Tired of boring, overcooked pork roast and pedestrian pork chops?  I urge you to give this recipe a shot ASAP!

After an earlier failed attempt over 1 year ago, I set off again this weekend to tackle this seemingly easy crowd pleaser.  Pernil is very popular in Latin America and is typically the centerpiece of a holiday or celebratory gathering.  The prep is relatively straight forward and easy to follow.

The most important ingredient is a nice pork shoulder (Paleta) or if you’d like to downsize the recipe, find a nice half pork shoulder — a Boston butt or a fresh picnic roast are usually easy to find here in the USA.  My particular cut was approx 4.5 lbs including bone.  Make sure you find a cut with a good amount of fat/skin on one side of the roast.

After scanning several recipes and cookbooks I improvised and came up with the following marinate which you need to rub into the roast and then refrigerate over night.

Easy Pernil

The Marinade

-2 Tablespoons peanut oil or other oil
-2 Tablespoons sherry or red wine vinegar
-2 Tablespoons honey
-Juice of half an orange or lemon
-Small handful of crushed chili flakes (Chili Quebrado)
-Fresh rosemary or flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
-4 cloves of chopped and diced garlic
-1 Tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
-2 Tablespoons Sea or Kosher Salt

Mix the ingredients well and then rub into the roast and put in the refrigerator to marinate overnight

Cooking the Pernil

-Pre-heat your oven to 425 Fahrenheit
-Place the roast fat side up in the middle rack uncovered with the remaining marinate in the bottom of your roasting pan
-Turn the oven down to 350 Fahrenheit
-Cook for approximately 2 hours or until your roast is reading 150 degrees with an instant read thermometer
-After the 1st hour of cooking, you should put approx 1 cup of water (or chicken/veg stock) into the pan.

The stock will help to create a rich sauce and also contribute to finishing the cooking of the roast while keeping it moist
-Remove roast, place on your butcher block or platter, cover with aluminum foil or a kitchen towel and let rest for 15 minutes.  The roast will continue to cook while covered and should be incredibly moist and just cooked through when finished resting.

Slice/Carve and serve!  Spoon the sauce over your portions and enjoy!

Great sides are sweet potatoes or black beans and white rice.