Cochinita Pibil

Name: Cochinita Pibil
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 3 h
Total time: 3 h 25 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 220 g boneless pork shoulder; 20 g achiote paste (recado rojo); 60 ml sour orange juice; 2 cloves garlic; 0.25 tsp dried Mexican oregano; 0.25 tsp ground allspice; 0.25 tsp black pepper; 0.25 tsp ground cumin; 0.5 tsp salt; 1 piece banana leaf; 1 tsp lard; 0.5 red onion; 1 tbsp lime juice; 0.25 tsp salt; 0.5 habanero chilli; 3 corn tortillas

Yucatecan pork shoulder rubbed with achiote and sour orange, wrapped in banana leaf and slow-roasted until it falls apart, served with pickled red onion and warm tortillas.

Lunch & dinner 25g+ protein 8g+ fibre

205 min25 prep · 180 cookMedium786 kcalper serving

Method

Crush 2 cloves of garlic to a paste with 0.5 tsp of salt in a mortar, then work in 20 g of achiote paste, 0.25 tsp of dried Mexican oregano, 0.25 tsp of ground allspice, 0.25 tsp of ground black pepper and 0.25 tsp of ground cumin. Loosen the paste with 60 ml of sour orange juice, whisking until it is a smooth, brick-red marinade with no lumps of achiote left.
Cut 220 g of pork shoulder into 4 cm chunks, keeping the fat on, and turn them in the marinade until every piece is stained red. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight for the deepest flavour.
Make the cebolla encurtida: put 0.5 finely sliced small red onion in a bowl with 1 tbsp of lime juice, 0.25 tsp of salt and 0.5 thinly sliced habanero if using. Scrunch with your fingers, then leave at room temperature for at least 1 hour, stirring now and then, until the onion turns bright pink and slackens.
Heat the oven to 150C. Pass the banana leaf briefly over a gas flame or a dry hot pan on both sides until it turns glossy and pliable, then use it to line a small ovenproof dish or clay pot, letting the ends hang over the rim.