Marinade:
10 garlic cloves roasted
2 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
3 ounces of red (rojo) achiote paste
2 tablespoons Mexican oregano
3 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon whole cumin seed
1 tablespoon whole allspice berries
1 tablespoon juniper berries
1/2 cup orange juice,
1/3 cup lime juice
1/4 cup cider vinegar salt
For the Pork:
1 kilo pork shoulder or pork loin
2-4 banana leaves
2 Roma tomatoes
sliced 1 red or green bell pepper
1 white onion, sliced
12 bay leaves
Blend all marinade ingredients until it is a smooth sauce. Pour over pork. Mix well, cover and keep in the fridge for at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours.
Bake in oven 3 to 4 hours: Cooking this takes 3-4 hours, so plan ahead. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a large casserole with a double layer of heavy-duty foil, or a triple layer of regular foil – you want a good seal.
(Traditionally, cochinita pibil is wrapped in banana leaves, which add a wonderful flavor to the pibil. So, if banana leaves are available—you may be able to get them at the same store as the achiote paste, or at an Asian market—consider using them. Just heat the leaves first to make them more pliable.)
Pour in the pork and the marinade and close the foil tightly. Put the casserole in the oven and bake at 325°F for at least 3 hours. You want it pretty much falling apart, so start checking at the three-hour mark.
Remove bay leaves. Shred cooked pork meat with 2 forks: When the pork is tender, take it out of the oven and open the foil. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon to a bowl, then shred it with two forks. You don’t have to shred the pork, but I like it this way. Pour enough sauce over the meat to make it wet.
To serve, either use this as taco meat or over rice, garnished with cilantro, lime wedges and queso seco, a Mexican dry cheese a little like Greek feta. Pickled red onions are a traditional garnish, and if you like them, they’re good, too.
Jane Bauer 