Mouthwatering Mexico

Passport & Plate - Cochinita Pibil

Mexico | Friday, March 6, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
Cochinita Pibil
1,5 kg pork meat (lean cut, shoulder or butt is fine)
100 gr achiote-paste
1/2 cup of lime juice
1 cup of orange juice
2 tea spoons of salt
2 large banana leaves
1/2 cup of melted lard

Pickled red onion
2 large red onions, thinly sliced
1 cup of lime juice or vinegar
1 tea spoon salt
Sugar (if you like it sweet)

 

How to prepare this recipe
This great dish basically makes it self, and there is no need to be a chef to make this miracle happen.

Cut the meat in large cubes (about 5x5 cm) and place them in a glass or ceramic container.
Disolve the achiote paste in the citrus juices and add salt. Pour the marinade over the meat, cover and place it in the fridge for marinating.
At least 3 hours, preferably over night.

Heat the oven till 165 degrees celsius. Line an oven proof container with the banana leaves. Make sure you leave enough around the edges, so you will be able to cover the meat. (If you can't get a hold of banana leaves you can use tin foil, I've done that several times.) Pour the meat together with the marinade into the container, drip the lard over the meat, and fold the banana leaves over the top. Moist the leaves with some water to prevent them from burning. Cover with tinfoil.

Bake in the oven for 2-3 hours. Check the meat after two hours. It should be so tender it falls apart. If it is not, put it back in for another 30 min.

The pickled onions should be prepared a couple hours in advance. (Do it when you have the meat in the oven).
Thinly slice the onions, pour some boiling water over the slices (just to soften it slightly). Leave for a couple minutes and drain.
Pour citrus juice over the onion (or vinegar, just need to be acidic), add salt (and a little bit of sugar if you like) and let it sit till the meat is done.
They will transform into bright pink, and is a super tasty, tangy toping for any types of tacos!

When the meat is done, remove from the oven, pull the chunks apart with a fork. Serve with corn tortillas, refried black beans, the pickled onions and a spicy habanero chili sauce. Heaven!!

 

The story behind this recipe
Little did I know what to expect food wise when traveling to Mexico in 2008. I was used to the americanized tex-mex, crispy shell tacos, loaded with cheese and sour cream.

Arriving at the blissfull caribbean island of Isla Mujeres, just of the Yucatan coast, I was bedazzled!
Colourful houses dotted along narrow streets, an ocean so green and crystal clear you'd think it's fake, and beaches so white they looked like snow to a Northerner like me.
Then it was the food, so fresh, so tasty! Local fishermen pulling up to beachside restaurants with the catch of the day. Savory bean stews with succulent pork and spicy salsas. It was to die for!

My favorite spot quickly became a small street stall next to the ferry. Every morning a small Mayan family from the Yucatan mainland would get on the first ferry to the island with freshly cooked Cochinita Pibil!
A dish of slowly roasted suckling pig, marinated in citrus and the famous achiote (a paste of the bright red annatto seed) baked in banana leaf.
This rich, juicy meat would then be served in warm corn tortillas with pickled red onion, refried black beans and a spicy habanero salsa. So fresh, so mouthwatering! The name means "buried baby pig" as cochinita means baby pig in spanish, and pibil is buried in Mayan.
The traditional way to prepare it was to bury the meat in a firepit to roast it.

I also met my partner during my first trip to this island, which has led to many more trips and longer stays in Mexico over the years, and we've eaten this delicious dish several places in the Yucatan.
I always make sure to bring dried chillies and the achiote paste back to Norway, so I can make this amazing dish to friends and family back home.
Those tastes bring back so many memories of this beautiful paradise, although it will never be exactly the same as in the small street stall by the ferry.
But luckily in the modern world we are able to get most of the ingredients online or in exotic food stores back home.