Pernil (per neel) is a typical Puerto Rican dish consisting of a pork roast/shoulder that has been marinated overnight and slow roasted at 300 F. The result is a flavorful, and tender meat that will fill your house with a delicious aroma, and your belly with a whole lot of “piggy goodness.”
This recipe I am sharing with you came from my friend Eimy who is Puerto Rican. I first tried this dish at her house, many years ago, and instantly fell in love with it. You could say that pernil is the PuertoRican version of America’s pulled pork minus the barbeque sauce. In my humble opinion it is better, much better!!! I have made one small adaptation from her recipe, since I prefer to use my homemade sofrito instead of the store bought Goya brand.
Pernil is a common and expected sight at the Christmas table in Puerto Rico and in other Latin American countries also. I remember Christmas dinner at relative’s houses where pernil was always on the menu. The one I remember most fondly was pernil with a crispy skin. Perhaps not the best dietary choice, but during Christmas, who is being good?
As with most recipes, we tend to gravitate to the version we were first introduced to . I am guilty of that with my, or rather my friend’s pernil recipe. Lately, however, I have been talking to some Hispanic friends and they do not use the Goya sazon, but a mixture of dry spices such as cumin, oregano and cilantro, and paprika. I will most definitely have to try this before I share with you.
Pernil is very versatile. You can definitely serve it as a main course with the typical sides of rice and beans and tostones (fried plantains), or you can make great tacos, or a fantastic sandwich on a nice Kaiser roll. Either way you choose to eat it , you will not be disappointed. Slow roasted pork, how can you go wrong?
Pernil
Puerto Rican pernil is one of my all time favorite dishes. You can eat this alone or make tacos, tostadas, quesadillas and it freezes well also. This is the best pernil recipe I have ever made and it gives a really tender, slow cooked juicy pork with wonderful flavors. Be sure you save the juice, separate it from the fat and add it back to the meat! Que rico!
Ingredients
- 8 lbs pork shoulder 1 full pork butt or shoulder, skin off.
- 8-10 garlic cloves cut into 4-5 slivers each
- 6 Tbsp sofrito
- 2 packets of Goya Sazon with culantro y achiote paleo diet: substitute a 3 Tbsp mixture of equal parts of sea salt, black pepper, coriander, cumin, garlic powder, paprika and oregano
- 1/4 cup adobo seasoning paleo diet: see paleo adobe recipe below
Instructions
- Stab the pork shoulder in various places and insert the garlic pieces. Rub the sofrito all around the pork shoulder. Combine the adobo and sazon and use as a dry rub and coat pork shoulder.
- Cover with plastic wrap and set in your refrigerator overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 300F. Remove plastic from pork shoulder and place in a roaster pan.
- Cook covered for about 3 hours. Remove from oven, flip and cover once more.
- Continue to cook another 2 hours, or until fork tender. It should fall apart.
- Remove from oven and place half the shoulder on a large cutting board. Discard the layer of fat.
- Start chopping the meat with a sharp knife and place chopped pieces in a large bowl.
- Take remaining juices from the cooking process and place in a container in the refrigerator to allow the fat to rise to the top and solidify. Remove solid fat and discard. If you have a gravy and fat separator, those work very well. Mix the juice with your chopped meat.
- Portion off into individual containers and freeze.
Paleo Adobo from paleoeffect.com:
Paleo Adobo from The Paleo Effect
Here is a simple DIY recipe to make your own homemade paleo diet adobo seasoning.
Ingredients
- 1.5 Tbsp Sea Salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp black pepper ground
- 1/8 tsp turmeric ground
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend.
I love that your recipes are so unique to me, since I’ve never tried these ethnic dishes. I’m pinning!
Thanks for pinning. I love ethnic recipes. They are so flavorful, and not difficult to prepare at all.
This looks so tasty! I tend to get stuck in cooking ruts where I use the same seasonings and flavors in all my dishes- this is a very different profile for me. Thanks for sharing at the link up today!
xoxo K
http://peeledwellness.com
This looks so good! I’m drooling right now. Pinned and tweeted. We appreciate you being a part of our party. Please stop by on Monday at 7 pm. Happy Saturday! Lou Lou Girls
Thanks so much for commenting. I love Pernil. It actually freezes well and makes awesome tacos too!!
Glad I stopped by.
This look delicious! I am not normally a fan of pork because it can be tough but this looks great and has inspired me to try something new! Thanks for sharing on Monday Madness link party 🙂
Sharon, when you cook the pork down it becomes so tender. A little tip: with any leftover pork I make tacos!!! 🙂
You are very welcome. I always love sharing food with others.
Looks great. I love flavorful meat that can be so versatile.
Thanks Kristen!
Yum! I have a lot of pork shoulder on hand right now and have been trying new things with it. This sounds like a great version that will be on my menu soon!
Thanks Carlee! It freezes well too. It’s great for tacos also.
I’m always so amazed by you! This looks so good! Pinned and tweeted. I appreciate you taking the time to party with us. I hope to see you on Monday at 7. Happy Monday! Lou Lou Girls
Thanks so much. You are so kind. I love coming to your parties!
Sounds good! I always love your unique recipes. Thanks for sharing with us at the Merry Monday Link Party! Hope to see you again on Sunday night.
Thanks Tiffany. I love coming to your parties. I will be there.
We love Pernil and your recipe looks delicious! Thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and have a great day!
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Thanks Miz Helen! I will be back soon! 🙂
YES! Oh man, I can’t wait to make this! There was an AMAZING Puerto Rican restaurant very close to where we used to live and this was all I EVER got – amazing!
LOL, isn’t pernil the best!