Cochinita Pibil

The banana leaf has been used in the Americas and elsewhere, for that matter, for millennia as the environmentally friendly aluminum foil used to keep food moist during cooking. This Yucatecan dish is a fusion of the Mayan and the Spanish, a love child of this blending of two contrasting worlds. It is a "surprise du chef" to be opened up at the table like a gift, revealing the achiote-colored meat flavored with sour orange and other spices.

Instead of using recado rojo or achiote paste, I have ground the achiote seeds myself with the rest of the spices because I don't like some of the additives in the commercial paste but you might want to take advantage of the convenience of the achiote paste, especially if that is all that is available to you. Add it to your mixture a tablespoon at a time until you get the desired consistency and color: about as  thick as porridge and a rusty red color.

The name, cochinita, means suckling pig and pibil in Mayan language is the underground pit.  Here, I've used pork shoulder and set my oven at 325 degrees for about 3 hours. I personally don't like the look of shredded meat, so I leave mine in large chunks. 

A a brief search online will show you there are a million ways to prepare Cochinita Pibil, but the similarity will always be in the length of cooking time. It does take time to cook, but you don't have to stand by the stove; it will take care of itself. This meat will be so tender and flavorful, you will not need a knife.

Cochinita Pibil

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Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 3 hours

Total time: 3 hours 30 mins

Serves: 2

You will need to marinate the meat for at least an hour with the achiote mixture and the sour orange juices. Leaving it to marinate overnight is even better. Many of these spices are available through our friends at Latinbag.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. pork shoulder cut into large chunks

For grinding together in a coffee grinder or molcajete

• 3 tablespoons achiote seeds
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons salt

Liquids for the marinade:

• 1 ¼ cup sour orange juice or juice from about 3 oranges and 2 (juicy) limes
• 1 tablespoon vinegar

Toast on comal

• ½ red onion cut into about 4 pieces
• 5 cloves peeled garlic
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 guajillo chiles split open (first simmered for 10 minutes)
• 1 package banana leaves

Instructions:

Achiote

1. For grinding in a coffee grinder (if you don't have a coffee grinder just throw them into the blender with the other sour orange juice and blend for about 3 minutes until it is no longer grainy)


2. In a blender mix the dry achiote ingredients above with the orange/lime liquid until it is blended into a thick sauce


3. Marinate the meat with this sauce in the refrigerator for at least one hour, but overnight is even better.


4. On a comal or iron skillet on a very low flame, toast the chunks of onion, the peeled garlic, bay leaves and guajillo chiles


5. Wash the banana leaves and heat them slightly on the skillet or comal to soften them.


6. Lay them out on the bottom of your baking dish leaving 'flaps' that will fold after you've placed your marinated pork into the dish.


7. Arrange your toasted spices on top of the marinated pork.


8. Fold over all your 'flaps' until the pork is completely encased in the leaves.


9. Cover the dish with a layer of tin foil for additional protection.


10. It will be ready from between 2 1/2 to 3 hours.


11. Serve it on a bed of rice or make tacos with the meat garnished with red onion that has soaked in lime juice.

Garnish for tacos

1. ½ red onion sliced thin and soaked in fresh squeezed lime juice