Long slow cooked dishes usually make me think of the cooler months, but using the slow cooker means the kitchen doesn’t get all hot and steamy, and I don’t get all hot and bothered. And with a little planning, if you need to use the oven, head out for a few hours to enjoy the sunshine and come home to a delicious meal!
I bought a shoulder of pork the other day, a not expensive cut of meat which goes a long way with a little crowd, or it can be used for a few meals when it’s just the two of us. I’d seen a few recipes for Cuban Mojo Pork which included the juice of citrus fruits like orange , lemon and lime and the fresh flavours appealed. I also recently discovered a lovely new blog, Iowa Girl Eats. Lots of lovely gluten free recipes for those that don’t/can’t eat gluten, and for others like me who can…just a lot of lovely, beautifully photographed recipes! This dish follows her recipe pretty much exactly (thank you Kristin!) and I can highly recommend it. We ate the dish, as she suggested with rice, guacamole and I made some spicy Black Bean dip. Lots of lovely leftovers too, so a win-win situation.
Ingredients (to serve 6 approx)
- Pork shoulder (about 2kg), skin removed
- 3/4 cup chicken stock or water
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup each of lime and lemon juice
- 1 red onion, finely sliced
- 1 hot chili (cut open but left whole)
- 1 whole head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 or 2 teaspoons of dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon each of dried cumin and smoked pimentón
- 2 bay leaves
Put all the ingredients into the slow cooker and cook on low for about 10 hours. The meat should shred easily (like pulled pork) or you can leave it in chunks. I put the pork shoulder in whole but you can cut into large chunks if it fits better into your pot that way.
If cooking in a conventional oven, I’d recommend cutting the pork into about four or six pieces, using a cup and a half of chicken stock and cooking on low for about 3 hours. Check the liquid half way through, you may need to add more as you want the final dish to be juicy with some of the lovely sauce it creates to spoon over.
Serve with whatever you fancy. I make my guacamole by mashing a large ripe avocado then adding in some finely chopped spring onion, a finely chopped ripe tomato, finely chopped coriander and chili and seasoning.
If you enjoy slow cooked pork dishes, check out my Chinese Style Slow Cooked Pork.
PS. Am playing around with a “new look” on the blog. Let me know what you think, all criticism happily accepted! And if anyone knows how to add a “search” button to the top of the page, I’d love to know how…
Chica Andaluza 
This looks good enough to eat
Having been in Texas for the last two weeks I can appreciate your comments about the heat in the kitchen. I’m going to try this delicious looking recipe when I get back home to the cold of southern winter. I love pork.
Safe travels dear Diane!
That looks delicious. I think I will have to try it instead of a Sunday roast.
You should be able to add Search via a Widget. You should already have it in your Widgets (under Appearance). You activate it by dragging it right to the Sidebar.
Ooh thanks for the advice, will give it a go!
Email me if you have any problems.
Think I managed to sort it with your instructions! Muchísimas gracias 😀
Tanya Russo
De nada 🙂
Being in such a bad place at the moment, kitty still fighting but about the same a week later, when I clicked the link to your post, I thought I landed in the wrong place. Gorgeous looking theme and magical meal too.
Chat soon friend.
🙂 Mandy xoxoxo
I was thinking of you this morning. So sorry that little kitty is not improving. Big hug xx
Love it ! Love the look Love the pork and my search button is rubbish too!!
Just imagine it with your home grown pork…not that it would need anything added to it, simply done it would taste amazing!
I love me some Cuban food! I am going to try this! Thanks for sharing it!
You’re most welcome!
An eminently ‘sensible’ as well as delicious pork offering rather well suited to our Australian mid-winter. However, after reading the above I realize that all my years on this sun-baked continent must have ensured I paid but little heed to hot ovens even in summertime 🙂 !! I would cook this even in mid-summer heat wave conditions – just open the doors and windows!!!
That’s what windows and doors are for…in the English summer!
When I opened this up I thought what a great, clean new look to your blog, Tanya, and the recipe sounds fabulous too. I shall pass this along to my son because his lady has a gluten allergy and he mostly does the cooking. 🙂 🙂
Thanks for your kind words Jo. And I think they’ll enjoy the other website too.
Both recipe and blog look great. Why hadn’t I thought about the obvious benefit of using the slow cooker rather the oven in summer? Thanks for educating the idiot 😉
Oh, this looks so good! Love your sides as well.
I love slow cooked pork, especially with Cuban flavours. This looks fabulous.
Looks really yummy! It’s funny how many topical countries love what we would normally call winter dishes like hearty, slow cooked meats and stews. It’s certainly true of Central America, as well as West Africa. I’ve always found it curious, but I won’t complain because the eating is often very good.
So true 😀
your food is a good taste, so you are a good person… 🙂
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Nice and delicious with Cuban style! Thank for your recipe 🙂
Excellent presentation. I really love how the pork looks in the first shot.
Thank you Conor!