Pernil is pork marinated in a sauce of bitter orange juice, onion, garlic, achiote, cloves, cinnamon, cumin and panela and slow roasted in the oven for several hours.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Ecuadorian, Latin American
Keyword Pernil, Pork loin, Roasted pork
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 5 hourshours30 minutesminutes
Marinating time 2 daysdays
Total Time 6 hourshours
Servings 10to 12
Ingredients
6-7lbspork loin
1tbsground achiote or annatto seed
¼tspground cloves
1tspground cinnamon
2tspground cumin
2garlic headspeeled
1red onioncut in large chunks
2tbsgrated panela or piloncillosee more info on panela in this post
Juice from 3 bitter orangesreplace with 2 oranges and 1 lemon
Saltabout 2 tbs and pepper (about 1/2 tbs), adjust to taste
Blend the onions, garlic and bitter orange juice to obtain a puree.
Mix the puree with the achiote, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, panela, salt and pepper. (Warning - this marinade is so strong will make you cry – even if you’re wearing contacts)
Make several cuts or incisions in the pork loin and add the onion marinade, rub the pork loin with the marinade trying to get it in to the incisions.
Let the meat marinate for at least 1 day (2-3 days is ideal), turn it over every 6-8 hours. This is a dry roast and the marinade on the roasting pan can leave stains - to avoid this I recommend lining your pan with foil.
Pre-heat the oven to 275 F, bake for 3 hours, turning the roast every hour.
Increase the oven temperature to 350F, bake for another 2 ½ hours, turning the roast every 30 minutes.
Slice the meat finely and serve with whole potatoes sautéed in butter, fried ripe plantains, tomato slices, lettuce, radishes, pickled onions and tree tomato hot sauce.