Puerto Rican Pot Roast Recipes

Steps:

• Make a deep cut with a sharp knife across the meat.
• Combine salt pork, capers, oregano and vinegar with half the peppers, chilies and onions.
• Add 1 T oil.
• Pound into a smooth mixture and stuff this mixture into the cut in the roast.
• Melt lard in large saucepan and brown meat on all sides over high heat for 10 minutes.
• Add water, salt and remaining peppers, chilies and onions.
• Bring to a boil and simmer over moderate heat for 2 to 2 and 1/4 hours.
• Add potatoes, tomato and tomato puree, mixed with the rest of the olive oil.
• Stir into pot.
• Bring back into boil and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft and the sauce thickens.

Steps:

• Pulse garlic, onion, oregano, cumin, chile pepper, salt, and pepper together in a blender, pouring in vinegar and enough olive oil until mixture is pasty. Scrape down sides of the blender as necessary to fully incorporate. Spread this mixture all over the pork loin, and place into a slow cooker.
• Cook on Low until the pork is fork tender, 6 to 8 hours. When ready, cut the pork into chunks, or shred; garnish with lime wedges to serve.

Steps:

• In a bowl, mix together the olive oil, garlic, Adobo, lemon juice, sazon, oregano and black pepper; set aside. Using a small, sharp knife, make a cut on the side of the roast where the skin meets the flesh. Continue cutting, separating the skin from the flesh, leaving one end of the skin attached. Using the knife, make 1/2-inch deep incisions in the flesh, under the skin. Place the pork on a tray. Using your hands, rub spice mixture over flesh, pushing some of the mixture into the cuts. Place the skin on top of meat; wipe the skin clean. Rub skin with salt. Cover tray with plastic wrap; transfer to refrigerator to marinate at least 4 hours, or overnight. Heat oven to 350°F. Transfer pork, skin side-up, to roasting pan; bring to room temperature, about 1 hour. Pat skin dry. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil. Cook pork until meat is fork-tender and internal temperature registers 145°F, 3 to 3 1/2 hours; discard foil. Increase oven to 450°F. Cook pork, uncovered, adding water in 1/4 cup measures if pan becomes dry, until skin is brown and crisp, 20 to 35 minutes, checking pan every 10 minutes. Transfer pork to cutting board; let rest 20 minutes. Remove skin and cut into pieces. Drain fat from drippings. Cut meat from bone. Serve with skin and pan juices.

Steps:

• 1. Grind the ham in a food processor until it's coarsely chopped--some larger pieces are ok. Set aside 1 cup of the ground ham and stir the olives and reciaito into the remaining 2 cups. Take a look at the rump roast. You will be able to see the "grain" of the meat--fibers that run in one direction. You will slice the finished pot roast against the grain, so you want to make pockets of stuffing more or less diagonal to the grain, so some of the stuffing shows in each slice. Make deep cuts about 1 inch apart and diagonally against the grain with a boning knife. To make the holes large enough to fill easily, wiggle a finger around in each cut. Fill each hole to about 1/2 inch from the opening. Don't overstuff or when the meat shrinks it will squeeze out all the stuffing. If a little stuffing does get squeezed out during cooking that's fine; it flavors the sauce. Season the outside of the roast generously with salt and pepper. 2. Heat the achiote oil in a Dutch oven large enough to hold the meat and potatoes comfortably--a 5-quart Dutch oven works well--over medium heat. Add the roast and cook, turning it occasionally, until well-browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. (A sturdy pair of tongs comes in handy here.) The achiote oil will make the meat brown quickly--so keep an eye on it, lowering the heat if the oil begins to discolor. Lift the beef out to a plate and carefully pour or spoon off all but about a tablespoon of the fat from the pan. Add the red peppers and the remaining ham and stir until the little bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pot are loosened and the peppers start to soften, about 4 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring so it doesn't stick and burn, for a minute or two. Stir in the vinegar, bring it to a boil and cook until the liquid is syrupy, about 4 minutes. 3. Return the meat to the Dutch oven, stir in the liquid of your choice, the tomato sauce, and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil and boil for 15 minutes, skimming the foam and fat from the surface. Adjust the heat so the liquid is at a happy simmer. Cover and cook until the meat is tender, about 2 hours. 4. Remove the meat to a carving board and cover it loosely with aluminum foil to keep it warm while cooking the potatoes. 5. Bring the sauce to a boil. Let it boil while you peel and cut the potatoes into ½-inch slices. Add the potatoes and cook over low heat until tender, about 20 minutes. 6. Carve the meat against the grain into slices about ¼-inch thick--thick enough so the filling stays in place. Transfer the potatoes to a platter with a slotted spoon. Lay the slices of beef over the potatoes and spoon enough of the sauce over the meat to moisten it. Spoon the remaining sauce into a boat and pass it separately. Sprinkle the chopped parsley over the top.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC).
• Place the garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, and olive oil into the container of a food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Use a small knife to make several incisions in the fresh ham. Insert the garlic paste into each one using a small spoon. Place the ham in a roaster, and cover.
• Bake for 1 1/2 hours in the preheated oven, then check every 15 minutes or so, until the internal temperature reaches 175ºF (80ºC) when taken with a meat thermometer.
• While the meat is roasting, place the yucca in a large pot of boiling water. Cook until fork tender, and drain. Serve with pork roast.

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Use a sharp knife to poke 3 to 5 holes into the pork roast. Stuff about half the garlic into the holes. Cook roast in hot oil to brown completely, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer roast to the crock of a slow cooker.
• Blend orange juice, lime juice, remaining garlic, cumin, salt, and oregano in a blender until smooth; pour over the pork.
• Leave the pork marinating in the orange juice mixture for 10 minutes; turn roast and let other side marinate for 10 minutes.
• Turn slow cooker to Low and cook for 8 hours.
• Remove pork to a cutting board. Shred meat using 2 forks.
• Drain liquid from the slow cooker crock, reserving 1 cup. Return shredded pork to the slow cooker crock, pour reserved liquid over the meat and stir.
• Look on Low until the meat is again hot, 15 to 20 minutes.