First of all, I want to thank everybody who left a message on my last post. It is very comforting to know that there are people out there that truly care about other. That has made my mourning a lot easier. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Hopefully this week I will catch up with everything that was unattended last week. So let’s get down to business. That here means food! Several months ago I blogged about a typical Mayan dish that was one of my favorites when I was growing up, chicken legs in achiote sauce. Achiote is a common sauce in the Yucatan peninsula. Many dishes are prepared with it, but the most commonly known is probably Cochinita Pibil. Cochinita (roughly translated little or baby female pig) is a slow-roasted pork dish with a strong acidic taste from bitter orange juice, usually Seville oranges. The preparation of this dish is simple. However, to obtain better results the meat must be marinated for at least 4 hours, some experts in Yucatan food recommend marinating it for 24 hours. I made this dish a couple of weeks ago with some minor changes on the preparation, but the result was a very delicious and tender Cochinita.

Cochinita Pibil
Makes 4-6 servings
Prep time 10 minutes plus 4 to 24 hours to marinate
Cooking time 2 1/2 hours

For this recipe you will need:

• 2 1/2 lbs pork shoulder
• 1 TBSP annatto seeds
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground oregano
• 1 tsp whole allspice
• 1 chile ancho, deveined and seeded
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup fresh bitter orange juice (Seville Orange)*
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• salt and pepper

Pickled onions:

• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped

*You can substitute bitter orange juice with 1/2 cup sweet orange juice and the juice of one lemon.

Preparation:

1. Cut pork shoulder in 1 1/2 to 2″ cubes and season.
2. Dry-toast annatto seeds, allspice, cumin, oregano and chile ancho in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir constantly until fragrant, around 2-3 minutes.
3. Cool slightly and grind in a food grinder (I used my blender on high speed)
4. In a large bowl whisk together spice mixture, garlic, vinegar and orange juice until well blended.
5. Cover a baking dish with aluminum foil letting it hang over the sides so it can cover the pork.*
6. Place pork on aluminum foil cover with the annatto sauce and mix well.
7. Cover and marinate for at least 4 hours. 24 hours works best.
8. Preheat oven to 250ºF (120ºC)
9. Cook for 2 1/2 hours.
10. Serve in tacos with pickled onions over fresh homemade corn tortillas.

Pickled onions:

1. Mix red onion, vinegar, orange juice, cilantro and salt to taste and marinate for 4 hours.

About this recipe:

• The original recipe calls for banana leaves instead of aluminum foil.
• The pickled onions is originally a hot sauce. You might add 1 or 2 finely chopped habaneros and 1 chopped radish.

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If you are looking to impress a crowd, this is the perfect dish for it. This is authentic Mexican flavor.

¡Buen provecho!