Recipe - Cochinita Pibil

ONE DAY AHEAD:
3 One half pound (to 41/2) pork
Preferably
End of loin with fat
2 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoon Seville orange juice (see
Note)
Spice grinder
1 tablespoon Achiote seeds (heaping)
One fourth teaspoon Cumin seeds
One fourth teaspoon Oregano
12 Peppercorns
3 Whole allspice
40 Milliliters Garlic peeled
1/8 teaspoon Powdered chile seco (may
Substitute hot paprika)
1 teaspoon Salt
3 tablespoon Seville orange juice or
Mild white vinegar
2 lg Pieces banana leaf
ON SERVING DAY:
Dutch oven
The wrapped meat
One half cup Cold water
SALSA:
One half cup Onion very finely
Chopped
3 Chiles habaneros very
Finely chopped
One half teaspoon Salt
2/3 cup Seville orange juice

Pierce the pork all over and rub in the 2 teaspoons salt and 2 tablespoons
orange juice. Set aside while you prepare the seasoning paste.

Grind the achiote seeds, cumin, oregano, peppercorns and allspice together
to a fine powder.

Crush the garlic together with the chile seco, salt and 3 tablespoons
Seville orange juice and mix with other powdered spices. The mixture should
be a thick paste. Coat the pork with the paste.

Lightly sear the banana leaves over a bare flame to make them more
flexible. Wrap the meat up in them and leave to season in the refrigerator
for at least six hours or overnight. ON SERVING DAY: Preheat oven to 325
degrees. Place a rack at the bottom of the Dutch oven and cover the dish
with a tight fitting lid. Cook for 2 One half hours. Turn the meat and baste it
well with the juices at the bottom of the pot. Cook for another 2 1/2
hours, or until the meat is soft and falling off the bone.

Meanwhile, prepare the salsa: mix all ingredients together. Set aside to
season for about 2 hours. Serve in a separate dish.

After cooking, shred the meat roughly. Pour the fat and juices from the pan
over it. Serve hot, with tortillas and the sauce so that each person can
make his or her own tacos.

NOTE: A rough approximation of Seville orange juice may be attained through
the following: For One half cup blended juice, combine 1 teaspoon finely grated
grapefruit rind, 3 tablespoons orange juice, 3 tablespoons grapefruit juice
and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.

Recipe from _The Cuisines of Mexico_ by Diana Kennedy

Recipe By :

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini