Braised Mojo Pork
I have been tweaking this braised mojo pork recipe for the better part of 8 years. At this point, it’s a frankenstein’s monster recipe of Chef Roy Choi’s mojo pork and Jennifer Yu’s cuban pork sandwich recipes with a handful of my own changes.
The pork has a tart and crispy outside and a juicy inside that absolutely melts in your mouth. And, the pan sauce is insanely good.
Only three steps to done: 1. brine; 2. marinade; and 3. braise. You’ve got this!
Get the Recipe: Braised Mojo Pork
Ingredients
Brine
- 4 cup bottled orange juice
- ½ cup fresh lime juice
- 1 cup mango nectar
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- ¼ cup dark or spiced rum
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup kosher salt
- 8 cloves roasted garlic
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 pounds boneless pork shoulder
Marinade
- ½ cup bottled orange juice
- ½ cup fresh lime juice
- ⅔ cup olive oil
- ⅔ cup cilantro, chopped
- 6 roasted garlic cloves
- zest of one lime
- zest of one orange
- 2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin, toasted and ground
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, ground
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Braising Liquid
- ½ the brine
- All of the marinade
- 2 cups bottled orange juice
- ½ cup mango nectar
- 3 ½ cup chicken stock
Equipment
- 1 9.25 qt Dutch oven or roasting pan w/ lid
- 1 blender
- 1 set of tongs
- 2 bowls for marinating and brining
Instructions
Brining Method
- In a large bowl or deep container, mix together the brine ingredients, submerge the pork, and cover. Place in a refrigerator for 12 hours.
Marinating Method
- Just before you are ready to take the pork out of the fridge, prepare the marinade by blending all of the marinade ingredients in a blender for 1-2 minutes. Set a gallon sized bag upright into a smaller bowl and pour in the blended marinade. The bowl should keep the bag and it's contents from falling and spilling while you take the pork out of the brine and transfer it to the marinade bag.
- Seal the marinade bag, making sure to get out as much air as possible. Place the now marinating pork back into the fridge to sit for 2-4 hours. Make sure to save half the brine for the braising liquid.
- Before the next step, begin preheating your oven to 325°F (163°C).
Braising Method
- Now that the pork is done marinating, take it out of the bag and pat it mostly dry. Add the leftover marinade to the saved brine and set aside.
- Place an enameled Dutch oven on your stove top and turn the heat to medium high. Once the pot is hot, sear each side of the meat. After searing, put the pork on a plate or tray.
- Deglaze the Dutch oven with some of the mixed marinade and brine liquid and a wooden spoon or turner. After the bottom of the pot is clean, pour in the rest of the marinade and brine liquid. Then add in the rest of the braising liquid ingredients and bring everything to a very low simmer.
- Add in the seared pork shoulder. The liquid should be between halfway and three-quarters of the way up the side of the meat. Cover the pot, but make sure to place the lid slightly ajar. Braise the pork in the oven for 4-6 hours, flipping it over around 2.5 hours into the cooking time. The entire shoulder should be fork tender when it's done. When ready, take the pork out of the oven, remove the lid, and let the meat cool down in the braising liquid to maintain moisture.
Notes
- A lot of the ingredients overlap in this recipe, so make sure to add up measurements and see what you actually need before you go grocery shopping. I always manage to not have enough oj.
- Leaving the top of the lid slightly ajar while in the oven helps prevent too much heat from building up in the pot and toughening the meat. If the braising liquid drops below halfway add some more chicken stock, to keep the pork from drying out.
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Technically you do not need to sear meat before braising it. The searing doesn’t seal in moisture, it simply allows for a deepening of flavor to the final product thanks to the maillard “my-YARD” reaction. If you want better flavor to your stews and braises, always sear before you cook in liquid.
If you don’t have a dutch oven, a roasting pan with a lid will also work for the braising portion of the recipe. Note, you will need a large sauté pan to sear the pork. Make sure to deglaze the pan with some of the braising liquid before adding everything to the roasting pan. All of that beautiful brown char is flavor. Don’t waste it!
Yes, but there are a few things to keep in mind.
1. A slow cooker is made for the convenience of setting and forgetting your food as it cooks. While this method does take much longer and the food will not be quite as tender, the trade off may be worth it depending on your schedule and free time.
2. There is no moisture loss in a crockpot and you could end up submerging the pork as fat releases into the braising liquid and the pork shrinks. To combat this, make sure that the braising liquid doesn’t start higher than a quarter of the way up the pork shoulder. I suggest you reduce the braising liquid from the recipe and concentrate it to the level needed for the crock pot so you have much more flavor than simply pouring in some of the pre-cooked braising liquid.
3. Because the crockpot needs its lid on at all times to stay at temp, you won’t get a crispy top.
4. Cook it on low. It’s very difficult to keep stable temperatures in a crock pot, and I cannot tell you how many times I’ve toughened meat on the high setting instead of breaking down connective tissue because I was rushing. According to conversion charts, you are looking at at least 12 hours on low. I’d check after 10 and then every hour until you’re happy.
Also, Yes! But, again, be careful.
1. Pressure cookers are FAST in all caps! This braised mojo pork recipe should cook within 1.5-2 hours in a pressure cooker. Make sure to use a natural release when cooking meats.
2. With pressure cookers there is also very little moisture loss. So, you should reduce the braising liquid from the recipe and concentrate it here as well. Make sure that the level of the braising liquid and pork shoulder together don’t start higher than 2/3rd of the way up the pressure cooker.
3. You will probably not get any crust with this method either, however, the meat should be more tender than if you braised it in the oven. Not a bad trade off.
The best way that I have found, is to freeze the pulled pork in leftover braising liquid. It’s liquid gold IMO, so waste not want not!
Ready for the dreaded word? Freezing and defrosting meats in liquid keeps them moist! Ugh, that’s over, let’s move on. By freezing in a liquid, you avoid the freezer burn that will happen if you just freeze the pork on it’s own and let air get to it. And, when defrosting (LOW temp), on the stovetop or in a microwave, the liquid gets reabsorbed into the dry meat and protects it from drying out.
I’ve had good results freezing this pork for up to 4 months in portioned containers.
