Name: Lechón Asado (Cuban Roast Pork)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 4 h 30 min
Total time: 17 h
Yield: 10
Cuisine: Cuban
Ingredients: 8 to 10 lb skin-on pork shoulder; 1 head garlic, cloves peeled; 2 teaspoons salt; 1 teaspoon black peppercorns; 1 teaspoon onion powder; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1/4 cup olive oil; 1 head garlic (8 to 10 large cloves), peeled; 1 1/2 cups sour orange juice (or 1 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/4 cup lime juice); 1/3 cup minced white onion; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1/3 cup neutral oil or olive oil; 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste; 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Jump to Recipe

My grandma makes pernil for every birthday and every holiday, really anything our family is celebrating. For her it’s a multi-day event. She preps it about a week ahead and freezes it, takes it out to thaw about three days before, and then spends a whole day cooking it. When you walk in, the house smells amazing.

In a lot of Cuban families, lechón asado and pernil mean the same thing: pork shoulder soaked in mojo, a garlicky sour orange marinade, then roasted low and slow until it falls apart. This is the oven version.

I do one extra thing most recipes skip: I cut slits into the skin before it goes in the oven. The skin crisps up better that way, and you end up with those little pieces of cuerito that we eat right off the cutting board.

What You Need for Lechón Asado

Pork shoulder. Get a bone-in, skin-on shoulder, 8 to 10 pounds. Sometimes it’s labeled picnic roast or pernil. The skin is what makes the cuerito, so don’t buy a skinless one.
Sour orange juice (naranja agria). This is what gives mojo its tang. Look for fresh sour oranges or a bottle of sour orange juice in the Latin aisle. If you can’t find either, mix 1 cup orange juice with 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/4 cup lime juice.
Garlic, and a lot of it. You’ll use a whole head for the paste and another whole head for the mojo.
Oregano and cumin. These two are what make it taste Cuban.

My Trick for Crispy Cuerito: Score the Skin

Before anything else, take a very sharp knife and cut slits into the skin in a crosshatch, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Cut through the skin and down through the fat. A sharp utility knife makes it easier, because pork skin is tough.

Those slits do two jobs. They let the fat render out while it roasts, which is what crisps the skin into cuerito. They’re also where the seasoning goes: you push the garlic paste down into every cut, so the flavor gets into the meat without having to lift the skin off.

How To Make Lechón Asado

Make the garlic paste. Mash the garlic, salt, peppercorns, onion powder, oregano, cumin and olive oil into a paste. A mortar and pestle is the traditional way, but a small food processor works too.
Make the mojo. Mash the garlic with a pinch of salt into a paste. Put it in a jar with the sour orange juice, onion, oregano, oil, salt and pepper, close the lid and shake. Taste it and add more salt if it needs it.
Score the skin. Cut slits in a crosshatch about 1 1/2 inches apart, through the skin and down through the fat.
Season the cuts. Set the pork skin side up in a roasting pan (a disposable foil pan works fine). Rub the garlic paste down into every slit and all over the outside. Pour the mojo over and around the pork so it pools in the pan.

Marinate overnight. Cover the pan and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Overnight is best, and for Noche Buena I start it on the 23rd.
Bring it to room temperature. Take the pork out of the fridge about an hour before roasting.
Roast covered. Roast at 375°F with the pan covered in foil for about 4 hours for an 8 to 10 pound shoulder. A smaller shoulder will need less time, so start checking at 3 hours. It’s ready for the next step when a fork twists easily in the thickest part, or a thermometer there reads around 195°F.
Crisp the skin. Take off the foil, pour the pan juices into a heat-safe bowl and save them. Turn the oven up to 450°F and roast uncovered for 25 to 35 minutes, until the skin is puffed, blistered and crackly. Watch it closely at the end.
Rest and shred. Let it rest for 20 minutes. Break off the cuerito in pieces, then shred the meat with two forks and spoon some of the saved juices over it.

shredded cuban pork lechon asado in tray

How To Know It’s Done

For lechón you want the meat soft enough to pull apart, which is around 195 to 200°F in the thickest part. Pork is safe to eat at 145°F, but a shoulder that hasn’t gone much past that will slice instead of shred.

If the skin still has soft spots after the high heat, put it under the broiler for a minute or two at a time. Skin goes from crisp to burnt fast, so don’t walk away.

What To Serve With Lechón

On Noche Buena it goes with Cuban black beans and white rice, yuca con mojo and maduros. Here’s the whole Noche Buena menu, with a make-ahead plan.

Leftovers

Leftover lechón keeps in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Store it with some of the pan juices so it doesn’t dry out.

The best use is a sandwich the next day. Pile it on Cuban bread with thin-sliced onion and a little mojo for pan con lechón, or use it in a Cuban sandwich.

Yield: 10-12 servings