Wanda Oyola, Thermomix® Independent Consultant in Kissimmee Book a cooking demo
Sweet Sofrito

Pernil (Puerto Rican Roast Pork Shoulder)

Slow-roasted pork shoulder with a garlic and oregano adobo and crackling skin. Marinate it the night before.

By Wanda Oyola 5 h 30 min Medium

Jump to recipe Save on Pinterest

Recipe in testing: I'm cooking it in my TM7™ and will update the steps and the photo with my own.

Roast pernil with golden crackling skin, partly sliced on a wooden board with garlic, thyme and lime wedges.

Pernil is the centerpiece of a Puerto Rican Christmas table, and of many birthdays and family parties in between: a whole pork shoulder seasoned deep into the meat with garlic, oregano and vinegar, roasted low and slow until it pulls apart, then finished hot so the skin, the cuerito, turns golden and crackly. Everybody wants a piece of the cuerito.

The Thermomix® TM7™ grinds the adobo into a smooth, garlicky paste in seconds, so it is easy to push into every cut, and the oven does the rest. Start a day ahead: the pork needs a night in the fridge with the adobo, and about five hours in the oven on the day you serve it.

Made in the Thermomix® TM7™

Pernil (Puerto Rican Roast Pork Shoulder)

Makes: 10 to 12 servings

  • Prep30 min
  • Cook5 h
  • Total5 h 30 min
  • Serves10

Ingredients

For the adobo

Instructions

  1. Place the garlic, salt, oregano, pepper and sazón (if using) in the mixing bowl and chop 10 sec/speed 8. Scrape down the sides, add the oil and vinegar and mix 10 sec/speed 4 to make a paste.
  2. Pat the pork dry. With a small knife, gently loosen the skin from the meat on one side, leaving it attached on the other side like a flap. Make 12 to 15 deep cuts, about 3 cm (1 1/4 in) long, all over the meat.
  3. Push the adobo into the cuts and rub it over the meat under the skin flap and underneath. Keep the skin itself free of adobo, fold it back down and rub it with a pinch of salt.
  4. Place the pork skin side up in a roasting pan, cover and refrigerate at least 12 hours, or up to 48 hours.
  5. Take the pork out of the fridge 1 hour before roasting. Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Pour the water into the pan, cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and roast 3 1/2 hours.
  6. Remove the foil and roast 1 hour more, until a thermometer in the thickest part (not touching the bone) reads 85°C to 90°C (185°F to 195°F) and the meat is fork tender.
  7. Raise the oven to 220°C (425°F) and roast 15 to 25 minutes more, watching closely, until the skin puffs up and turns crisp and golden. Cover any spots that darken too fast with a small piece of foil.
  8. Let the pernil rest 20 minutes. Break the cuerito into pieces, then slice or pull the meat and spoon the pan juices over it.

Tips

  • Serve it with arroz con gandules and a green salad for the classic holiday plate.
  • No skin on your pork shoulder? Roast it the same way and spoon the pan juices over it often during the last hour.
  • The cuerito softens as it sits. Crisp leftover pieces on a sheet pan in the oven at 220°C (425°F) for a few minutes.
  • Leftover pernil makes great sandwiches. It keeps 4 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer, packed with some of its juices.

More recipes to try