Braised Pork Shoulder

Photo: flickr user Laurel Fan

Ingredients

5 pounds bone-in pork, shoulder, skinless with some fat

1 bn fresh cilantro

2 cups orange juice

1 cup juice of lime

1 cup canola oil

1/2 cup chipotle chili

2 Bay Leaf, crushed

5 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon coarse salt

1 tablespoon coriander, seeds

1 tablespoon ground toasted cumin, seeds

1 tablespoon crushed black peppercorns

For the Mojito

2 cups orange juice

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup minced shallot

1 jalapeno, diced, seeded

6 tablespoons juice of lime

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

peanut oil, for frying

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine all the ingredients except the pork shoulder in a food processor and mix for 2 minutes, until well combined.

Place the pork shoulder in a large enough bag to hold it, then add the marinade and close the bag with a twist tie. Wrap it in another bag. Transfer the pork to a bowl large enough to hold the bag and marinate it in the fridge for 2 days, turning the bag occasionally to make sure the marinade covers the pork.

When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven and remove the pork from the bag. Transfer it to a roasting pan, fat side up, add 3 cups of water and pour the marinade on top of pork. Cover it with foil and cook for 1 1/2 hours then turn the pork fat-side down and cook for another 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is almost falling of the bone.

Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and discard the foil. Cook the pork for a further 1/2 hour fat side up until brown.

Remove the pork from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes. Test it with a meat thermometer in thickest part of pork, not touching bone, until the temperature reads170 degrees Fahrenheit.

Set the pork aside to cool, then pull the meat from the bone with your fingers.

For the Mojito:Mix together all the ingredients for the mojito. Then, heat 3 tablespoons of peanut oil in a frying pan and add 4 cups of pulled pork pieces and fry a few minutes until crisp on edges. Add 1/2 a cup of the mojito and cook for a few minutes until the liquid has evaporated, season with chopped cilantro salt and pepper and serve on a bed of salad with sour cream.