Cochinita pibil - slow cooked pork cheek with Al pastor rub
This is taking Al pastor one step further making the rub and marinade and then slow cooking the pork in fat until it falls apart.
Its a fantastic mix of sweet and sour flavours and deep earthy notes from the spices and annato. When using annato be very careful as it can stain your skin, clothes and work surfaces easily.
500g pork cheeks
50g pork fat
Rub
15g annato seeds
5g cloves
10g cumin seeds
5g pimenton whole
2cm piece cinnamon
5g black peppercorns
10g oregano
5g sea salt
In a dry pan on a low heat roast off the cloves, peppercorns, cumin, cinnamon and pimenton for 5 minutes
Transfer to a mortar and pestle with the salt and oregano and ground to a fine powder
Marinade
2 cloves garlic crushed
100ml orange juice
Juice of 2 limes
Mix the marinade with the rub and place the pork cheeks in the rub overnight to marinade
Set your oven or BBQ (indirect) to 140c
Place the cheeks in a cast iron pan or baking dish and pour in enough marinade to cover it half way
Add the pork fat
Place the lid on the pan and cook for 3 hours until the pork becomes tender, start checking after a couple of hours
Allow to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes before serving on tortillas with lime pickled onions and coriander
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