Lechon Asado

Ingredients

• 5 pounds pork shoulder, bone-in, skin-on if available – patted dry
• 10 cloves garlic – mashed to a paste
• 1.5 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano – crumbled
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup sour orange juice
• 0.25 cup olive oil
• 2 onion – medium, thinly sliced, divided

Instructions

1. Make the mojo: In a bowl, mash the garlic with the kosher salt to a rough paste. Whisk in the ground cumin, dried oregano, black pepper, sour orange juice, and olive oil until emulsified. Reserve 0.5 cup of this mojo in a covered container and refrigerate for finishing later.
2. Marinate the pork: Score the skin in a crosshatch pattern without cutting into the meat (if skin-on). Pierce the meat all over with a knife. Place the pork in a nonreactive dish and pour the remaining mojo over it, turning to coat well. Cover and refrigerate 8–24 hours, turning once halfway through.
3. Prepare to roast: Remove the pork from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking. Heat the oven to 325°F with a rack in the lower-middle position. Spread half of the sliced onions in a roasting pan to form a bed and set the pork skin-side up on top. Scrape any clinging marinade from the dish into the pan around the pork.
4. Roast the pork: Roast at 325°F, basting with pan juices every hour, until the pork is very tender and an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part reads 190–195°F, 3.5–4.5 hours. If the surface darkens too quickly, tent loosely with foil.
5. Crisp the skin (optional): For skin-on pork, increase oven to 450°F or broil on high and cook 5–8 minutes, watching closely, until the skin is blistered and crisp.
6. Rest and make the onion mojo: Transfer the pork to a board and rest 20 minutes. Skim fat from the pan juices. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the reserved 0.5 cup mojo with the remaining sliced onions and simmer until the onions just soften, 2–3 minutes; stir in a few tablespoons of the defatted pan juices.
7. Serve: Carve or pull the pork into large pieces. Spoon the warm onion mojo over the meat and drizzle with additional pan juices. Serve immediately.