This recipe was inspired by our recent trip to Miami, Florida. The hotel we stayed at was beyond gorgeous and the weather was even more so, especially after months living in the tundra known as winter in Toronto. Guys, it was a real difficult winter. So our escape down south was well anticipated. Except it didn't turn out to be the vacation I pictured...
Long story short, our trip was a 5-day Disney cruise (debarking from Miami) followed by 5 more days of R&R in Miami. I slapped on a motion sickness patch and actually quite enjoyed the cruise (my first time). When we debarked, I ripped the patch off and thought hallelujah I survived!! Oh. But no. The worst was yet to come. Twenty four hours later, I was overcome by nausea and dizziness. There were two probable explanations. One is 'patch withdrawal' which causes those very symptoms you were trying to avoid by using the patch in the first place. The irony. Second explanation was good ol' fashioned "sea legs". Both basically describe an inner ear imbalance. Yaaaaay ... :/
We will ignore that burnt chip
Luckily there was an upside too. The warmth! The great food! We especially enjoyed the flavorful dishes influenced by Cuba and Latin America. Eating with dietary restrictions on trips can be tricky so we were thankful for all the tasty gluten-free / dairy-free options like churrasco (grilled beef) and slow roasted pork, with sides like plantain chips, boiled yuca, black bean rice and so many dishes served with that delicious mojo sauce which, obviously inspired this recipe! I got home and immediately researched mojo sauce which, in it's basic form, is hella garlic (the entire head of garlic), oregano and the juice of a specific sour orange which when can't be found, is often substituted with a mix of regular orange and lime juices to approximate similar results. Just describing the ingredients fired up my salivary glands!
So for this dish the pork is roasted low and slow. So tender. So juicy. Basically, THE BEST. The mojo sauce gets used as a marinade for the pork AND serving sauce after it is simmered (along with the roast pork drippings in my version because why wouldn't you). Trust me, you'll want to pour it all over EVERYTHING in your bowl! It seems the traditional Cuban way is to pull the pork (as in 'pulled pork') but I have a strong personal preference for thick, tender slices as you see pictured in this blog post. But go ahead and roast it a wee bit longer (I give directions in the recipe) if you want pulled pork. YOU are the captain of your ship. Aiy, I just got a wave of nausea at the mention of 'ship'.
Nevermind. I just hope you give this recipe a try! Everyone I've served it to so far really enjoyed this meal, both kids and adults alike, and I hope to see you and your company enjoy it too.
MAKE IN ADVANCE: The Mojo Sauce can be made in advance and kept in a tightly-sealed container in the fridge for a day or two, or frozen to keep longer. I've defrosted and used the marinade and can confirm it is excellent!
Roast Pork with Mojo Sauce + Black Bean Rice
{ gluten-free, dairy-free }
Recipe serves 4.
INGREDIENTS
For the Mojo Sauce (makes ~1/2 C):
1 whole head of garlic, broken up into cloves and peeled
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp dried oregano)
1/2 C orange juice (from about 1 large orange)
1/2 C lime juice (from about 4 limes)
For the Roast Pork:
Drizzle of avocado oil or other high heat oil of your choice
1 2.5lb-3lb boneless pork shoulder (choose a well marbled piece)
Salt and pepper for seasoning
2 large white onions, sliced 1/2" thick
For the Black Bean Rice:
1 15-oz can black beans, drained and liquid reserved (or ~2C cooked beans)
1 C uncooked white long-grain rice (I use jasmine rice), rinsed a few times and drained well
Drizzle of avocado oil or other high heat oil of your choice
1/2 large white onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp fresh oregano, minced (or pinch of dried oregano)
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Water
For thickening the Sauce for serving (optional):
~1 tsp arrowroot powder (or organic corn starch)
For the Plantain chips:
2 plantains (mostly green just yellowing slightly), sliced 1/8" thick by knife or mandolin
3 tbsp avocado oil or other high-heat oil of your choice
Coarse flakey salt or kosher salt to season
To serve:
2 ripe avocados, sliced
METHOD
Prepare the Mojo sauce: If using a food processor, place garlic cloves, salt and oregano and pulse until a paste forms. If you don't have a food processor or prefer to do it manually (in fact, mortar and pestle is the authentic way so feel free to use that too), slice the garlic and mince with a knife, sprinkle on the salt and use the salt's texture to mash the garlic into a paste by alternatively mincing and smooshing repeatedly using the flat heel of the knife. Admittedly it's a lot of garlic to work through manually so put on a podcast and zen out! Finely chop the oregano. Juice enough orange and limes to get one cup's worth of juice. Stir in the garlic paste and chopped oregano and allow the marinade to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
You can use the marinade right away or store this marinade for a couple of days, tightly wrapped in the fridge or even freeze for another day. I made double batch of the mojo and froze half for a second round to see how well it freeze / defrosts, and I can confirm it works perfectly.
Marinade the pork: Poke holes all over the pork with a long skewer (allows marinade to penetrate) and place the pork shoulder into a ziptop bag set inside a shallow dish to catch any leaks. Pour in marinade making sure all sides get coated and seal the bag, pushing any air out. Marinade overnight or at least 2-4 hours for best results, making sure to turn the pork 2 or 3 times.
Roast [ about 1.5hrs -2hrs] : Preheat oven to 325f and place a large dutch oven (or heavy bottomed pot with good fitting lid) on the stove, over a medium-high heat. Place the pork on a paper towel-lined plate. Pour the marinade into a small saucepan and set aside in the fridge for use later. Pat the pork dry and use a metal spoon or your hand to push off as much of the garlic bits clinging onto the pork as you can. We want to brown the pork next and don't want burnt garlic to ruin the taste! Season the pork generously on all sides with kosher salt and black pepper. Once the dutch oven is heated, drizzle a bit of oil and place the pork, fattier side down. Brown to a nice golden brown, about 4 minutes. Continue on all sides including the ends. Lift the browned pork out and set it temporarily on the plate you used earlier. Place the thick onion slices all over the bottom of the pot and return the pork to sit on top of the bed of onions. These onions are going to get super soft and delicious in the serving sauce. Put the lid on and roast in the oven for about 1.5 hrs for a 2 lb piece to 2 hours (for a piece closer to 3 lbs), or when a meat thermometer inserted in the center registers ~170f. Every oven is different (not to mention different pots retain heat differently) so you might want to begin checking the meat temperature ahead of time. Allow the pork to rest under a tented foil so the juices can get reabsorbed before slicing, about 20 minutes. Note this time range is for tender sliced pork (our prefered way to eat pork roasts). However, if you want to do pulled pork style (which is how mojo pork is generally done), you will need to roast a little bit longer until the internal temperature reaches ~180f, then rest for 20 minutes.
Pour the pork drippings and the super soft onions into the sauce pan holding the reserved mojo marinade and bring it to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off heat. If you like the serving sauce thicker, whisk in arrowroot powder (or corn starch) until no lumps remain and allow it to thicken as it sits on the residual heat of the stove burner.
Make Black Bean Rice (two ways outlined below - Stove Top + Instant Pot): While the pork is roasting in the oven, prep and measure out your ingredients for the rice. Tip: to have fresh rice ready at the right time, begin the steps below about 10-20 minutes before you expect to take the pork out of the oven for resting.
a. Stove Top Method ~ 30 total minutes [ see below for Instant Pot Method ]: Set a pot over medium heat. Pour the reserved black bean water into a 2-Cup measuring cup and top up with fresh water up to 2-cup mark. Once the pot is heated, saute the onions, garlic, oregano, cumin, bay leaf and salt in the oil to bloom the spice and soften the onion/oregano, about 2 minutes. Add the well drained rice and stir to coat the rice grains, being gentle so as not to break the grains. And the black bean water and the black beans, and stir to mix everything well. Bring to a simmer, give it one more stir, put lid on, and turn down to low and continue simmering for 20-25 minutes (without lifting the lid until at least the 20 minute mark to check). Fluff the rice and keep covered until ready to serve.
b. Instant Pot Method ~ 30 total minutes including depressurization time [ see above for Stove Top Method ]: Set IP to 'Saute' mode. While it preheats, pour the reserved black bean liquid into a 1-Cup measuring cup and top up with fresh water up to 1-cup mark. Once it registers "hot" on the digital screen, add a drizzle of oil and saute the onions, garlic, oregano, cumin, bay leaf and salt to bloom the spice and soften the onion/oregano about 2 minutes. Add the well drained rice and stir to coat the rice grains, being gentle not to break the grains. Press "cancel" and pour in the black bean water and the black beans. Stirring to mix evenly. Place and lock the IP lid. Press "Manual" button and set to 4 minutes (high pressure), making sure the lid's vent valve is closed off. After the programmed 4 minutes (when it beeps), allow the IP to depressurize naturally which in my 6-Quart IP for this volumn of food takes about 20 minutes give or take, at which point you will hear a soft "click" and the lid will be unlocked (lid cannot be opened before full depressurization). Fluff the rice and keep covered until ready to serve.
Shallow fry the Plantain chips: Set a cast iron skillet over medium/medium-high heat. Once preheated, add in 2 tbsp of oil and lay as many plantain chips as you can fit in a single layer, not touching. Fry 2-3 minutes per side, rest on paper towels and season immediately with coarse salt (I used Maldon flakey salt). Continue with the remaining chips, topping up a bit of oil and adjusting the heat as needed.
Serve: After the pork roast rests, cut ~3/4" thick slices (or pull the meat with two forks for pulled pork) and serve alongside black bean rice, plantain chips, avocado slices with lots and lots of mojo sauce to ladle all over everything - so delish!
Enjoy xx
If you like this recipe, pin it to Pinterest! You can also leave me a comment below to let me know what you think of this post - I would love that. :)
