Pernil (Puerto Rican Pork Roast)
October 11, 2021 • Meat & Poultry
One of the things I most love about cooking is making an authentic ethnic recipe. When I was in Puerto Rico just before the pandemic, my boyfriend’s aunt shared with me her recipe for Sofrito. She even sent me home with some herbs and a bag of gandules to make a Puerto Rican themed dinner for my boyfriend’s family. And then the pandemic hit, and we never had that dinner.
Eighteen months later we finally got the fully vaccinated family together for that long overdue dinner, and I made Pernil as the centerpiece of the dinner. Although technically the pork roast for Pernil should have the skin on, mine didn’t but it was still delicious. If you can find a roast with the skin on, be sure to cut through the skin to score it so it doesn’t curl up when cooking. Give yourself enough time to slow cook the pork – mine took eight hours until tender! – and be sure to keep water in the pan to keep it moist.
- 1 4-5 pound bone in pork roast (shoulder, butt, or leg)
- ½ cup Sofrito
- Rub the roast all over with Sofrito and refrigerate for at least 24 hours to marinate.
- Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the marinated pork on a rack in a roasting pan and add about 1 inch of water to the bottom. Cover tightly with foil and roast until tender, about 6 to 8 hours, checking every couple of hours to add water if needed. The pork should fall from the bone and be tender before serving.