Puerco Pibil

Submitted by Luby Luby Luby

"I got this recipe from the movie "Once Upon A Time In Mexico" starring Antonio Banderas and Johnny Depp. The director (or maybe producer - not sure) Robert Rodriguez made a short cooking show at the end of the DVD showing how to cook this dish. I have not made it yet because the annato seeds were not available locally so I ordered them from Penzey's and they just came in. I plan on making this next weekend so I will post an update on the recipe. NOTE: Rodriguez suggests that you have a coffee grinder just for grinding seeds and do not attempt to grind coffee beans after the seasoning. He states you will never get out all of the seasoning and will affect the taste of your coffee so splurge and buy a grinder just for your seasonings. You can buy banana leaves at your asian market but if you cannot find them wrap the pork in foil. He says the leaves add flavor and moisture."

 

• Ready In: 5hrs
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 5 lbs pork butt, cubed into 2 inch pieces
• 5 tablespoons annatto seeds
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 8 whole allspice
• 1⁄2 teaspoon whole cloves
• 2 red habanero peppers, diced (remove seeds and membrane)
• 1⁄2 cup orange juice
• 1⁄2 cup white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 8 cloves garlic, peeled
• 5 lemons, juiced
• 1 tablespoon tequila
• banana leaf

directions

1. Put annato seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns, allspice and cloves in a clean coffee grinder and grind very fine.
2. Put orange juice, white vinegar, habanero peppers, ground spice powder, salt, garlic, lemon juice and tequila in blender.
3. Blend until smooth.
4. Place cubed pork and liquid from blender in zip loc bag and marinate for one hour.
5. Line a 9x13 baking pan with banana leaves.
6. Pour pork mixture directly on top of banana leaves and cover with more banana leaves.
7. Cover tightly with foil.
8. Bake at 325 degrees for 4 hours.

Reviews

[Dan G.]

I have been making this for years for Thanksgiving gatherings for my family (We have a huge get together, with "Dish to Pass" on Friday night) It is a big hit. I marinate the meat overnight, an bake it slow (275 - 300 degrees for 4 - 5 hours) Works well served over rice or mashed potatoes.

 

[jrohan402]

Great movies by the way. I've made this twice, the first time I used 5 lemons, too much lemon. I used limes the second time, but only 3. I serve with tortillas, cabbage and some lime wedges, great!

 

[Chuck_Roast]

My son prepared this dish for us last night - amazing! He served it with a cilantro corn salsa and cilantro lime rice and corn tortilla shells - great combination. I suspect this would be a great way to prepare venison as well.

 

[George Scott]

We could not find banna leaves so we put it in a slow cooker. Worked great - very tender and juicy. Served it with white rice and red beans. This dish should be good for a "pot luck" dinner. Has a very unique flavor. ONE NOTE: The spice and juice preparation will stain your counter if spilled !

 

[Steve1]

This is an excellent pork dish. From what I can gather, annatto seeds are used for color, so I substituted safflower or "Mexican saffron." I used 2 habanaros peppers, but will use only 1 next time. I only marinated for 4 hours and it seemed fine. Delicious bright flavor from the lemon juice and vinegar. I served this with Mexican Rice (Recipe #117892), Corn and cheddar spoon bread (Recipe #217913) and chili and lime refried beans. All were a hit with my dinner guests!! Thank you Robert Rodriguez!