Lunch: Cuban 24-Hour Roast Pork

Recipe by Alison Mesrop Sure, it takes time to marinate, but after a day, you're rewarded with a pork roast that is simply magnificent.

Ingredients

1/2 c. fresh orange or tangerine juice
1/4 c. kosher salt
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. dried rosemary
1 1/2 tsp. smoked or sweet paprika
1 1/2 tsp. whole black peppercorns
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
3 clove garlic
1 boneless pork shoulder roast

Instructions

In a small bowl, stir together 2 tablespoon orange juice and cornstarch until smooth. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Add shallots, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes; cook, stirring frequently, until shallots are light golden, about 3 minutes. Add remaining orange juice, broth, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil; boil until reduced to 1 cup, about 6 minutes. Whisk in cornstarch mixture; boil 1 minute. Remove saucepan from heat and set aside.
Place pork slices cut side down on work surface and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand to make medallions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
In a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add pork and cook in batches until browned and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer pork to a platter.
Add sauce to skillet with drippings; place skillet over medium-high heat. Bring sauce to a boil, stirring to scrape up any brown bits. Stir in juices from pork on platter. Remove skillet from heat and add pork slices to skillet, turning to coat with sauce.
To make brine: In a small saucepan, combine orange juice, salt, brown sugar, rosemary, paprika, peppercorns, oregano, and garlic. Bring to a boil; cook, stirring, until salt and sugar dissolve, about 30 seconds. Pour into a large bowl and let cool slightly. Stir in 3 1/2 cups water. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes. Place pork roast in a large Ziploc bag. Pour brine over roast and seal bag. Place bag in a large bowl and refrigerate 24 hours, turning bag once.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Remove pork from brine and transfer to a large roasting pan. Cover loosely with foil. Roast pork 6 hours, or until meat is very tender.
Remove pork from pan and set aside 30 minutes. Pour pan juices into a bowl and skim off fat (or refrigerate until fat hardens, then remove fat and discard). Set aside; do not clean pan.
Preheat broiler. Remove strings from pork and return pork to pan.
To make glaze: In a bowl, stir together sorbet, tangerine juice, brown sugar, and lime juice. Spread pork with glaze and broil about 5 inches from heat until browned, about 3 minutes. Remove roast to a cutting board and let rest 15 minutes. Add pan juices to other reserved juices and reheat in a saucepan.
Thinly slice pork roast and arrange on a platter. Drizzle with some of the hot pan juices; garnish with orange slices and chopped cilantro, if desired. To serve, place a slice or two of pork on a lettuce leaf, top with salsa, roll up, and eat.

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