A friend of mine whose family emigrated to Florida after Batista fell used to beg me to do a Cuban-style roast pork rather than a typical pig roast for our summer fraternity cookouts. Bowing to her wisdom, her dad gave me a recipe that I played around with and came up with a tasty marinade (better as an injection) and rub that has stayed the same since my undergrad years in the 90's. Since I'm hosting a little cookout in a couple of weeks I decided to dust this one off an feed a bunch of friends after we go on a fishing trip.
Mojo Marinade/Injection30 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely minced, mashed into a paste with mortar & pestle
1 Cup orange juice
1/4 Cup lime juice
1/4 Cup lemon juice
1/4 Cup olive oil
1 Tbsp Mexican oregano, dried
1 Tbsp ground black pepper
2 Tsp kosher salt
2 Tsp ground cumin
1 Tsp orange zest
1 Tsp lime zest
You read that right ... 30 cloves of garlic. Be sure to use a mortar and pestle to mash the garlic into a smooth paste. Take all ingredients and pulse in a food processor or blender until combined. Refrigerate 24 hours prior to the injection process. You may want to make additional mojo for a sauce after the butt is smoked.
Cuban Pork Rub3 Tbsp kosher salt
3 Tbsp ground black pepper
3 Tbsp Mexican oregano, dried
3 Tbsp onion powder
3 Tbsp garlic powder
3 Tbsp orange zest
Cuban-Style Mojo Smoked Pork ButtTake a 6-8 lbs. bone-in pork butt and inject the Mojo marinade throughout the meat; wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight. Remove butt from the refrigerator, coat in olive oil and liberally apply the Cuban Pork Rub over the meat. Place in a cold smoker set to 225 with 2 ounces of apple wood and 2 ounces of cherry wood. Smoke until you reach an internal temperature of 195, remove and foil and place in a cooler wrapped with towels for up to 90 minutes. Total cooking time should be 12-14 hours.
Remove, pull into medium sized chunks and serve on Cuban bread or as a protein entree with black beans and rice. You can apply any reserved Mojo as a sauce after adding two Tbsp of honey and heating to a low simmer until the sauce reduces slightly.
