Pernil is a Puerto-Rican-style slow roasted pork shoulder dish that is ultra flavorful because it is marinated overnight in garlic, sofrito and spices.
Pernil is the centerpiece of many Caribbean countries celebrations for a good reason; the meat is tender, juicy and packed with flavor.
Authentic Puerto Rican pernil gets marinated in sofrito (mix of aromatics), garlic, adobo and sazon (a Latin-spice blend).
It needs a 24-hour marinade time so plan accordingly.
Recipe highlights
The best pernil has 2 characteristics; fall-of-the-bone, tender meat and crispy skin also knows as Chicharron. To achieve this two different textures, the cooking technique is key.
I will show you how to get the best pernil results even if it is your first time making this recipe.
An important thing to note is that Pernil recipes and techniques are personal and vary from home to home so adjust this recipe to your taste.
Ingredients
- Bone-in, skin-on pork shoulder: You can find this easily in a grocery store. Sometimes is labeled as picnic roast.
- Sofrito: Puerto Rican sofrito is a combination of tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, sweet chile peppers, lemon juice, culantro, vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper. You can now buy pre made sofrito to make things easier. I recommend the brand Loisa, that you can find at Target.
- Spice blend: garlic, turmeric and oregano are staples in this recipe. Cumin, salt and pepper are also essential for this recipe.
- Garlic: Although sofrito has garlic already but we add more garlic paste to inject the pork with more flavor.
If you are nearby an Asian market, the Culantro leaves are also known as Ngo Gai.
Step by step instructions
Step 1: Prepare the sofrito
I made my own sofrito, but feel free to use store bought. My favorite one is Loisa pre made sofrito and I buy at Target.
Step 2: Prep the meat
I like to rinse my pork and let it sit for 5 minutes in a vinegar and salt solution. This helps make the flavor better.
Step 3: Make a slit on the fat cap
If you want to keep the pork moist and tender I highly recommend using skin-on, bone-in pork shoulder. Cut a slit without removing the skin completely, we just want to expose the surface of the meat.
Cut some slits directly on the meat to stuff them with crushed garlic cloves.
Step 4: Season the pork
Season with the dry spices, sofrito and garlic cloves. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Step 5: Slow roast the pork
Remove from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Cover with foil and slow roast at 300°F for about 3 hours. Remove the foil, increase temperature to 400°F and roast for an additional 2 hours or until internal temperature of the meat reaches 215°F.
Allow the juices to redistribute and rest the pork for about 45 minutes before shredding.
Useful recipe tips
My number one recommendation is to marinate the pork. Allow plenty of time for the flavors to be absorbed into the meat, at least 24 hours and up to 36.
Garlic is the essential flavor in this Puerto Rican dish.
Make sure to add plenty of garlic in the crevices and around the pork, plan on using about 5 cloves of garlic per pound of pork plus the garlic added in the sofrito.
What to serve with pernil
I love serving pernil with sweet fried plantains, guacamole, arroz con gandules and tostones.
Puerto Rican Pernil
Equipment
- 1 Aluminum roasting pan or rosaing pan with a rack.
Ingredients
- 6 lb pork shoulder bone-in, skin on
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup kosher salt I use Diamond Crystal
- 2 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon ground back pepper
- ½ cup sofrito
- 10 cloves garlic mashed
Instructions
- Carefully slice the skin to partially separate from the meat, stopping before the end point to create a cap.6 lb pork shoulder
- Place the pork in a large bowl, add vinegar and enough water to cover it and let it sit for about 5 minutes.¼ cup white vinegar
- Pat the pork shoulder dry with paper towels. Make deep cuts all over the meat to create little pockets to insert the marinade.
- Combine the marinade ingredients to form a paste.¼ cup kosher salt, 2 Tbsp dried oregano, 1 Tbsp ground back pepper, ½ cup sofrito
- Rub the meat (not the skin) with the paste and insert the garlic cloves into the pockets you made with the pairing knife.10 cloves garlic
- Cover the pork with plastic wrap and place in a deep dish or sheet pan and place in the fridge overnight.
- When ready to roast the pernil, remove pork from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Place pernil on a roasting rack or aluminum pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
- Place in the oven and cook for 3-4 hours until internal temperature reaches 185F. I like to rotate the pan in the oven and baste with the juices, about every hour or so.
- Uncover the pork and raise temperature to 400°F cook for another 1 hour until the skin is crispy.
- Allow the pork to rest for about 45 minutes, shred it, serve and enjoy.
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