Cochinita Pibil

Good morning bloggers! I want to welcome you, as always to another delightful entry to Everyday Meals. I'm going to skip the formalities since we are on a time crunch. The meal that we are making today will take quite a bit of time to make... roughly 7 hours total with prep and cooking time. I do want to run through what we are making, along with some trivia. Today, we are making a Mexican dish. It's called Cochinita Pibil. Cochinita means baby pig, so a real cochinita pibil involves roasting an entire suckling pig. This dish is from the Yucatan Peninsula. In alternative recipes, pork shoulder or pork loin may be used. Traditionally, chocinita pibil was buried in a pit with a fire at the bottom to roast it. The word pibil means buried. We will be nixing the ground roasting for a more modern and highly used method: the oven. Well, let's grab our "Kiss the Cook" aprons and get to it!

Cochinita Pibil

You will need:

• 1 red onion, sliced thin
• 3 habanero peppers, sliced
• 10 limes, juiced
• salt to taste 
• 3 ounces dried guajillo chile peppers, seeded and de-veined
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 3 cups fresh orange juice
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 bulb garlic, peeled
• 7.5 ounces achiote paste

Ready?

1. Combine the onion, habanero peppers, lime juice, and salt in a bowl, then cover and refrigerate while preparing and cooking the pork. 
2. Use rubber gloves when preparing the habanero peppers and avoid touching your eyes, nose, or skin while slicing peppers. 
3. Place the guajillo peppers in a bowl and pour enough hot water over the peppers to cover. 
4. Allow the peppers to soak until they are softened, about 10 minutes. 
5. Heat the oil in a large skillet at medium-high heat. 
6. Season the pork with salt and pepper and cook in the hot oil until completely browned, 15 to 20 minutes. 
7. Transfer the pork to a slow cooker. 
8. Combine the guajillo peppers, orange juice, vinegar, garlic, and achiote paste in a blender, then blend until smooth. 
9. Pour the sauce over the pork cubes in the slow cooker. 
10. Cook on High until the pork easily falls apart, 6 to 8 hours. 
11. Remove the pork to a serving dish and shred with 2 forks. 
12. Pour the achiote sauce over the shredded pork. 
13. To serve, top with the onion-habanero salsa.
14. Enjoy!

I thank you all for joining me today. I hope you all have an excellent Saturday with your families. I'll catch you all on the flip side. Happy blogging to all! <3