Pernil (Puerto Rican Roast Pork Shoulder)

Name: Pernil (Puerto Rican Roast Pork Shoulder)
Prep time: 765 min
Cook time: 360 min
Total time: 1125 min
Yield: 16 servings
Cuisine: Puerto Rican
Ingredients: whole bone-in, skin-on pork shoulder 5000 g; garlic cloves 16 ea; chopped fresh oregano 0.25 cup; adobo seasoning powder 3 tbsp; salt 1 tbsp; olive oil 1 tbsp; Puerto Rican sofrito 0.25 cup; orange juice 1 cup

Quick answer

Total time: 1125 min
Level: Hard
Servings: 16 servings
Ingredients: 8

About this dish

The skin is peeled back while still attached on one side so the seasoning can be pushed into deep cuts in the meat, and only salt touches the outer skin, which lets it puff and crisp in the final hot stage.

A small piece of pork will not follow the same timing as the one whole shoulder of about 5kg this recipe is built around.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmount

whole bone-in, skin-on pork shoulder

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garlic cloves16 ea

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chopped fresh oregano

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adobo seasoning powder

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Instructions

6 steps

1

Crush the garlic and oregano, then mix with the adobo and 0.5 tablespoon salt.

Stir in the olive oil and sofrito.
2

Pat the pork dry with paper towels without washing it.

Lift the skin, leaving one edge attached, and make deep cuts in about 15 places across the top and sides of the flesh.
3

Place in a large roasting pan and work all the marinade over the flesh and into the cuts.

Replace the skin, dry its surface and sprinkle with the remaining 0.5 tablespoon salt. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours.
4

Preheat the oven to 165°C.

Pour the orange juice into the pan without wetting the skin, then wipe moisture and loose salt from the skin. Cover with foil.
5

Roast for 4-5 hours, spooning pan juices over the sides of the meat about every 2 hours.

Before proceeding, check that the thickest flesh reaches 80°C with the thermometer away from bone.
6

Remove the foil and raise the oven to 200°C for about 1 hour.

Check frequently and remove when the skin is crisp and bubbly and the meat pulls apart with a fork. Transfer to a clean board, loosely cover with foil and rest at least 15 minutes before shredding the meat and cutting up the skin.