Puerco Pibil
I was watching a DVD and found this puerco/cochinita pibil recipe as part of the special features. I was intrigued by the role the food played.
Submitted by: Kenton from Seattle, Washington
Preparation Instructions:
- Grind the annato seeds, cumin seeds, whole peppercorns, whole cloves, and whole allspice in a mortar and pestle, molcajete y tejolote, spice grinder or coffe grinder.
- Blend the cleaned and chopped habanero peppers with the orange juice, vinegar, garlic and salt.
- Mix the dry spices with the liquid.
- Add the juice of 5 lemons and a nice splash of tequila.
- Place the cubed pork butt in a large zip lock bag and add the marinade. Soak 4-6 hours, in refrigerator, turning several times.
- Line (8 by 13) baking pan with banana leaves. Pour in pork along with the marinade. Cover with Banana leaves and seal the pan with foil. Bake in a 325 F degree oven for 4 hours.
thespicehouse.com
More About This Recipe
Banana leaves are optional, because I haven't found any locally yet. Take it easy on Habanero peppers. HOT!HOT!!HOT!!! Preground spices can be used in place of the whole spices, but the brilliant flavor of freshly ground spices really makes this dish what it is! (Editor's note: It may be helpful to read the hints left in the reviews of this recipe. Another suggestion, given to us by Dennis from Rawlins, Wyoming, is to add brown sugar to the marinating mix, use limes instead of lemons, and only cook 3 to 3 1/2 hours in aluminum foil.)
I mdae this dish last year for Christmas. My family and my son’s future in-laws ( philipines) fell off their chairs! That’s how much they like this! I will leave out the liquor this time. It didn’t make much of a difference. I added red wine instead. And I marinated four huge pork tenderloins for a week in this!!!!! I really think the length of time of marinating is the key. I am in the process to make the marinade just now. Have to have it for Christmas 2005 again!!.
eve in Illinois <<^^..^^>>~~~~~~~~~~
You can find the ingredients at any Mexican Meat market or asian store.
Here in Milwaukee, the ONLY place, and i do mean ONLY place, i could find Banana leaves was at a place called the Pueblo market on North Holton Ave, just south of North Ave, in the part of Milwaukee called Riverwest.
They also hade Achiote and pretty much any other spice you could need to make native dishes like this..
My own recipe differs some, already..
I don’t agree with using bitter oranges instead of regular oranges & vinigar, i think the sour taste from the vinigar is signature to dishes like this.
I do however think that some SUGAR would be a good addition..
Not too much either, just 1/2, to 1 whole tbsp, just enough so the sweetness is present but not overpowering the spicy.
all in all, great dish though, well worth the 4 hour wait, and don’t fool yourself.. serving ANYTHING in banana leaves not only looks cool, but it holds moisture in a LOT better than tin foil.
go get some. i have extra in my freezer just in case.
(Editor’s Note: Achiote is another name for annato. It is also spelled annatto. It is available right here on The Spice House website. Click here.)
I have made this several times and my suggestions would be to
1. definitly buy the banana leaves – in the frozen foods at local mexican grocery store
2. Don’t use five lemons – it’s too much lemon – just use 3 limes and two lemons
3. Reduce the cooking time to 3 1/2 hours and then let it sit for at least 1/2 hour to cool down a little. (If you eat it right away, it doesn’t have much flavor…but if you let it sit for 1/2 hour after opening the leaves, it is amazing!!!
I made this recipe after I saw the DVD and loved it. I used 2 peppers and it was spicy, but not terribly so. I couldn’t find annatto seeds, but they are primarily used for color so I omitted them. I plan on making it again after I find some seeds, without them it definitely lacks the beautiful red color it has on the DVD.
My new Son-in-law made this for me when I went to visit
them in Pittsburgh. He used 3 Peppers and I thought my head would explode. Wow, made with Basmati rice, you will dream about it.(eat rice on the side) I use 1 pepper for my husband.