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Cochinita Pibil en Hoja de Plátano

Name: Cochinita Pibil en Hoja de Plátano
Prep time: 4 h 24 min
Total time: 13 h 24 min
Cuisine: Mexican · Yucatán
Ingredients: pork shoulder roast — 1500 g; achiote paste — 100 g; sour orange juice — 250 g; garlic — 18 g; allspice — 5 g; black peppercorns — 800 g; cloves — 12 g; dried mexican oregano — 1 g; pork lard — 27 g; salt — 10 g; banana leaves — 400 g; red onion — 220 g; sour orange juice — 120 g; habanero chile — 200 g

Cochinita Pibil en Hoja de Plátano reads richness 5.6, sourness 5.4 and umami 5.1 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Mexican · Yucatán main, about 13 hr 24 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 5.5 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 2.6 / 10
Sour & Bright — 6.6 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 1.7 / 10
Rich & Fat — 5.8 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 5.1 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 5.6 · Sourness 5.4 · Umami 5.1 · Heat 4.4 · Citrus 4.2 · Salinity 4.1 · Allium 3.6 · Warm Spice 3.2 · Floral 2.3 · Fruity 2.1 · Bitterness 1.5 · Sweetness 1.5 · Earthy 1.1 · Herbaceous 0.8 · Nutty 0.6

What's in it (14)

pork shoulder roast — 1500 g
achiote paste — 100 g
sour orange juice — 250 g
garlic — 18 g
allspice — 5 g
black peppercorns — 800 g
cloves — 12 g
dried mexican oregano — 1 g
pork lard — 27 g
salt — 10 g
banana leaves — 400 g
red onion — 220 g
sour orange juice — 120 g
habanero chile — 200 g

Time & effort: about 13 hr 24 min (4 hr 24 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 183.6 kcal, 9.5 g protein, 11.1 g fat, 15.2 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (9 steps)

Toast the allspice, peppercorns, cloves and oregano on a dry comal for 2 minutes until they smell like a spice market, then grind them fine.
Crumble the achiote paste into the sour orange juice with the charred garlic, the ground spices and the salt, and blend until it is a smooth brick-red marinade with no gritty specks of paste left.
Turn the pork in the marinade, cover, and refrigerate overnight — 8 hours minimum, 12 is better. The achiote should stain the meat right through, not just the outside.
Pass the banana leaves over an open flame for a few seconds a side, until they turn glossy and go from stiff to supple; this is what keeps them from splitting when you fold them, and it is also where a good part of the aroma comes from.
Grease a heavy pot with the lard, line it with overlapping leaves so they hang over the sides, tip in the pork and all its marinade, and fold the leaves closed over the top. Cover tightly.
Bake at 135°C (275°F) for 4 hours, until the meat gives with no resistance at all and pulls into wet strands. In the Yucatán this happens in a pib, a stone-lined pit under earth; an oven gets you most of the way there.
While it cooks, pack the sliced red onion with the habanero into the sour orange or vinegar with a pinch of salt and leave it an hour, until the onion turns fluorescent pink and loses its rasp.
Shred the pork straight into its own juices — never drain them — and serve with the pickled onion and warm tortillas.
Substitutions: 125 ml orange juice plus 65 ml grapefruit juice plus 60 ml lime juice can stand in for the sour orange juice from naranja agria; white vinegar can stand in for the sour orange juice.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Torta Ahogada Tapatía — Mexican · Jalisco
Sopa de Lima Yucateca — Mexican · Yucatán
Memelas con Asiento y Quesillo — Mexican · Oaxaca
Griot (Twice-Cooked Marinated Pork) — Haitian
Ayam Rica-Rica (Manado Chilli Chicken) — Indonesian

Keep reading: what richness, sourness, umami mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.