Cochinita Pibil

Name: Cochinita Pibil
Prep time: 55 min
Cook time: 270 min
Total time: 325 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: mexican
Ingredients: 1.2 kg pork shoulder, boneless and skinless; 60 g achiote paste, recado rojo; 3 dl bitter orange juice, naranja agria; 2 tsp salt; black pepper, freshly ground; 2 tbsp lard; 4 pcs banana leaves, large, fresh or thawed; 2 red onion; 1½ dl bitter orange juice, naranja agria; 1 habanero, sliced paper-thin; 1 tsp dried oregano, preferably Mexican; 1 tsp salt; 16 pcs corn tortillas, small

Pork shoulder marinated in achiote and bitter orange, slow-baked in banana leaves and pulled into shreds — a Yucatecan classic with red onion and habanero.

🍽️ 4 servings⏱️ 5 h 25 min (55 min active)mexican

The achiote first needs time to color and season the pork shoulder, while the tangy red onions can sit alongside. The meat then bakes for a long time, tightly wrapped in banana leaves, before being pulled apart in the dark red juices and served steaming hot in tortillas. The tight seal around the meat determines whether it turns out juicy and shreddable.

Ingredients

The meat

1.2 kg pork shoulder, boneless and skinless
60 g achiote paste, recado rojo
3 dl bitter orange juice, naranja agria
2 tsp salt
black pepper, freshly ground
2 tbsp lard
4 pcs banana leaves, large, fresh or thawed

Pickled red onions

2 red onion
1½ dl bitter orange juice, naranja agria
1 habanero, sliced paper-thin
1 tsp dried oregano, preferably Mexican
1 tsp salt

To serve

16 pcs corn tortillas, small

How to make it

Stir the achiote paste into the bitter orange juice for the meat in a roomy bowl, until the marinade is completely smooth and deep brick-red with no lumps. Stir in salt and freshly ground black pepper, and let the marinade taste distinctly salty, since the meat won't be salted again until the very end.
Cut the pork shoulder into pieces of about 5 cm and turn them in the marinade until each piece is colored red all the way around. Cover the bowl and refrigerate it (see advance prep). ⏱ 10 min
Preheat the oven to 150°C. Meanwhile, pass the banana leaves over a gas flame or a hot dry skillet until they turn a deeper, glossy green and become pliable enough to fold without cracking.
Chef's tip The heat softens the leaf's stiff fibres so it will fold along the ribs without tearing — you can feel it go from brittle to pliable in your hand. Skip it and the leaves split at the folds and the parcel leaks.
Line a deep roasting pan or a Dutch oven with the banana leaves so they hang generously over the edge. Add the marinated meat along with all the marinade and dot the lard in small pieces on top. Fold the leaves tightly over the meat. Cover the dish with a lid or a double layer of foil, so the steam stays in and the meat cooks in its own juices. ⏱ 10 min
Chef's tip Overlap the leaves crosswise and crimp the foil hard against the rim — the seal is what keeps this a braise. Done right, the pan comes out with a pool of dark juice; a pan that's nearly dry means steam escaped.
Bake the meat for 3½ hours, until it falls apart at a light press with a spoon and the juices are thick and dark red. ⏱ 3 h 30 min · passive
Chef's tip The long hours at 150°C are about collagen melting into gelatin, which needs time above roughly 70°C, not higher heat. It's ready when a spoon meets no resistance — still springy means another 30 minutes, not more heat.
Cut the red onions into paper-thin rings and the habanero into paper-thin slices. Mix them with the bitter orange juice for the onions, the salt, and the oregano. Press the onions down well into the liquid so they're fully covered. ⏱ 10 min
Chef's tip The salt draws water out of the rings so they slacken, and the acid flips the onion's purple pigment to bright pink — that colour change is your timer. Anything above the liquid stays raw and harsh.
Let the onions sit while the meat bakes, at least 1 hour, until they have softened and changed from purple to clear pink. ⏱ 1 h · passive
Take the dish out of the oven and fold back the banana leaves. Pull the meat apart into coarse shreds with two forks right in the juices, so the shreds soak up the red juices. Season the pulled meat with salt. ⏱ 10 min
Chef's tip Shred while it's steaming hot and still in the pan — the juices are thin and get drawn into the torn edges. Once it cools the fat sets to a pale film and the shreds turn greasy rather than soaked.
Warm the corn tortillas in a dry skillet over high heat, about half a minute on each side, until they steam lightly and get small brown spots.
Bring the pulled meat to the table in a deep bowl with the juices around it, and set the pickled red onions and warm tortillas alongside. Everyone builds their own taco: a spoonful of meat on a tortilla, a tuft of onions on top, and a little of the juices spooned over at the end.