Mojo Cuban Roast Pork

This is THE Cuban Roast Pork from the 2014 movie “Chef”, created especially for the movie by LA Korean-fusion food truck original and rockstar chef Roy Choi. Easy to make, the pork is juicy and tender (no thermometer required!) and the flavour is incredible. INCREDIBLE!!

While the rest of the word is obsessed with “50 Shades of Grey”, I am obsessed with the Jon Favreau movie “Chef”. Have you seen it? If you are a foodie, it is a must-see!

There are classic moments in the movie that only “foodies” will appreciate. Like when one of the actors is swaying away to the beat of Latin music while he rubs marinade into the pork (seriously, cooking has never been so sexy!). And the passion for cooking the food you love.

I was somewhat dubious about trying a recipe from a movie until I read that the “star” recipe was actually developed by a real chef – Roy Choi. Do you know who Roy Choi is? He is a ROCK STAR in the foodie world, known for starting the food truck movement in LA with his Korean-fusion taco truck, Kogi. Cool and talented beyond words.

I found the recipe for the Mojo marinated Cuban Roast Pork from the Chef movie here on thestar.com. And as soon as I read it, I knew it was going to be a good recipe.

When I tried it, I discovered it was a great recipe. One that I had to share with you!

This Cuban Roast Pork is really easy to make. Just whizz up a handful of ingredients for the marinade, then let it marinate overnight to get the flavours infused into the pork. This marinade REALLY infuses into the meat. You will be amazed.

It’s also much less maintenance and stress than traditional roast pork because this is meant to be cooked past overdone, long and slow until the meat is tender and juicy. The cook times I have provided yields a roast that is really tender and juicy but can still be carved. But you know what? Even if your oven is too strong, if you leave it in for too long, it is still going to work! The worst that can happen is that the meat is too tender and it becomes fall apart i.e. you simply pull shreds off with tongs instead of carving it.

Really. If that is the “dud” outcome, then in my books, this is a “foolproof” recipe.

I made this Cuban Roast Pork using Murray Valley Pork which is simply the best quality pork produced in Australia! You can’t get it at supermarkets, only at butchers, and if there’s ever a time to splurge on good quality pork, Easter is it!

OK, signing off! I really want to say I’m going to have this Cuban Roast Pork for Easter lunch. But I have cooked almost 15 kg/30 lb of pork in the past couple of weeks so I’m pretty porked out. So I think I’m going to stick with chicken this year.

Really hope you consider this pork for your Easter table though!! I promise it is worthy of being the centrepiece. 🙂 – Nagi

PS Make sure you save some Cuban Pork Roast to make Cuban Sandwiches (Cubanos)! I’ll share the recipe on Easter Monday.  All you need is leftover Mojo Marinated Pork, baguettes, swiss cheese, gherkins and slices of ordinary ham. One of the BEST SANDWICHES I have never had in my life!! 

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Juicy Cuban Mojo Pork Roast (Chef Movie recipe)

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 3 hrs

Total: 3 hrs 15 mins

Pork, Roast

Caribbean, Cuban

4.85 from 58 votes

Servings8 -10

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This is the Mojo Marinated Roast Pork from the John Favreau movie "Chef". The recipe was created by rock star LA chef Roy Choi. The flavours of the marinade are classic Cuban, citrusy and strong. It infuses into the pork incredibly well. I made this with boneless pork shoulder because I made it specifically with the intention of using leftovers to make Cubanos (Cuban sandwiches) and boneless is easier to slice. But it can also be made with bone-in pork (add 0.5kg/1lb to the pork weight). This roast is extremely tender though is still suited to carving rather than "pulling apart" with tongs - though I also provide the cook times for a pulled Cuban pork option!

Ingredients

Marinade

• ▢ 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 1 cup cilantro / coriander, lightly packed
• ▢ 1 tbsp orange zest
• ▢ 3/4 cup orange juice, fresh
• ▢ 1/2 cup lime juice
• ▢ 1/4 cup mint leaves, lightly packed
• ▢ 8 garlic cloves
• ▢ 1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves, packed (or 1/2 tbsp dried oregano)
• ▢ 2 tsp ground cumin
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ 1 tsp black pepper

Pork

• ▢ 4 lb / 2 kg pork shoulder / pork butt, skinless and boneless (not loin or leg roast, will dry out)

Mojo Sauce

• ▢ 2 tbsp lime juice
• ▢ 1/4 cup orange juice
• ▢ Salt and pepper

Instructions

• Combine Marinade ingredients in a food processor and blend until the herbs and garlic are finely chopped. Alternatively, you can finely chop/mince the garlic and herbs then mix all ingredients in a bowl.
• Place in a large ziplock bag with the pork. Place in the fridge overnight (in a bowl, just to be safe).
• Remove the pork from the Marinade and leave on counter for 1 hour (bring to room temp). Reserve the Marinade.
• Preheat oven to 220°C/425°F (200°C fan).
• Roast, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Base with pan juices.
• Reduce heat to 190°C/375°F (170°C). Roast for another 1 1/2 - 2 hours, basting every half hour, until the internal temperature reaches 70°/160°F. At this temperature, the pork is cooked, still juicy, and carvable, as it is intended to be (Note 1)
• Fall-apart tender alternative (not slicable, meat falls apart): Roast at 160°C/320°F (all oven types) for 3 1/2 hours, or until the meat can be easily shredded using 2 forks (check on side).
• Remove from the oven and place on a plate, loosely covered with foil. Rest for 20 minutes before serving with the Mojo Sauce on the side. I decorated mine with pan fried slices of oranges and extra cilantro/coriander leaves.

Mojo Sauce

• Place the reserved Marinade, Mojo Sauce ingredients and 2 tbsp of the roasting pan drippings into a small saucepan. Bring to boil and add salt and pepper to taste. You might also want to add more lime juice or even a touch of sugar. Turn the heat down and simmer for 1 minute, then remove from the stove and set aside.

Recipe Notes:

1. I use the same Marinade ingredients as the original recipe and for the sliceable version (as pictured in post), the cook time is per the source recipe.

Most people are used to slow cooking pork shoulder until it is shreddable. But for Cuban Mojo Pork, it is supposed to be cooked so it can be sliced rather than easily shreddable, especially for Cubanos (Cuban pork sandwiches), a traditional and famous use for Mojo Roast Pork (made using thin slices of the pork)!

Fall apart option - I also provide a "fall apart" option which is not carvable into neat slices because the meat is so tender. The slow cooked fall-apart option is incredible delicious, you can't go wrong with Cuban pulled pork!! The bonus is that it's easier - no thermometer required.

Option to roll the pork into a neat roll and tie with kitchen strings, to get nice round pork slices. 

DO NOT use loin, tenderloin or leg - they will dry out. Neck will work.

2. This would be great served with Caribbean Rice and Beans or Coconut Rice (but omit the kaffir lime leaves from this recipe as that is for Asian coconut rice.

3. Make sure you save some pork to make Cuban Sandwiches (Cubanos)! I'll be sharing the recipe on Monday. One of the BEST sandwiches I have ever had in my life!

4. Recipe adapted from Mojo Marinated Pork Shoulder from Food and Wine. The Marinade ingredients are exactly the same. The Mojo Sauce is something I made up (why waste the delicious Marinade??!). And the roasting time and method is slightly different - refer Note 1.

5. Cuban Roast Pork nutrition per serving assuming 10 servings and that all the Mojo Sauce is used (which it probably won't be). This nutrition analysis does not take into account that not all the pan drippings (i.e. pork fat) is consumed because it is discarded. So the calories per serving is lower.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 229gCalories: 538cal (27%)Carbohydrates: 4.2g (1%)Protein: 31.3g (63%)Fat: 44.5g (68%)Saturated Fat: 13.5g (84%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 31gCholesterol: 113mg (38%)Sodium: 356mg (15%)Sugar: 2.1g (2%)

Keywords: mojo roast pork

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I think you’ll LOVE this Grilled Corn with Chipotle Mayo to serve on the side!

Or how about this Green Coriander / Cilantro Rice? Very on-theme! 🙂