Puerco Pibil

 Puerco Pibil

Fundamentally, this is the recipe provided on the extras of the DVD  for “Once Upon a Time in Mexico” (cooking demonstrated by the director, Robert Rodrigez) but with some commentary from other sources as well.

Puerco Pibil is the dish Johnny Depp's character orders again and again until he finds the perfect version. Depp explains to Antonio Banderas' character: "It is a slow-roasted pork. Nothing fancy, just happens to be my favorite, and I order it at every dive I go to in this country, and honestly, this is the best it's ever been. ... It is so good that when I'm finished with it, I'll pay my check, walk straight into the kitchen and shoot the cook. Because that's what I do. I restore the balance to this country."

This is a dish well known in Yucatan."Pibil" refers to the Maya method of steaming meats in a pit, a "pib" in the Maya language. This dish is also known as Cochinita Pibil. The difference being that “cochinita” is a baby pig and Puerco is more generally pork – so true Cochinita Pibil would be this dish made with a whole suckling pig.

The marinade leans heavily on Annatto seeds. “Achiote” and “Annatto” are used interchangeably and you will often find packaged labeled with both names. “Achiote” seems to be used more among Spanish speakers, and “Annatto”, English speakers – or at least bilingual spice packets end up that way. The recipe calls for making a seasoning paste ("recado")  from annatto seeds, lots of other ground spices and citrus juice. It turns out to be really quite liquid, so marinade may be a better descriptor.

Achiote spice comes from the seeds of the evergreen Achiote (Bixa Orellana) shrub. After softening in water, the pulp surrounding the seeds is made into cakes for further processing into dyes. The seeds themselves are dried and used whole or ground and are the Achiote spice. Commercially, Achiote is used to add yellow color to chorizo, butter and margarine, cheese, and smoked fish.

The Achiote shrub is native to the tropical areas of the Americas, including the Caribbean and Mexico. The Spanish brought the small tree from the Americas to Southeast Asia in the 1600s, where it is now a common food ingredient there as well. It’s also produced in India and West Africa.

Achiote spice goes by many names in different parts of the world: Achiote is used in Mexico and in the Aztec language of Nahuatl, as well as Spanish-speaking countries of the Caribbean; Annatto is common on some Caribbean islands and in areas of South America; Roucou is used frequently in Trinidad and Tobago, Martinique, and Guadalupe; Achuete is primarily used in the Philippines; Urucul Is the name of the spice among the Tupi-Gurani Indians of the Amazon.

The term Annatto can also be found spelled as Anato, Annato, and Anatto.

When used in small amounts, Achiote has no discernable flavor. When used in larger amounts to add flavor, it imparts an earthy, peppery flavor with a hint of bitterness. Achiote seeds give off a slightly floral or peppermint scent.

 The Yucatecan recipes for Puerco Pibil always employ the juice of Seville (or ‘bitter’) oranges for marinating. However, Seville organs are not so easy to find in the US, so ‘regular’ (i.e., sweet) orange juice combined with lemon juice and  vinegar is employed to approximate the effect of the bitter orange on the meat. In some recipes lime juice is used.

Rodriguez's cooking lesson is a little vague on procedure. He says grinding the many spices yourself is essential. I always try to find small, fresh packets of the whole spices. Keep in mind that you need quite a bit of annatto. Spices will keep for a year or more in a cool dry place, so if you get an overly large packet, you can save it for the next time. An electric coffee grinder is good for grinding the spices, but it won't be suitable for coffee afterwards.

The last time I made PB I couldn’t find whole Annatto in local stores (and didn’t have time to wait for online orders), so I settled for “Achiote Molido” (‘molido’ = ground up).

Juicing the lemons is a bit strenuous. I use a wooden juicing muddle over a medium ceramic bowl. There’s really no need to worry about the seeds, so they can stay in the juice (unless there are loads of them).

The Rodriguez recipe calls for Pork butt. When I first made this, I thought it meant the hide quarters of the pig. But I’ve come to learn that ‘butt’ is a shoulder cut, and gets its name due to its shape being similar to a rifle butt. However, the ‘butt’ cut may not be a term used in a Spanish or Mexican butchery (Carnicería) – “Espadilla” (which usually means “oar” – a similar image to a rifle butt) or “Cabeza Del Lomo” may be more effective for getting the meat you want. There are other names for this cut as well.

Leave the fat on the meat while it is roasting. Most of it will melt away in cooking, yielding a wonderful “jus” in the bottom of the cooking pot.

When buying the meat, I like to go for bone-in cuts. Therefore, I have to buy a bit heavier to compensate for the weight of the bone. Don’t worry about being exact here. There will be more than enough marinade to season a bit more meat.

However, getting a bone in cut means a bit more challenge with the kitchen butchery you have to undertake to get the meat into roughly 2 inch cubes. I save the bones (and straggling meat stuck to the bone) to cook with the dish.

I now marinade the meat 24hours before cooking, but shorter times, even as little as 4 hours, also give acceptable results. For the marinading process, I use gallon ‘sandwich’ bags. I usually double the recipe, which takes about 3, 1-gallon, bags.  

I’ve always cooked my Puerco Pibil in a large (~26 quart) counter-top roaster oven, but it can be cooked in a roasting pan in a conventional oven as well. Basically imagine how one might cook a turkey. That sort of pot will do.

I lay down a layer of 3 to 6 banana leaves in the main, removable pan of the roaster oven. The banana leaves are usually sold full, but folded, so you can leave some length hanging over the edges for folding back over the top. Transfer the meat from the marinade bags using tongs (the marinade will color your hands a bit), and let it rest right on top of the leaves. Do not pour the marinade in to cook with the meat. The meat will carry enough marinade when you transfer it.

I also throw in the pork bones from earlier, and a handful of Jalepeno peppers. The Jalepenos loose much of their fire in the cooking process, and can be a nice garnish to the final meal.

If the hosting situation requires, such as a potluck with limited counter space, you can transfer the finished recipe carefully to a pre-heated croc-pot for transport and/or serving. ‘Carefully’ because the meat will be fall-apart tender. If you do this, save aside a few small pieces of banana leaf to lay on top as a garnish-to-be-removed-before-serving to add a little flare in the presentation.

Rodrigez recommends serving this dish with white rice. That makes sense for the color contrast, but I’ve eaten it with brown rice, and it is just a delicious.

The leftovers from this dish do well. The jus will solidify into a gel in the fridge, which will quickly melt back to jus when reheated. Don’t leave it out when you reheat. It is very tasty (though a bit fatty).

Puerco Pibil a la Robert Rodriguez

• 5 TBsp. (after grinding) achiote/annatto seeds
• 1 TBsp. (after grinding) black pepper peppercorns
• 2 tsp. (after grinding) cumin seeds
• ½ tsp. (after grinding) whole cloves (this is the spice, NOT garlic cloves)
• 8 allspice berries (before grinding)
• 2 habanero chiles
• ½ cup orange juice
• ½ cup white vinegar
• 2 TBsp salt
• 8 cloves of garlic (medium to big cloves) 
• Juice of 5 lemons
• Splash of tequila
• 5 pounds pork butt
• Banana leaves (Rodrigez says heavy-duty aluminum foil can be an alternate, but do everything you can to exhaust the possibility of real banana leaves before conceding to foil. The leaves to add flavor, flare, and fun to the dish).

Grind the annatto, cumin, peppercorns, and cloves into a fine power before measuring. Grind the allspice into fine powder after counting out the eight berries.  

Carefully remove the seeds and veins from the habanero chiles and chop coarsely.

Note: Habaneros are very hot; even breathing the fumes may make you cough. Removing the veins and seeds ensures the dish is fiery but not painfully hot. You can also substitute a milder chile. Rub your hands with a small amount of olive oil before handling the chiles. This can make cleaning your hands with soap and water a bit more effective after you are done cutting the chiles. Be very careful where you put your hands while working with the chiles. Keep your fingers away from your eyes. Don’t pause for a potty break unless you have thoroughly washed your hands.

Mix the orange juice, vinegar, habanero chiles, salt and garlic in a blender or food processor until liquefied. Add the lemon juice and tequila.

Cut the pork into 2-inch chunks. Place in a large, self-sealing plastic bag with the marinade. Partly seal the bag, carefully push out the air in the bag, then completely seal the bag. Turn or gently massage the bag to evenly coat the meat. Refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours, turning occasionally.

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. If using the removable liner-pan from a counter-top roasting oven, take the pan out!

Place the banana leaves in the roasting pot, remove the meat from the marinade and place in banana leaves (or foil). Recall the additional commentary on this step, above.  

Rodrigez says “wrap tightly in banana leaves or foil so no steam can escape” and then “place the packet in the roasting pan” – I have never done this, and the results have been just fine. Banana leaves rip quite easily. I’m not sure how one can wrap something tightly with them… but maybe you have skills that I don’t.

Roast four hours.

Open the pan and packet carefully. There will be steam and condensation if using a counter-top roasting oven. The meat will shred easily with a fork, but this only is a description of texture. You don’t need to shred the meat for serving. Serving the wobbly chunks of falling-apart pork is also a nice option.

Serve in chunks (or shredded) with white or Spanish rice – moistening as desired with the pan juices (the ‘jus’). As an alternate – serve as a taco filling. Makes about 15 servings.

Someone has estimated per serving values as follows – but getting 15 servings out of 5 lbs of meat is very small servings (5.3 oz, each): 240 calories (35 percent from fat), 9.3 g fat (2.9 g saturated, 3.8 g monounsaturated), 92.2 mg cholesterol, 33.1 g protein, 5.2 g carbohydrates, 0.7 g fiber, 1,037 mg sodium.