Cochinita Pibil

Two months...wow, how time flies! Since my last post, so many wonderful things have happened! I've celebrated my 26th (golden) birthday with friends and family, enjoyed the remainder of my Chicago summer vacation by eating at a number of great new restaurants (like this one...and this one...and this one...oh, and this one!) started a new practicum site, flown back to Chicago to celebrate my cousin Angel's wedding (congratulations, girl!) and today, had my "20th first day of school" as I started my second year at Pepperdine. So many blessings!

So I think I'll take the chance to update the blog (anyone reading this?) with the new recipes that I made in between all of these wonderfully exciting events. I'll start with one that I'd been wanting to make for a long time (adapted from over here) because it combines two of my favorite things in the kitchen: pork and Mexican flavors.

Ingredients
3-4 lbs. pork shoulder
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 5 limes)
Salt
3 oz. red achiote paste
1/2 red onion
Red wine vinegar
Queso seco (dry Mexican cheese)
Cilantro

Directions
1. 24 hours prior to serving, cut the pork into two-inch cubes and place in a large Ziploc bag.
2. In a small bowl, combine 1 tsp. salt, orange and lime juice with the achiote paste.
3. Transfer to the Ziploc and seal the bag tightly. Rub the pork around until evenly coated and refrigerate. This turns the pork a lovely orange color as it marinates.
*Note: rinse the bowl right away so the achiote paste doesn' stain!

4. Thirty minutes before you want to begin cooking (which will take four hours, so this is definitely a plan-ahead meal!), take the pork out of the refrigerator to take the chill out.
5. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a baking dish with several layers of foil (you'll need to create a good seal to close the pork in while it cooks).
6. Once the dish is lined generously with foil, add the pork and marinade. Cover tightly with the foil so it is fully encased.
7. Cook for approximately four hours so the pork falls apart.

8. During this time, you can prepare the red onion garnish. Thinly slice the red onion and place in a small bowl. Lightly salt and cover with red wine vinegar. Let the onions sit so that they can lightly pickle.

9. When the pork is done, remove it to a large bowl and shred with two forks. Spoon enough of the leftover marinade to wet the meat.
10. To serve, you can place the pork in a bowl on top of this rice, then top with chopped cilantro, the pickled red onions and crumbled queso seco.