The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (238 page)
Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
1.
Position roast fat side up. Insert knife ¹⁄
2
inch from bottom of roast and cut horizontally, stopping ¹⁄
2
inch before edge. Open up this flap.
2.
Cut through thicker half of roast about ¹⁄
2
inch from bottom, stopping about ¹⁄
2
inch before edge. Open up this flap.
3.
Repeat until pork loin is even ¹⁄
2
inch thickness throughout. If uneven, cover with plastic wrap and use meat pounder to even out.
4.
With long side of meat facing you, season meat and spread filling, leaving ¹⁄
2
-inch border on all sides.
5.
Starting from short side, roll pork loin tightly.
6.
Tie roast with twine at 1-inch intervals.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
We wanted a boldly flavored Cuban-style roast pork with crackling-crisp skin and tender meat infused with flavor. To speed up cooking, we abandoned cooking the pork completely on the grill (which required constant refueling and rotating over several hours) in favor of a combination cooking method: cooking the pork on the grill until our initial supply of coals died down and then finishing it in the oven. To give the pork added flavor, we again combined methods, first marinating the pork in a powerful solution that included two heads of garlic and 4 cups of orange juice, then rubbing a similarly flavored paste into slits cut all over the pork.
SERVES 8 TO 10
Let the meat rest for a full hour before serving it or it will not be as tender. This roast has a crisp skin that should be served along with the meat. Top the meat with Mojo Sauce (recipe follows). Traditional accompaniments include black beans, rice, and fried plantains.
PORK AND BRINE
1 | (7- to 8- pound) bone-in, skin-on pork picnic shoulder |
3 | cups sugar |
2 | cups salt |
2 | garlic heads, unpeeled cloves separated and crushed |
4 | cups orange juice |
PASTE
12 | garlic cloves, chopped coarse |
2 | tablespoons ground cumin |
2 | tablespoons dried oregano |
1 | tablespoon salt |
1¹⁄ | teaspoons pepper |
6 | tablespoons orange juice |
2 | tablespoons distilled white vinegar |
2 | tablespoons olive oil |
1. FOR THE PORK AND BRINE:
Cut 1-inch-deep slits (about 1 inch long) all over roast, spaced about 2 inches apart. Dissolve sugar and salt in 6 quarts cold water in large container. Stir in garlic and orange juice. Submerge pork in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours. Remove pork from brine and pat dry with paper towels.
2. FOR THE PASTE:
Pulse garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper in food processor to coarse paste, about 10 pulses. With processor running, add orange juice, vinegar, and oil and process until smooth, about 20 seconds. Rub paste all over pork and into slits. Wrap meat in plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
3A. FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL:
Open bottom vent halfway. Light large chimney starter three-quarters filled with charcoal briquettes (4¹⁄
2
quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour into steeply banked pile against side of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent halfway. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
3B. FOR A GAS GRILL:
Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn primary burner to medium-high and turn off other burner(s). (Adjust primary burner as needed during cooking to maintain grill temperature of 300 to 325 degrees.)
4.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place roast skin side up on cool side of grill. Cover (position lid vent over meat if using charcoal) and cook for 2 hours. During final 20 minutes of cooking, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.
5.
Transfer pork to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and cook in oven until skin is browned and crisp and meat registers 190 degrees, 3 to 4 hours.
6.
Transfer roast to carving board and let rest for 1 hour. Remove skin in 1 large piece. Scrape off and discard top layer of fat, then cut meat away from bone in 3 or 4 large pieces. Cut pieces of meat against grain into ¹⁄
4
-inch-thick slices. Scrape excess fat from underside of skin and cut into strips. Serve.
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Place paste-rubbed pork, skin side down, on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and cook for 3 hours. Flip roast skin side up and continue to cook until meat registers 190 degrees, about 3 hours longer, lightly tenting roast with aluminum foil if skin begins to get too dark.
MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP; ENOUGH FOR 1 RECIPE
CUBAN-STYLE GRILL-ROASTED PORK
This sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 day; bring to room temperature before serving.
4 | garlic cloves, minced |
2 | teaspoons kosher salt |
¹⁄ | cup olive oil |
¹⁄ | teaspoon ground cumin |
¹⁄ | cup distilled white vinegar |
¹⁄ | cup orange juice |
¹⁄ | teaspoon dried oregano |
¹⁄ | teaspoon pepper
|
1.
Place minced garlic on cutting board and sprinkle with salt. Using flat side of chef’s knife, drag garlic and salt back and forth across cutting board in small circular motions until garlic is ground into smooth paste.
2.
Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic paste and cumin and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Off heat, whisk in vinegar, orange juice, oregano, and pepper. Transfer to bowl and let cool to room temperature. Whisk sauce to recombine before serving.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Slow-cooked pulled pork is a summertime favorite; however, many barbecue procedures demand the regular attention of the cook for eight hours or more. We wanted to find a way to make moist, fork-tender pulled pork without the marathon cooking time and constant attention to the grill. For the meat, we determined that a shoulder roast (also called Boston butt), which has significant fat, retained the most moisture and flavor during a long, slow cook. We massaged a spicy chili rub into the meat, then wrapped the roast in plastic and refrigerated it for at least three hours to “marinate.” We cooked the roast first on the grill to absorb smoky flavor (from wood chips—no smoker required), then finished it in the oven, as we did with our
“CUBAN-STYLE GRILL-ROASTED PORK”
. Finally, we let the pork rest in a paper bag so the meat would steam and any remaining collagen would break down, allowing the flavorful juices to be reabsorbed.
