This Cuban roast pork, lechon asado, is packed with delicious flavors thanks to the citrus and garlic mojo marinade. It's easy to make and delicious for dinner (plus leftovers make great sandwiches!).
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I have been lucky enough to live in and visit a number of countries and the foods are always an important part of that, for me. But I always have more places on my list. One that has been there for some time is Cuba. The more I know people who have been and rave about the food, the more it is on my must-visit list.
Unlike some other cuisines, Cuban food isn't quite as widely found outside the country. It was basically non-existent in Scotland when I was growing up. I'm not sure about there now, but I at least found a few places in London when I lived there.
While you can get some great Cuban food in Florida (as I remember from visits to Miami), it's not exactly common in the Northeast. However maybe that's all the more reason to cook some myself.
What is lechon asado?
"Lechón asado" means roast pork though it generally means with a few variations in flavorings, depending where you are. Technically lechon means "suckling pig" (ie young) in Spanish. However older pigs may be used, such as in the Philippines where it's a dish that pre-dates any Hispanic influence.
In Cuba, lechon asado refers to pork marinated in a mojo marinade. The marinade has sour oranges as its base along with typically at least garlic, oregano and cumin as seasoning.
Traditionally, a whole young pig is slow-roasted in a fire pit. It's pretty much an all day affair, so it's not too surprising this is a dish for special occasions like Christmas and weddings (similar to Polish golabki, stuffed cabbage rolls that also take a bit of time).
However you can also make it at home with smaller cuts of meat in the oven.
You can use various cuts of pork but the most typical are either a fresh ham roast (ie uncured) or shoulder joint. This means there's a good level of fat giving tender, shreddable meat. If you use, for example, pork loin it will cook more quickly and be more suitable for slicing.
Making this Cuban roast pork
While it in theory this takes a while to make, it is really incredibly easy. You just mix up the marinade ingredients, rub them over the pork and leave it overnight, turning once or twice to get all the flavor in.
Top tip: use a snug-fitting bag or container
To help as much of the pork sit in the marinade as possible, use something that allows the marinade to come fairly well up the side and, if possible, over the top of the pork. A freezer bag works well for this. Then turn it over now and then to help all sides take in the flavor.
Then when you are ready to cook, you roast it with some of the marinade in the bottom to keep it moist, and that's it. Save the rest of the marinade and warm it to soften the onions (and make it safe, having been in with raw meat). This mixture is delicious served alongside the roasted meat.
The key to the marinade is what are often called sour oranges, or Seville oranges. They are common in Cuba but less so elsewhere as they have limited uses. If you can't find them, you can approximate the flavor with a mix of orange, lime and lemon as I have listed below.
How to serve lechon asado
You can serve this Cuban roast pork in a few different ways - we typically have it with a tasty Cuban rice and beans dish as well as fried plantain, when I can find them. Both are pretty typical sides and go really well.
You could also serve this with other rice dishes, yuca, coleslaw and other simple sides. I have made this with about a relatively small piece of shoulder and it still serves a good number. If you have any leftover, then it's great in sandwiches too.
It makes a great dish for a dinner party or less formal crowd between the fact most of the preparation is the day before and you get lots of servings from it. You can easily scale up using a larger piece of meat, too.
Lechon asado is easy to make, with fantastically fresh flavors from the delicious citrus marinade. It has the perfect balance of just enough tastiness, without the pork itself being hidden. You can scale it up or down, and leftovers are so good. In other words, definitely one to add to your regular list.
Try these other tasty roasts:
- Porchetta (Italian roast pork)
- Roast duck with vegetables
- Garlic herb roasted chicken
- Roast lamb with garlic and rosemary
- Schweinebraten (German pork roast cooked with beer)
Plus get more mains recipes in the archives.
Lechon asado, Cuban roast pork
Ingredients
- 3 lb boneless pork shoulder roast (see notes)
- ½ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup lime juice approx 1 ½ - 2 limes
- ¼ cup lemon juice approx 1 lemon
- 1 ½ teaspoon dry oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 cloves garlic crushed
- ½ onion or 1 whole if small - sliced
- ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pat dry the pork roast and prepare a plastic container or freezer bag big enough to hold it plus some liquid.
- Squeeze the juice from the orange, lime and lemon. Crush or finely chop the garlic and thinly slice the onion. Mix the juices with rest of ingredients (dry or fresh oregano, cumin, salt, garlic, onion and pepper) in the container/bag.
- Add the pork into the marinade and turn or seal the bag and shake a little to cover all over. Leave the pork to marinade overnight in the fridge, ideally turning at least once.
- When ready to cook, bring the pork out of the fridge ahead of time - around 30-60min - to allow it to come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 325F/ 160C.
- Place the pork in a roasting dish with the skin side up, sitting in a little of the citrus marinade juice. Save the rest of the marinade, including all of the onions. Baste the pork with the juice in the dish after 1-2hr and continue cooking. Roast for 3 hours, or a little more if needed, covering with foil if the top gets too brown. You should get an internal temp of at least 170F to be able to slice, or 190-200F to be able to shred when it's ready.
- While the pork is cooking, bring the remaining marinade to a gentle simmer and cook for around 5 minutes to soften the onions. Serve this as a sauce over the pork when serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
You may also find an Instant Read Meat Thermometer useful as you make this (affiliate link).
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This post was first shared in December 2015 and has been updated with new information, photos and video.
Marina says
Bake or Convention Roast at 325F for 3 hrs? Please clarify. Thanks.
Caroline's Cooking says
I would typically do convection roast (ie fan assisted) but it may depend on your oven if you need to adjust down the temperature slightly or cook time as can be the case - I'd just make sure you keep a close eye on it as it cooks and reduce time if needed.
CJ says
Made this today. Very good. Next time I need to find a better way to marinate. Since the pork's large, it doesn't sit emerged in it. Not even half way.
I'd also opt to use all the marinade when roasting. The roasted sauce tastes much better in my opinion, than the simmered marinade.
Caroline's Cooking says
Glad you enjoyed! Yes the marinating can be tricky unless what you put it in is relatively tight, and even then you typically need to turn at some point - using a freezer bag, as I suggest as an option, does make things a little better as you can carefully squeeze out the air so it's more snug, but still the liquid will tend to rest at the bottom. I can understand the flavor of the sauce being good from roasting, you will just lose a little more with it evaporating, and it will end up being more fatty as it mingles with the pork fat (though that does of course add flavor!) It really just depends on preference.
Paul M says
I have made a couple different versions of lechon, and this one is definitely a keeper. I particularly like the inclusion of the sliced onion. This time I used a bone-in picnic roast that was a little over 6#. Previously the roasts were in the 10# range and would roast for about 8 hours. This roast took nearly 4 hours to reach 175 degrees, which for me is a good temperature. I also used a cast iron Dutch oven instead of a roasting pan for the first time. I found that it works extremely well, and it makes collecting the juice a bit easier as well as keeping clean-up simple. I had sour orange juice, but I used Tropicana this time, because the recipe calls for so little and the roast was smaller than I generally make. I also like to let mine marinade in the fridge for 24 hours, if possible, turning it several times. A turkey roasting bag or slow cooker liner will work well, if you cannot find very large ZipLock bags.
Overall the combination of spices and seasonings is excellent. The only thing that I might do differently next time is to add a bay leaf. But this is completely optional.
Caroline's Cooking says
So glad to hear you enjoyed! And yes, especially with a larger piece a bit longer to marinade can be good (I probably tend to do around 24hrs most times, too). Bay always a good option to add, too.
Jess says
I especially love this for leftover sandwiches the next day. So yummy!
Caroline's Cooking says
Yes, it's great in sandwiches!
Fran says
one question Do the garlic sliced died or left whole. This was so good
Caroline's Cooking says
Finely diced or crushed is best - apologies that seems to have been missed as I updated the recipe not too long ago and so I've now corrected, thanks for the spot and glad you enjoyed!
Lauren Vavala says
This is such an easy, delicious recipe - love this combination of flavors sooo much!
Caroline's Cooking says
Thanks, it's certainly a tasty mix.
Lisa Huff says
Ohhhh that marinade with that citrus juice and spices. Delicious and perfect comfort food.
Caroline's Cooking says
Thanks, it's a simple but really tasty set of flavors!
David @ CookingChat says
added to my recipes to try board! Have enjoyed good Cuban pork roast--a Cuban friend has taken me to restaurants--but haven't made myself.
Caroline's Cooking says
Thanks David, I hope it compares well to what you have had before.
Caroline's Cooking says
Thanks Denise, the flavors are great!
Jade @ Jonesin' For Taste says
I love Cuban food but have never made this kind of pork. I need to try it soon.
Caroline's Cooking says
Do give it a try, I hope you like it!
Kristen @ A Mind Full Mom says
While, I haven't been able to travel out of the country very much, I love to take culinary trips with new recipes. Adding this my list of trips 🙂
Caroline's Cooking says
Traveling through recipes is definitely a good way to go 🙂 Hope you enjoy this one!