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Mexican


INGREDIENTS FOR A 10 LBS PORK LEG (ABOUT 20 SERVINGS)
1 PORK LEG ABOUT 10 LBS, SKIN REMOVED or lean sliced pork

For the marinada: (1/4 for sliced pork)

10 garlic cloves
1/2 large white onion
6 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon of coarse salt
Alumninum foil or baking bag
For the Adobo Sauce (1/4 for sliced pork)

8 Ancho Peppers, cleaned and deveined
6 Pasilla Peppers, cleaned and deveined
2 cups of orange juice
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of coarse salt
3 tablespoons of melted lard

1. If using leg or loin, pierce the pork leg with the help of a sharp knife.
2. Roast the garlic and onion on a skillet. Transfer the roasted onion and garlic along with bay leaves, oregano, black pepper, cumin, orange juice, vinegar and salt into a blender. Process until you have a smooth sauce, almost like a paste.
3. Transfer the Pork to a large baking dish and cover with the marinate sauce making sure it gets inside the incisions and penetrates the meat.

Now to the Adobo sauce instructions:

4. Toast the peppers on a griddle or comal over a medium heat. Remember that this is a quick step to avoid bitter flavors from burnt peppers.
5. Place the peppers in a small saucepan and cover with water. Simmer for about 8 minutes until they are soft. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
6. Drain the peppers and place them in your blender with the orange juice, vinegar, and water. Puree until mixture is smooth and season to taste with the salt.
7. Baking day, remove pork from refrigerator and let stand until room temperature. Preheat oven 20 minutes before roasting at 350F,
8. Using a pastry brush, spread the melted lard on the meat, making sure to cover it all around. Then cover pork leg all over with half of the Adobo sauce and place in the preheated oven. Cover meat with aluminum foil. If using the baking bag, make sure to tie the bag and make the incisions according to the package instructions.
9. After 1 hour, turn the meat and baste with it�s own juices, baste the meat one hour later and turn the pork over. Turn the meat at least twice during the cooking process. It is very important to keep the baking dish tightly covered with aluminum foil to have a moistened meat. If you see that it�s getting dry, add more of the adobo sauce. The cooking time will depend on the pork leg�s size and weight. The average baking time is 1 hour of baking for every 2 Lbs. of meat.
10. When the meat can easily be pierced by a fork then it�s almost done. It will take about 5 hours for 10 lb. I like to have a moist, almost falling-apart meat. when you see that the meat is done, uncover and turn the oven temperature up to 450F. Roast for about 8-10 minutes to have browned meat. Make sure you don�t burn it. It will take just a few minutes. Remove meat and let stand about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
11. Place leftover juices from the baking pan and the remaining adobo sauce in a medium size skillet and simmer for about 8 minutes. Taste, add more salt if needed and add more of the spices used for the marinade if you wish to. Use this sauce to pour over the slices of meat when serving.

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