This mojo sauce recipe is easy to make with fresh chilies, sour orange, olive oil and herbs, perfect as a sauce or a marinade, loaded with vibrant flavor.
Hanging out in Florida always inspires me to seek out Cuban food. There are a few places we like to visit for some authentic Cuban cuisine, though I also enjoying making it at home.
In Florida, it is easier to find sour orange juice than back home, and when I have bitter oranges, I want Mojo Sauce.
Mojo is a traditional Cuban sauce that also doubles as a marinade. Its primary components are local chili peppers (if desired), olive oil and sour orange juice along with some other herbs and seasonings.
The flavor is punchy and vibrant with lots of zing factor, perfect for bringing a tangy freshness to your meals.
It is a bit like a vinaigrette where the vinegar is replaced with sour orange juice. If you can't find sour orange juice, use a combination of orange and lime juices, which will approximate the ending flavor and works quite well, though truly, seek out the sour orange juice if you can find it.
Let's talk about how to make mojo sauce.
Mojo Sauce Ingredients
- Garlic.
- Peppers. Use milder local peppers, if desired, or you can use spicier peppers for a hotter version. Remove the seeds and innards for milder.
- Sour Orange Juice. Or use a combination of orange juice and fresh lime juice. Lemon juice can be used.
- Olive Oil.
- Basil.
- Cumin.
- Salt and Pepper. To taste.
How to Make Mojo Sauce
Grind or Process. Grind up the garlic and chili pepper with a mortar and pestle or molcajete. Or, use a food processor. Form a paste.
Add the Liquids and Seasonings. In a mixing bowl, add orange juice, lime juice, oil, basil and cumin.
Combine. Stir in the garlic-chili paste and whisk to combine.
Taste and Adjust. Adjust with salt and pepper and serve.
Boom! Done! Looks great, doesn't it? Such a wonderful recipe. It is tasty stuff, truly. I like to use this a few different ways.
Serving Mojo Sauce
First, it's great as a simple dipper or sauce that you can spoon over meats and sandwiches. Think pulled or roast pork, shredded beef, grilled chicken recipes. Any and all of these will soak in the flavor that is mojo sauce.
Or! Use it as a marinade. Marinate your fish or shrimp for an hour or so. Chicken should marinate longer. It's also good for marinating skirt steak, and consider rotisserie chicken. Just keep spooning it over the chicken and let the flavors build.
Serve a bit on the side as well for dipping if you choose to marinate. It will enhance the flavor even further. I hope you enjoy it!
Recipe Variations
There are different variations of the Cuban Mojo recipe, depending on the recipe source. When I spoke with Cuban cooks in Florida, they like to include fresh ingredients and some dried herbs as well as an optional onion and sometimes chili pepper, as well as oregano, cumin, though some emails to me argue that traditional Cuban Mojo really only consists of sour orange juice, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper.
Feel free to include the other ingredients to your own tastes.
If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you'll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don't forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I'll be sure to share! Thanks! -- Mike H.
Cuban Mojo Sauce Recipe (Mojo Marinade)
Ingredients
- 10 cloves garlic minced
- 1 jalapeno pepper chopped (optional, or use a milder local pepper, or a serrano for spicier)
- Juice from 1 orange a sour orange is GREAT if you can find one
- Juice from 1 lime
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Grind up the garlic and chili pepper in a mortar or molcajete. Or, use a food processor. Form a paste.
- In a mixing bowl, add orange juice, lime juice, oil, basil and cumin.
- Stir in the garlic-chili paste and whisk to combine.
- Adjust with salt and pepper and serve
Notes
Nutrition Information
Cuban Girl says
Your recipe sounds great! But most Cubans don't use any spice. My grandparents don't even like black pepper. It's too spicy for them. I will definitely try this recipe because growing up in the US has caused me to love spice! 🙂
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Cuban Girl. I talk about that a bit in the Recipe Variations section, where the spices are more common with Cubans living in the U.S., like yourself! I appreciate it!