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15 Recipes For An Authentic Puerto Rican Christmas

Puerto Rican Pernil (Roast Pork Shoulder)

Course Main Course
Cuisine Puerto Rican
Keyword pernil
Prep Time 1 day
Cook Time 4 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 1 day 5 hours
Servings 8 people
Author Delish D'Lites

Ingredients

  • 1 pork picnic shoulder 7-8 pounds
  • 20 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 2 tbsp adobo seasoning or salt
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • ½ tbsp ground black pepper
  • ⅓ cup olive oil plus more if needed
  • ½ cup sofrito optional
  • 2 tsp sazon seasoning optional
  • salt, to taste

Instructions

  1. Use a boning knife to remove the skin from the roast, set aside. Leave a layer of fat on the pork shoulder.
  2. Once the skin is removed, poke the roast all over with the knife to create slits.

  3. Smash the garlic, adobo, pepper and oregano with a mortar and pestle, or blitz in a food processor.

  4. Add olive oil to the paste, and stir to combine. If using the sazon and sofrito, stir it in now.
  5. Slather all sides of the pork shoulder with the garlic seasoning paste, making sure to push some into the slits you created earlier.

  6. Place the skin on top of the seasoned pork shoulder, and rub with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and a good pinch of salt.

  7. Marinate covered overnight, or up to 24 hours. If you don’t have time to marinade, don’t worry. It will still be delicious.

  8. Place the pork shoulder into a roasting pan, cover with aluminum foil and roast for 3-4 hours at 350F. Raise the oven temp to 400 degrees F, then uncover and cook for another 15-20 minutes to crisp the skin.

  9. If the skin (cuerito) isn't crispy yet, remove and airfry for 15 minutes at 300F, or until it's to your desired level of crunchiness.

  10. Freeze leftovers in a plastic freezer storage bag for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave as needed.

Recipe Video