The Hirshon Yucatecan Shredded Pork – Cochinita Pibil

Ingredients

• Marinade:
• 1 head purple-skinned garlic
• 1 orange or red habanero pepper
• 2 tablespoons lard (preferred) or vegetable oil
• ¼ cup achiote seeds
• 2 tablespoons dried Mexican oregano
• 4 cloves
• 1 2" cinnamon stick (Mexican cinnamon, not cassia)
• 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
• 2 tablespoons whole cumin seed
• 1 tablespoon whole allspice berries
• ¾ cup sour (Seville) orange juice, or ¼ cup each lime, orange, and grapefruit juice
• 1/8 cup Añejo tequila
• 1/8 cup pineapple vinegar (if unavailable use white vinegar)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• Kosher salt
• ***
• Pork:
• 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder (or 6 pounds bone-in) cut into 2-inch slabs
• 2 roma tomatoes, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 white onion, sliced
• a dozen bay leaves
• ***
• Hickory wood chips, soaked in ½ inexpensive tequila and ½ water
• ***
• Pickled red onions:
• 2 medium to large red onions, sliced into thin rings
• 1 cup pineapple vinegar (if unavailable, use white vinegar)
• 1 generous teaspoon dry oregano (Mexican if possible)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• ***
• Roasted habanero salsa:
• 8 medium (about 3 ounces total) fresh habanero chiles
• 2 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• Salt

Instructions

1. For the pickled onions:
2. Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl with enough water to cover the onions, and marinate for 5 hours.
3.  
4. Serve at room temperature with the Yucatan pork, with refried beans, or on sandwiches.
5. For the salsa:
6. In an ungreased skillet over medium heat, roast the chiles and garlic, turning regularly, until they’re soft and darkened in spots, 5 to 10 minutes for the chiles, 15 minutes for the garlic. When cool, slip the skins off the garlic.
7. In a blender or small food processor, add the garlic and roasted chiles plus the lime juice and enough water to give it a spoonable consistency, usually 2 to 4 tablespoons. Blend until smooth. Taste (gingerly) and season with salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon. This salsa will last several days.
8. For the pork:
9. Separate the garlic cloves but don't peel them. Thread them onto a metal skewer and grill directly over the flame of a gas grill until completely blackened on all sides. Alternatively, toss them in a dry skillet over high heat until blackened. Peel the blackened skins when cool enough to handle.
10. Heat the oil/lard in a skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add achiote, oregano, cloves, cinnamon, black peppercorn, cumin, and allspice and cook, tossing and stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a blender along with the garlic, the sour orange juice, the vinegar, the soy sauce, the habanero and a big pinch of salt. Blend until smooth. Season to taste with more salt. It should be quite salty.
11. Pour the marinade over the meat and let it rest overnight.
12. Lay out some banana leaves (you can get them frozen at Asian supermarkets). Roast the banana leaf, if you bought it from the frozen section of the supermarket, wait until it is completely defrosted. (Please check the ingredients list below)
13. To roast the banana leaf, place it directly over a medium-hot fire of your gas stove, it will start changing color and getting some shiny while in contact with the fire. Make sure not to burn the leaves, we just want them to be pliable.
14. Place a hunk of pork in the middle. Top with tomatoes, peppers, onions, and bay leaves. Fold up the banana leaves and secure with twine. Repeat with remaining pork pieces and place all the pork on a disposable aluminum baking dish.
15. Light up a chimney full of charcoal in your charcoal grill and spread them out on one side. Add a bunch of soaked hickory wood chunks. Place the aluminum tray on the opposite side from the fire and close the lid. Smoke the pork, aiming for a temperature of around 300°F inside the chamber the whole time, until the pork is tender, about 4 hours. (You'll have to adjust heat by adding coals and/or adjusting the air vents.) Add extra wood chunks in every hour or so to keep it nice and smoky.
16. Take it out, unwrap it, shred the meat, and eat on a soft taco with the pickled onions and salsa.