Lechon Asado
Pork shoulder marinated overnight in sour orange, garlic and oregano mojo, then roasted slowly until the meat falls apart and the skin crackles.
Photograph credit: Cochinillo asado-Madrid (image of cochinillo asado on Wikidata Q8347391) by Tamorlan · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Lechon Asado, Step by Step
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Crush the garlic with the salt, oregano and cumin to a paste. Stir in the orange juice, lime juice and oil.
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Poke the pork all over with a knife and pour the marinade into the cuts and over the surface. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
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Heat the oven to 150°C / 300°F (130°C / 265°F fan). Lay the onion rings in a roasting tin and set the pork on top. Cover with foil.
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Roast for 3 hours 30 minutes, basting every hour.
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Remove the foil, raise the oven to 220°C / 430°F (200°C / 390°F fan) and roast for 30 minutes more until the skin is crisp. Rest for 20 minutes and shred.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
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Small Things That Help
- Marinate for at least 12 hours.
- Baste often with the juices.
- Crackle the skin at the end.
Swaps and Variations
- Lemon is the everyday swap for lime in this kind of dish — the acidity plays the same role even though the flavour is not identical.
- An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
- Fresh herbs work in place of the dried oregano at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.
Serving Suggestions
- Black beans
- White rice
- Fried plantains
- Yuca con mojo
Leftovers and Storage
Keeps in the fridge for 4 days and freezes for up to 3 months.
Lechon Asado FAQ: Common Questions
How long does Lechon Asado take to make?
20 minutes of preparation and 4 hours of cooking, plus 8 hours 20 minutes of Marinating overnight, so allow 12 hours 40 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 8.
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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