more. When the seeds are ground into a powder, mix them with the vinegar and set aside. Incidentally, you can get powdered annatto, but unless it's bright red, don't buy it -- the flavor gets old and stale fast. Put the oregano, cumin seeds, peppercorns and allspice into the grinder and grind that into a powder. Add it to the bowl with the achiote. Move the spice mixture, the garlic and orange juice to a food processor or blender and process until you get a thick paste. This will keep in the fridge for months.
- Get a heavy, lidded pot that will hold the meat snugly. You can either keep the meat on the bone if it will fit into the pot (javelina shoulders do), or cut it into pieces that will fit. If for some reason you are using hind legs, you will want to cut the meat across the grain into hunks about 2 to 3 inches across. If you don't do this, you will have very long strands of meat when you are ready to eat it, which isn't so nice. Mix the achiote paste with the lard, salt and enough bitter orange juice to make a sauce like a very thick BBQ sauce. Put the meat into the pot and pour the sauce over it. Massage the sauce into the meat as best you can (maybe wear gloves, as the annatto stains unless you wash your hands the second you're done), and, if you have time, Set everything into the fridge for up to a day. You don't have to do this, but a long marinade is traditional, and helpful if you cook at high-ish temperatures.
- When you are ready to cook, take the meat out of the fridge and sprinkle the epazote and avocado leaves over it. Cover the pot and put it into a 250°F oven. If you do this, the meat will take between 6 and 8 hours to cook, but will be of better texture. If you are in a bit more of a hurry, set the oven to 300°F and the meat should be ready in 3 to 4 hours.
- When the meat is ready to fall off the bone, shred it with two forks. With wild pigs or javelina, I like to add anywhere from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of lard to the mixture, to keep it from getting dry.
- Serve on tortillas with pickled red onions and some minced habaneros. Drizzle a little extra lime or bitter orange juice on it when you serve your tortillas.
Notes
- Char the garlic over a gas flame while using ventilation, moving it carefully to avoid burning all parts.
- The blackened bits on the garlic peel add flavor and should not be discarded entirely.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
450kcal
(23%)
Carbohydrates
1g
(0%)
Protein
54g
(108%)
Fat
23g
(35%)
Saturated Fat
10g
(50%)
Cholesterol
185mg
(62%)
Sodium
793mg
(33%)
Potassium
969mg
(21%)
Fiber
1g
(4%)
Sugar
1g
(2%)
Vitamin A
135IU
(3%)
Vitamin C
4mg
(4%)
Calcium
53mg
(5%)
Iron
3.7mg
(21%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 8people
Amount Per Serving
Calories 450 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 450kcal | 23% |
| Carbohydrates | 1g | 0% |
| Protein | 54g | 108% |
| Fat | 23g | 35% |
| Saturated Fat | 10g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 185mg | 62% |
| Sodium | 793mg | 33% |
| Potassium | 969mg | 21% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 1g | 2% |
| Vitamin A | 135IU | 3% |
| Vitamin C | 4mg | 4% |
| Calcium | 53mg | 5% |
| Iron | 3.7mg | 21% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
16 reviews
Excellent
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