I have recently been marinating a lot of pork shoulder. At least once a week, trying to get a solid adobo recipe and I think i’ve found one I really like. Here’s what i’ve got thusfar.
Ingrediants:
- 4lb bone-in pork shoulder, rinsed and dried
- 2 cans of adobo/chipotle sauce, slice the chipotle peppers
- 4 jalapenos, seeded and cut into slices
- 1 1/2 tbsp cumin
- 1 1/2 tbsp paprika
- 3 bay leaves
- some cilantro, chopped
- 4 navel oranges, juiced
- 2 medium white onions
Pretty simple directions to follow:
Combine adobo sauce, chipotles, jalapeno, cumin, paprika, bay leaves and cilantro into a large bowl. Stab a few small cuts in the pork shoulder to allow the marinade access to other areas of the pork. Generally I do 6-8 cuts to ensure the marinade gets to seep inside. Thoroughly coat the pork butt in the sauce, ensuring the marinade gets into all the small cuts you’ve made. Let rest for a day or so in the fridge.
A few hours before you’re ready to cook this, take it out of the fridge and let it get back to room temperature. I usualy cook it in a large dutch oven. Add the sliced onions and then cook on the stove top, medium heat for a bit, until you have cooked each side of the meat a bit on the outside. This usually takes about 20 minutes depending on how high or low you have your heat. Preheat oven to 250.
Add the juice from the oranges and put it in the oven. Cook for hours. After 2 hours, I flip the pork shoulder over and then cook it for an additional 2 hours. You can do this for as little as 2.5 hours, but i recommend at least 3.5 hours.
After it’s done cooking, it’s important that you let the meat rest. I take the pork out of the dutch oven and wait for at least 30 minutes before shredding it with two forks while carefully removing the fat.
Strain the onions and peppers from the juices in the pan, carefully removing the bay leaves if you run into them. I usually serve this as a side, but beware, it will be very spicy for most people.
You have the option to cook down the remaining juices from the meal to be used as a sauce. Take the strained liquid and throw it into a sauce pan over high heat and let it reduce down till it reaches the correct consistency. This should take about 15 minutes or so.
You can serve this as sandwiches, as tacos, as just plain meat on top of rice or any other countless number of ways. If done properly, it should have an acute smokey taste on the bark of the pork, and a decent amount of kick on the inside.
