Pernil Recipe (Puerto Rican Roast Pork)

5 from 21 votes

Pernil Recipe (Puerto Rican Roast Pork)

Pernil is a mouthwatering dish of marinated pork shoulder or leg slow roasted until fall-apart tender and delicious crispy skin, a holiday favorite. This is the best roasted pulled pork you'll ever have.

Prep Time15

Cook Time5

Total Time5 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Puerto Rican

Keyword: Christmas, holiday, pork, pork shoulder, pulled pork, roast, sofrito, spicy

Servings:

Calories: 353kcal

Author: Mike Hultquist

Ingredients

FOR THE MARINADE

3 tablespoons sofrito
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup olive oil

FOR THE PERNIL (Roast Pork)

4-6 pound pork shoulder bone-in, skin on – Or you can use boneless – see recipe notes
8 cloves garlic sliced
1 cup sour orange juice (or use an equal mix of orange juice and lime juice)
1 cup water (or more as needed)

FOR SERVING

2 tablespoons vinegar
1/2 cup cilantro chopped

Instructions

PREPARE THE MARINADE

Combine the sofrito, oregano, garlic powder, coriander, onion powder, cumin and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir in the olive oil and mix well. Set aside for now.

FOR THE PERNIL

Cut various slits into the pork and stuff the garlic slices into them. I like to make long slices along every side, making this part easier.
Rub down the pork shoulder with the prepared marinade. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Overnight is better for more flavor penetration.
Heat oven to 300 degrees F.
Transfer the pork shoulder to the bottom of a roasting pan or large baking dish, skin side up. Wipe the skin clean of any marinade and excess moisture. This will help with the crispy skin.
Pour 1 cup water and 1 cup sour orange juice into the bottom of the roasting pan, then cover the pan with foil, leaving no gaps.
Bake the pork shoulder for 3 hours.
Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Rotate the roasting pan around for even cooking and remove the foil. Pat the skin dry with a paper towel. Add 1-2 cups additional water/sour orange if the bottom is too dry.
Bake for 1-2 hours or longer, until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 210 degrees F when measured with a meat thermometer, or when a a skewer can pierce the meat easily.
If cooking with skin-on, the skin should be nice and crispy, but if it is not, turn up the oven temperature to 500 degrees F and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until the skin is browned and crispy.
Remove from heat and rest 20 minutes. Carve and serve.
For Serving. Drain the drippings from the roasting pan into a bowl and skim the fat. Stir in vinegar and chopped cilantro. Add salt to taste. Serve with the finished pork as a dipping sauce or gravy.

Nutrition