LECHON ASADO - CUBAS NATIONAL DISH

Lechon 

Lechon Asado – the Cuban National dish:
1- 5 or 6 pound pork shoulder
5 teaspoons of salt
5 medium garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed oregano or, 1/8 cup minced fresh)
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 tablespoon of vinegar

Sauce:
Guava Jelly
Mustard
garlic
1 orange
Cilantro

Wash the pork shoulder.  With a sharp knife make incisions in
different place of the pork shoulder.  Put salt in the incisions and on the
outside.  Rub in the salt.
Grind together the garlic, pepper, oregano, and 1 tablespoon of salt.
Spread this mix on the outside of the pork.
Mix the vinegar and the remaining oil and spread on the outside of the
pork.  Put away in the refrigerator for 1 day.  If you planned to cook it
the same day, prepare the pork at least 3 hour ahead of time.
Remove the pork shoulder from the refrigerator 2 hours before putting
it in the oven.
Pre-Heat before you place the pork shoulder in the
oven and set the temperature to 350ºF.
Cook the pork for 3 1/2 hours.  Then raise the temperature to 375ºF
and cook for 15 to 30 minutes until the skin is CRISP. The crunchy skin or crackle is served on the side with the Lechon.

Serve with: White Rice, Black Beans and fried Plantains are good accompaniments. I for one love tamales with my Lechon. If you find tamales intimidating to make buy them from your favorite Hispanic restaurant.

NOTE: Traditional Lechon in Cuba is whole roast pig. Like North carolina BBQ a lengthy process. I use shoulder but also suckling pig.

ALSO: This takes it slightly out of the traditional realm, but I like to rub the skin with soy which caramelizes the skin without discern-able flavor. I also like to cross hatch the pork and rub pureed onions (4 kinds) mixed with herbs. The garlic penetrates but the herb onion mix only slightly.