6-Ingredient Puerto Rican Roasted Pork Recipe Is Tender, Crispy & Juicy Pork Dinner Holidays Gluten-free Puerto Rican Recipes

Pernil is a pork shoulder (or sometimes pork leg) that's marinated then slow-roasted to juicy, tender, crispy perfection. The Latin recipe is often served at Christmas with arroz con gandules (rice and pigeon peas). Jennifer Lopez says she makes pernil with her family during the holidays every year. We like how Ms. Lopez thinks!

This easy pernil recipe has just a few simple ingredients, but the flavor is incredible. All you need for this roasted pork is a pork shoulder, garlic, fresh oregano, salt, adobo seasoning and olive oil You can marinate the pork up to three days if you want to make it ahead of time. 

Don't save this Puerto Rican roasted pork for the holidays! This pork recipe is so easy you can have it any night of the week. The leftovers are great in sandwiches or on pizza. 

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Cuisine: Latin
Prep Time: 2 to 24 hours to marinate
Cook Time: 3 hours and 45 minutes
Total Time: 6 hours (approximately)
Servings: 8 to 10

Ingredients

• 1 pork shoulder (4 to 5 pounds)
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 2 teaspoons adobo seasoning, plus more for sprinkling 
• 6 tablespoons olive oil

Helpful Products

• Roasting Pan
• Blender
• Puerto Rican Cookbooks
• Salt and Pepper

Recipe Notes

• Be sure to let the pork rest after roasting for at least 20 minutes.

Here's how to make it: 

1. Put the garlic, oregano, salt, adobo seasoning and olive oil into a blender. Pulse until smooth. 
2. Using a knife make slits in the pork roast on all sides. Put the pork into a roasting pan. Rub the marinade all over, pushing it down into the slits, on all sides. Cover the pork and marinate in the refrigerator overnight (or at least 2 hours). 
3. When ready to cook, add about 1 inch of water to the roasting pan. Cover the roasting pan tightly with a lid or aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated 350-degree F oven for 2 hours, then increase temperature to 450 degrees F and continue to bake for 1 more hour. (Check water level after 2 hours and add more, if needed.)
4. After cooking 3 hours, sprinkle the roast with more adobo seasoning. Bake, uncovered, 45 more minutes or until meat is fork tender and skin is crispy. Let the pork rest about 20 minutes before serving. 

Recipe cooking times and servings are approximate. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography. Need to convert cooking and baking measurements? Here are some kitchen conversion charts. Here's how to submit your recipes to 30Seconds.

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