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How to Make a Cuban Roast Leg of Pork

December 18, 2015 By Lucy Darby 12 Comments

Every year around Christmastime, I think I’ll post the instructions for how to roast a Cuban-style leg of pork. Because that’s what my family (and most every Cuban family I know) eats on December 24th as we celebrate our traditional Cuban Nochebuena.

And every year when there’s a garlicky, porky, fat mess in my kitchen, I forbid cameras because everything is covered in porky lard and garlic. So there’s that. 

I always post the finished product somewhere on my social media with some clever caption like, “Look at my food!” I know. I’m clever that way.

mybigfatcubanfamily-howtomakeanauthenticcubanroastlegofporkrecipe

But I think you deserve to know how The Magic happens in my Cuban kitchen, but without the mess. So here’s the recipe for A traditional Cuban Roast Leg of Pork because Nochebuena is coming and you need this in your life.

Just trust me that you don’t want my step-by-step photos. Also, they don’t exist, but that’s not important right now.

ROAST LEG OF PORK, CUBAN-STYLE

INGREDIENTS

  • One 5-6 lb. leg or shoulder of pork
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 Tbsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
  • Freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup sour orange juice OR 1/4 cup regular orange juice and 1/8 cup each fresh lime and lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine (or cooking sherry)
  • 2 large onions, sliced thickly
  1. Start the night before. Remove any excess fat from the leg of pork and pierce the meat all over with the tip of a sharp knife.
  2. Combine garlic, oregano, salt, and cumin and mash it into a paste. You can do this in a food processor or go old school and use a mortar and pestle. (It tastes better!) 
  3. Place the pork in a large pan (non-reactive) and rub it well with the paste, sprinkle liberally with pepper, add the orange juice mixture and white wine and onions. 
  4. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerating overnight, turning the meat several times.
  5. You’ll need to start your cooking about 5 hours before serving. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
  6. Remove the meat from the marinade, pat it dry, and reserve the marinade.
  7. Place the pork in an aluminum foil lined roasting pan (you line the pan with aluminum foil, in case that wasn’t clear).
  8. Roast 1 hour, turning the roast at intervals to brown on all sides. Insert a meat thermometer, making sure it doesn’t touch the bone. 
  9. Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Pour the reserve marinade over the roast, cover it loosely with aluminum foil, cook another 3 hours or so, turning the meat once and basting frequently with the pan juices. Meat should reach an internal temperature of at least 180 degrees F. 
  10. Remove the foil during the last 30 minutes of roasting, adding white wine if the meat becomes dry. 
  11. When it is done, remove the roasted leg of pork to a serving platter and allow it to rest, covered with foil until about 15 minutes before carving. 
  12. Instead of slicing, the meat should fall right off the bone, as you basically hand shred. Serve with hot Cuban Mojo Criollo (recipe follows). 

 All the Magic Cuban Flavor comes from Cuban Mojo Criollo (Garlic Sauce). 

CUBAN MOJO CRIOLLO RECIPE

  • 8 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 medium sized onion, very thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup sour orange juice OR 1/4 cup regular orange juice and 1/8 cup each fresh lime and lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 2 large onions thickly sliced
  • 1/2 cup Extra Virgin olive oil – full disclosure – real lard gives it a much better flavor, but that’s not important right now.
  1. In a food processor, crush the garlic, along with the salt to form a thick paste.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the garlic paste, onion and juice and let this sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or longer.
  3. A few minutes before you’re ready to serve the Mojo, heat the oil over medium-high heat in a medium pan until it is very hot.
  4. Add the garlic mixture, stir and pour over the hand-shredded pork roast meat. 

mybigfatcubanfamilyauthenticcubanporkroastrecipe

FELIZ NAVIDAD!

Let the comelatas begin.

You might also like:

Boliche - Cuban Pot Roast RecipeBoliche – Cuban Pot Roast Recipe Cheaters Lechón Asado (don’t judge me.) Pork Chops Spiced with Rum and Garlic Ponzu Roasted Pork

Filed Under: Cuban Christmas, Cuban Recipes With Pictures Tagged With: Cuban Christmas, lechon asado, Noche buena, roast leg of pork

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Marcy says

    December 22, 2016 at 4:05 pm

    Dios Mio! Thank you for this! I lost my recipe, and I found yours! Me salvastes las nalgas mija!!

    Reply
  2. jill says

    July 1, 2018 at 1:24 pm

    how many people does a 6lb shoulder of pork feed?

    Reply
    • Marta Darby says

      December 17, 2018 at 11:50 am

      Hi Jill,

      it feeds between 8 to 10. Depending on the size of the servings and how hungry your people are!

      xo,
      Marta

      Reply
  3. Andrea Acosta says

    December 23, 2018 at 4:54 pm

    Hi ! To marinate what does the non reactiva pan mean? can I use the giant tin pans used for like cooking a turkey to leave it overnight? And to actually cook it I can use the tin pan ?

    Reply
    • Andrea Acosta says

      December 23, 2018 at 4:56 pm

      I mean the aluminum pans* If you know what I mean

      Reply
  4. P says

    December 24, 2018 at 12:18 pm

    In the mojo recipe what do you do with the wine?

    Reply
    • Sambo says

      April 4, 2020 at 3:24 pm

      Oh yes, very well spotted. Now i’m wondering the same, making this tomorrow so will just throw it in with the rest of the ingredients then heat 🙂

      Reply
  5. Susanne says

    December 18, 2019 at 1:47 pm

    Does the leg of pork shred similar to the pork shoulder? Thank you!

    Reply
  6. Marisa says

    November 26, 2020 at 10:26 am

    Hi! This looks delicious!

    One question with the mojo criollo sauce.. There are 2 bullet points with onions.. I’m a bit confused…
    1 medium sized onion, very thinly sliced
    2 large onions thickly sliced

    Thanks!

    Reply
  7. Nenni says

    December 23, 2020 at 4:41 am

    Hi! LOVE your recipes! Question about the wine, which I see asked above as well. When does it come into play for the mojo recipe? Do we add it to the bowl that sits for 30 minutes? Thanks so much for all these yummy recipes!! My husband and I have made several of them over the years.

    Reply
  8. Ramon Castillo says

    February 21, 2021 at 7:22 pm

    Wow. I just did this for my family. It is one of the best recipes ever. I was able to obtain “naranja agrias” on the internet. They were not cheap, but created a fantastic flavor.

    The only thing I did wrong was to add all of the reserved marinade to the roast after the first hour. Next time I will add it a little bit at a time. The sauce that resulted is very delicious also.

    I have not done much cooking lately, because my wife is an excellent cook and loves to cook. But your version of this most Cuban of all dishes is excellent.

    (And this from a 71 year old dude.)

    Thank you, Marta. It almost tasted like the ones my deceased mother used to make . . .

    Reply
  9. Ronald Raphael Comeau says

    January 27, 2022 at 5:51 pm

    Great recipe.

    Reply

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