Pork Roasted In Banana Leaves (Cochinita Pibil)
Yesterday I had a doctor appointment; I’ve been trying to get follow-up care for the tennis elbow. I arrived at the office only to find my doctor had cancelled her appointments for the day. Had her patients been informed? Of course not.
Clearly, the very notion of continuing medical care falls into the same category as pay telephones and three-channel television: each is a disused element from an increasingly distant past. Flotsam from this collective past occasionally surfaces on the internet; these formerly useful objects are now amusement pieces: “click ‘like’ if you remember what this is–a metal ice maker, a wall-mounted pencil sharpener, a princess telephone”.
Click “like” if you remember medical care that didn’t keep you awake at night worrying about how you’d pay for it or leave you wondering whether you could trust your physicians. Or maybe more accurately, the insurance companies they worked for.
Lest this appear empty bitching, do know I called to complain, and was told it was pointless.
More importantly, the name of the game is a good general practitioner. For sixteen years I had just that, until his abrupt retirement. Now my latest doctor, she of the sudden cancellations, is leaving due to ill health. My hope is to meet with her final time to find a decent physician in her wake.
Why do I stay with this insurer? My former employer offers two plans at my pay level, and the other one isn’t any better. This plan distinguishes itself, if such a thing can be said, by its ease of referral to specialists. And John has been with them his entire life. So I stick it out, continuing to try to ferret out the pockets of good care I know exist.
—
Let’s make cochinita pibil.
I saw you freaking out over banana leaves. Don’t. You can make this recipe without them and get fine results. Do try tracking them down, though. Not only do they perfume the meat, they’re fun to play with. Many groceries stock banana leaves near the “exotic” produce or in the freezer case. They’re also widely available in Hispanic groceries and online. Mine came from Berkeley Bowl, where I believe any foodstuff may be found. As the package contained enough leaves for many, many roasts, it happily lives in my freezer between cochinita pibil adventures.
This recipe is confluence of two decidedly non-Mexican sources: Ruth Reichl’s Spice Rubbed Pork Cooked In Banana Leaves, from My Kitchen Year, and Jennifer McLagan’s Seville Orange Pork Shoulder, from the extraordinary Bitter.
Why did I make this? Well, I had the wrong cut of pork–a boneless, rather lean loin that I’d defrosted for Monday’s dinner. Then certain people belatedly informed me of Monday night pans that promptly fell through, a convoluted story that ultimately meant the pork needed cooking Tuesday night. By then I’d found California-grown jalapeños at the market, along with late-season red peppers, so why not live a little?
By wrong cut, I mean a bone-in, fattier shoulder is preferable here. But if you fret over fat, rejoice, for the loin turned out just fine, though care should be taken to avoid dryness.
You need achiote seed for this recipe. After years of searching for annatto seeds and coming up empty-handed, I am here to tell you spice companies disagree about labeling. Look for annatto or achiote; they’re the same thing.
The Seville oranges McLagan calls for in her recipe aren’t in yet; Reichl’s recipe uses cider vinegar for the acid component. I’ve made this recipe with cider vinegar and citrus, and both are good. But the markets are filled with beautiful citrus right now, like these organic Page Mandarins. It seems a shame to pour in cider vinegar.
Normally you’d also use dried peppers in the marinade. But I had the aforementioned jalapeños, which turned out to be fairly mild.
A couple other remarks before launching into the recipe. It’s supposed to be spicy. The seasoning given here results in a peppy dish that won’t have anyone reaching for the tissues. If, like me, you enjoy extremely spicy food, increase heat accordingly.
The loin was a scant 2 pounds, enough to feed two for dinner with leftovers for 1 lunch the next day. I’d definitely buy a larger cut to feed more people. Hell, I’ll buy a larger cut to feed us next time.
You’ll need either a spice grinder, mortar and pestle, or large Ziploc-type bag and a rolling pin to crush whole spices.
Pork Roasted In Banana Leaves (Cochinita Pibil)
Adapted from Ruth Reich’s My Kitchen Year and Jennifer McLagan’ Bitter
Yield: One dinner for two with one lunch the next day
1 2 pound boneless pork loin
1 1/2 teaspoons achiote seed (also called annatto seed)
1 teaspoon coriander seed
1 teaspoon black peppercorn
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 small dried red chili peppers or 1 fresh jalapeño; this depends on your heat tolerance
2-4 garlic cloves, to taste, peeled and sliced
Citrus: Use what is available in your area: a Seville or Valencia orange, a mandarin, a tangerine. Grapefruit is too bitter.
1-2 large banana leaves
a little olive oil
Optional:
sliced onion
sliced red pepper
If you are cooking this now, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. If you are marinating overnight, ignore this.
A day ahead, if possible, prepare the marinade. If not possible, do it 4 hours before you plan to eat. Put the achiote seed, coriander seed, peppercorns, cumin seeds, oregano, cinnamon, and sea salt in a spice grinder, mortar, or large Ziploc-type bag. Pulverize into a powder. If doing this in a baggie, close it, cover it with a towel, and bash with a rolling pin. Avoid breaking the bag, which will make you hate me.
Add the peppers. If you are using fresh pepper, it is up to you whether or not to seed and devein.These jalapeños were not hot, so I tossed them in whole. I was worried the spice grinder would choke. It didn’t.
Now add the garlic. This time spice grinder choked, but this was chopped enough for me.
Using a small spatula, carefully scrape the spice mixture from the grinder into a small bowl. Don’t cut your spatula to ribbons on the blades. Or your fingers.
Turning to the oranges, if they are not organic, please scrub them well before zesting the peel into the spice mixture.
I have terrible luck with that brand-name zester everyone raves about: the zest always gets stuck in those little teeth, and they are bitch to clean. Do your best. Then squeeze the orange juice over the spice mixture. Stir to blend. Notice how good it smells.
Rub this marinade all over the pork.
Now the recipe takes a little detour. Ideally, you’re tucking this in the fridge, covered with foil, for the next 24-48 hours. Then, 4 hours before you plan to eat, remove it from the fridge, preheat the oven to 325 F, and give it an hour to come to room temperature.
Detour concluded. We’re all on the same freeway again, taking the Banana Leaf exit.
If your banana leaves are stiff, wave them carefully over your oven burner to soften them. For this recipe, you likely only need 1 or 2. They may need a rinse in cool water. You might want to trim the scraggly bits, which is easily accomplished with scissors.
As the pork is sitting in marinade, this next step is a bit messy. Lay your banana leaf, shiny side down, into your cooking vessel. Now transfer your pork over with a large spoon, spatula, or, if you’re me, your clean cupped hands.
Now’s the time to tuck in any additions–your sliced onion or pepper, say.
Fold the leaves over loosely. I like to flip the roast over so the seam is down.
Pour a little olive oil in the bottom of the pan, just to keep everything from drying out.
Cover with a lid or make one with aluminum foil.
Cook for at least 2 hours before checking.
Don’t fret over wrecking your handiwork–banana leaves are friendly. You can nudge in one side and have a peek, then rearrange everything. The pork should be absolutely fork tender. You’ll probably need more time–30 minutes, maybe 45. If the pan’s getting dry, add a little more oil. Dry pork is an awful thing.
When it’s ready, discard the banana leaf, which is sadly not edible.
Serve with black beans, sour cream, tortillas, avocados, slices of lime, shredded lettuce, and rice.
Notes:
This recipe is ideally made with a piece of bone-in, fatty shoulder pork.
The original recipe called for a teaspoon of ground clove in the marinade. I am not fond of clove and omitted it. Feel free to add it in.
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