Danielle Alvarez's Cuban-style pulled-pork sandwiches

Name: Danielle Alvarez's Cuban-style pulled-pork sandwiches
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 4-6
Cuisine: South American
Ingredients: 8 garlic cloves, peeled; 1½ tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 2 tsp dried oregano; 1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped; juice of 2 oranges; juice of 2 limes; 4 tbsp olive oil; 1.5kg boneless pork shoulder, skin off; ½ bunch mint leaves, chopped, to serve; 6 bap rolls*, to serve; white onion, thinly sliced, to serve

Danielle Alvarez

September 2, 2022

Time:2 hours +Serves:4-6

As a Cuban, I have mojo – the nation's garlic-laden marinade – running through my veins. I remember watching my mum and grandmother dress a suckling pig with it before slow-roasting the meat in an outdoor oven – the centrepiece of our big family gatherings. My favourite part of the meal came the next day, though, when we'd warm up all the leftover meat and stuff it into soft Cuban bread rolls. Here, we're making the process easier using pork shoulder and the kitchen oven.

Ingredients

8 garlic cloves, peeled
1½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
juice of 2 oranges
juice of 2 limes
4 tbsp olive oil
1.5kg boneless pork shoulder, skin off
½ bunch mint leaves, chopped, to serve
6 bap rolls*, to serve
white onion, thinly sliced, to serve

Method

1. For the marinade, crush the garlic with a pinch of salt using a mortar and pestle until it forms a smooth paste. Transfer to a small bowl along with the cumin, black pepper, oregano, orange and lime juices and olive oil and stir to combine. Reserve half to set aside in the fridge.
2. Place the pork in a tray and pour the remaining marinade over the pork. Sprinkle liberally with salt, cover and refrigerate overnight (or, at most, 24 hours).
3. The next day, heat your oven to 200C fan-forced (220C conventional). Place the pork inside an enamel-lined Dutch oven or a deep roasting dish and pour all the juices from the tray over it. Cover with a lid or, if using a roasting pan, place a sheet of baking paper over the pork and then wrap tightly with foil. Place into the oven and immediately reduce temperature to 120C fan-forced (140C conventional). Cook for 7-8 hours until the meat is tender and beginning to fall apart (this can be done overnight).
4. Next, uncover the meat and increase the temperature to 200C fan-forced (220C conventional), cooking for 30-45 minutes until the top starts to brown. Remove from the oven and rest for at least 20 minutes. Lift the meat out of the pot and place onto a chopping board and use two forks to shred it into large chunks. Pour all the dripping from the pot into a measuring cup and return the meat to the roasting dish.
5. Discard half of the fat, scooping it from the top of the cup. Mix the remaining dripping with the reserved fresh marinade and chopped mint. This is your sandwich dressing.
6. Slice open the soft rolls. Fill with a generous scoop of shredded pork, drizzle over the dressing and garnish with thin slices of white onion. Close the bun and serve.
*Tip: Bap rolls, which you can find at Bakers Delight, are the closest thing I've found in Australia to Cuban bread. Any soft, chewy roll should do the trick, though.