Berkshire Pork Pernil

I saw this on Guy Fieris big bite and it is so good - Our new favourite pork shoulder recipe.

I set out with the best intentions of following his recipe to the letter but as always I got distracted and forgot to put it in the oven so had to use the Instant Pot to speed up the cooking time, then I finished it off on the bbq…. and I even managed not to burn it! (unlike my sausage rolls - they just did not work on the bbq)

It was delicious. I also used 1/2 cup orange juice instead of fresh squeezing it and I didn’t have chipotle so just used the adobo sauce. To be honest it is just as good without the adobo sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 Cobblestone Farm Berkshire pork shoulder - bone-in, (5 - 6lb)

• 6 cloves garlic

• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves

• 1 small bunch fresh cilantro 

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin 

• 4 limes, juice (and zest if you feel like zesting them)

• 2 oranges, juiced or I used 1/2 cup orange juice

• 1 chipotle in adobo, plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce (optional)

• 3 tablespoons salt

• 1 tablespoon pepper (black or white)

• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil 

Directions

• Place the Berkshire pork shoulder, fat-side up, on a cutting board. Score the fat in a criss-cross pattern, making diagonal cuts about 1 1/2 inches apart and cutting into the meat (but not right to the bone) so the marinade can penetrate.

• Put the pork shoulder in a large re-sealable plastic bag set over a baking dish or you can use a bowl.

• Put the garlic, oregano, cilantro, cumin, lime juice, orange juice, chipotle and adobo sauce, salt and pepper, olive oil in a blender.

• Blend until pureed. Pour the marinade all over the pork and make sure it gets into the deep cuts. Seal the bag and refrigerate overnight - up to 24 hours (I turned mine and squished the marinade around a couple of times)

  Oven method

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

• Add 1/2 inch water to a roasting pan fitted with a roasting rack. Remove the pork from the marinade and place in the center of the rack.

• Cover with foil and roast for about 3 1/2hours - Remove the foil and roast for 30 mins more until fat is deep brown in colour.

• Transfer the pork to cutting board and let rest for 20 minutes before slicing into thick pieces. Spoon any remaining pan juices over the meat to serve.

  Instant pot method & Bbq Method

• Put pork and marinade in Instant pot - I rinsed the bag out too to get all the flavour

• Cook on high pressure for 1 hour

• Let pressure release naturally

• Preheat bbq to 350

• Put the pork in a roasting pan - or any tray you can put on bbq

• cook uncovered on bbq for 1 hour until fat is crispy