Oven Roasted Roast Pork - Latin Style

Ingredients

One Pork Shoulder or Boston Butt
Fresh Garlic (2-3 cloves per pound)
Fresh Oregano (2-3 sprigs per pound)
Olive oil (1 teaspoon per pound)
Vinegar (1/2 teaspoon per pound)
Salt (1/4 teaspoon per pound)
Pepper (1/4 teaspoon per pound)
Sofrito (2 cubes; see sofrito recipe)


Rinse the meat in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Prep the seasoning. Separate the oregano leaves from the stem, peel the garlic and set aside. In a mortar and pestle mash the oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper to a paste. Add the oil and vinegar to loosen the paste.

Pierce the pork all over with a paring knife but do not pierce the skin. In fact, you can peel the skin away from the meat, pierce the meat, and season underneath. Place some of the seasoning mixture in the holes you made and slather the remaining mixture all over. Wrap the meat tightly with plastic wrap and set in the refrigerator overnight.

Remove the meat from the refrigerator about 1 hour prior to cooking. Set the oven to 400 degrees. Place the meat in a foil lined baking pan. Place the meat in the pan and pour two cups of water in the bottom of the pan. Place the meat in the 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, then lower to 350 and cook 35 minutes per pound. The cooking time is a rule of thumb so please use a thermometer to ensure the meat is done. The meat should literally fall apart from the bone and the bone should slide out easily.

The following steps aren't necessary but preferred. Remove the roast pork from the pan, cover loosely with foil, and de fat the au ju. In a medium sauce pan, fry up 2 cubes of sofrito and pour the au ju in the pan and reduce for about 5 minutes. Pull (or shred) the roast pork and pour the au ju over the meat.

Serve this perfect Sunday dinner with my white rice and black bean recipe.