A traditional roasted Cuban Mojo Marinated pork recipe that is very simple, yet packed with tons of flavor! There is nothing to this pork except an amazing marinade, but it is honestly some of the best meat I’ve ever put in my mouth. Just look at that crust! Originally published April 9, 2015.
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Today I was craving a snack, so naturally I grabbed a banana and the jar of Biscoff sitting in our cupboard. The banana-Biscoff dip is a habit I’ve been nursing for a while now, and I don’t think it’s heading out anytime soon.
Then I opened the jar and IT WAS EMPTY. Not even last-tiny-bit-scrape-able. This was no crap job, that jar was CLEAN. I’m the only one in the house with a Biscoff habit, so there is no question about culpability here. Past-Karen scraped that jar clean, and then she put it back in my cupboard. It’s like she’s trying to torture me. Oh, hi Future-Karen, you wanted a snack? TOO BAD.
Have you guys seen the movie Chef? It’s about a guy who opens a food truck and drives across the country selling Cuban sandwiches and it helps him win at life. Whatever, all I know is that by the end of the movie I NEEDED a Cubano, more than anything ever.
But first things first: the pork. This pork, you guys. I would climb mountains and cross rivers for this pork. The crust alone is enough to make a man weep.
Mojo Pork Recipe Ingredients
Here’s a quick list of the ingredients so you can see whether or not you’ll need to go shopping for them. See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and instructions!
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Orange zest
- Orange juice
- Lime juice
- Cilantro
- Mint leaves
- Minced oregano (fresh or dried)
- Ground cumin
- Kosher salt and pepper
- Pork shoulder (boneless or bone-in will work)
How to make Cuban Mojo Pork
Here’s a quick overview of how to make this Cuban Mojo Pork (just a summary – full instructions in the recipe card below!).
- Marinate the pork in olive oil, orange zest, orange and lime juice, chopped cilantro and mint, minced garlic, oregano, and cumin. Allow it to marinate for a few hours or overnight in the fridge.
- Season pork with salt and pepper. Roast it at 425ºF until browned, then turn the temperature down and cook at 375ºF for another 90 minutes or so.
- Remove pork from the oven, cover with foil, and let the pork rest for 20 minutes.
Check out the meat before and after cooking. It’s so beautiful!
In Cuba they have sour oranges. I’d never heard of them or tried one, but using sour oranges is how to make a true Mojo sauce. The best substitute is a combination of orange and lime, which is what I’ve done here. I’m not complaining. The result is incredible.
Tips for Mojo Pork
Here are a few of my best tips and tricks for the best Roasted Cuban Mojo Pork!
- Bone-in or boneless: Feel free to use either! The recipe calls for boneless, but I’ve grabbed bone-in before and it has turned out great (really, even juicier).
- Make time for the marinade. Marinating the pork for enough time is the key to a tender texture and great flavor. Don’t ruin the party! Give those amazing flavors at least a few hours to get acquainted, but ideally let them marinate overnight.
- Cook at high heat, then low heat. Starting the pork at 425ºF gets the exterior nice and crispy. Finishing the roast at a lower temperature gives the pork time to cook all the way through without drying out. Check the temp. Use a meat thermometer to verify that the internal temperature of your pork is 160ºF before you take it out of the oven.
- Let it rest. Give the pork 20 minutes to rest before you slice into it. Cut into it too soon, and all the moisture and flavor will seep out. Nooooooo
- Slice against the grain. Cutting it against the grain makes for tender meat in every bite.
How to serve roasted Mojo Pork
I used this pork to fill Cuban sandwiches, coming to the blog next week. (UPDATED: Cubanos in the house.) The recipe for the pork and the sandwiches are both from the chef they hired for the movie. Cool right?
Storing Cuban Pork
Leftover Mojo pork will last in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for 3-4 months. Keep it whole as slices tend to dry out more.
To reheat, thaw the pork overnight in the fridge if frozen. Wrap your pork (whole or sliced) in foil and warm for 10-20 minutes in a 375 degree oven. If you’re in a hurry, you can microwave slices on a plate, covered by a paper towel, in 30-second intervals until it’s warm.
Cuban Pork Recipe FAQs
Mojo pork has a unique fresh, citrusy, garlicky flavor. It’s made using a combination of fresh herbs, seasonings, orange juice and zest, and lime juice. It’s so tender, incredibly juicy, and SO GOOD!
Mojo pork is a type of pork roast that originated in Cuba, inspired by mojo sauces of the Canary Islands. It’s tender and juicy thanks to a flavorful marinade and roasting to perfection.
Mojo sauce is made with citrus juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, mint, and cumin. Everyone’s recipe is a little different, but those are the essential components. It’s simple but packs a serious flavor punch!
More great meat recipes to try!
- Asian Pork Tenderloin with Ginger Glaze (Slow Cooker):
- Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Peanut-Lime Sauce:
- Brown Sugar Balsamic Pork Tenderloin:
- Cuban Shredded Beef from The Girl Who Ate Everything
- Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja from Cooking in Stilettos
- Slow Cooker Puerto Rican Pork from The Noshery
- Crispy Roast Pork from Nutmeg Nanny
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Cuban Mojo Pork
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 3/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
- 1 cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup lightly packed mint leaves, finely chopped
- 8 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced oregano, 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- Kosher salt and pepper
- 3 & 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, in one piece*
Instructions
- If you have a food processor: Add the orange juice, cilantro leaves, mint leaves, and smashed (not minced) garlic cloves, and pulse until everything is finely chopped. Add this mixture to a ziplock bag, along with the rest of the oil, zest, lime juice, oregano, and cumin.
- If you don’t have a food processor: In a large ziplock bag, combine olive oil, orange zest, orange juice, lime juice, chopped cilantro, chopped mint, minced garlic, oregano, and cumin. Shake it around a bit to mix it up, then add the pork shoulder.
- Place the zipped up bag in a baking dish, and put it in the fridge overnight, or several hours at least.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place a wire rack (I used a cooling rack) over a rimmed baking sheet.
- Place the pork on the rack and discard the marinade. Salt and pepper the pork well.
- Roast the pork for 30 minutes. It should be lightly browned.
- Turn the oven down to 375 degrees F. Roast for another 1 hour and 20-30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 160.
- Transfer to a cutting board, cover with aluminum foil and let rest at least 20 minutes.
- Carve against the grain and serve.
This looks delicious! Do you know if this can be slow cooked?
Hi Babs! This recipe hasn’t been tested in the slow cooker, but if you try it, I recommend cooking it in your crockpot on low for 8 hours or on high for 5-6 hours. I would still roast it in the oven after slow cooking to help it get a little bit of the nice crust that it gets from the regular oven roasting method. You might try it for 10-15 minutes at 425. If you try it, come back and let us know how it turns out!
Yum
Will this work with a larger bone in pork shoulder?
Hi Sarah! Yes, a bone-in pork shoulder works great. You may need to adjust the cooking time if you’re using a much bigger piece of meat. Enjoy!
Can I use a 3 lb pork loin?
Hi Jamie! Great question. Pork loin is delicious but I wouldn’t recommend it for this recipe. It’s much leaner than pork shoulder and doesn’t cook in the same way that pork shoulder does. If you’re looking for some amazing pork loin, I highly recommend Brown Sugar Balsamic Pork Tenderloin (Crockpot) or Asian Pork Tenderloin with Ginger Glaze (Slow Cooker).
Thank you for this response. The specifics and reasoning really helps! :()
*oops, correction to my comment – turned oven down to 375 – NOT 175!
OMG. Incredibly delicious. Thank you for this recipe! I did the initial high temp in the oven, and turned down to 175, but shortened the cook time to 45 minutes. I have an electric oven and know it runs hot. Plus, internal temp for pork is 145, so didn’t want to dry it out. It was ready to come out and rest! I also saved the marinade, cooked it down, and added a slurry of half and half and cornstarch for a dip, so delicious! The meat was soooo juicy! We ate it with a baked potato. Planning on Cubanos in a couple days. So excited for that!Â
Insanely delicious. If you’ve never had Cuban pork you are in for a treat. This recipe is super easy and produces amazing results. I love this on Cubano sandwiches but it really is great on its own.
I’m not very good at roasts normally but I tried this recipe and it came out amazing!  All the family loved it.  Juicy, succulent and super tasty!  I’m now being asked to replace the Christmas turkey with is roast. Â
This recipe came out great! It’s a very forgiving recipe. I had a 2 1/2 pork butt. I didn’t have sour oranges, oranges, nor limes. I used tangerine and lemons (it’s what I had in the fridge) and supplemented with some cider vinegar. I marinated it for 24 hours in a 64 oz container (trying to reduce single-use plastic). Roasted 450 for 15 minutes then on 350 for 2 hours. I flipped the pork over mid-way and broiled both sides to get a bit of char on it at the very end. The meat was tender and juicy. And yes, I made Cubano sandwiches with some of the leftovers the next day. Very tasty! Thank you!
Outstanding and easy! Made awesome cubano sandwiches!Â
I threw it ALL in the food processor so oil emulsified a little but then it just looked like I was marinating it in salad dressing. So delicious!
This sounds and looks delicious. Â Could you use a boneless pork loin roast?
Hi Barb! I haven’t tried that. It’s not as fatty of a cut of meat, so it won’t be as tender. And definitely use a meat thermometer to see when it’s done, it will cook faster!
I’m sorry, this did not work out for me. My cut of meat was a bit smaller than directed, but it took more than twice as long as the recipe suggest to temp in the middle (165f.) Also, I added more salt than directed and let marinade for a full 24 hours, but it was still bland and flavorless. Not sure what went wrong.
Could you use this to marinade chicken?
Yes it would be delicious Lorie! Enjoy!
Marinated chicken and then grilled. Â Delicious.
Can I use a cast iron to sear the meat prior to the high temp in the oven? Thanks
Hi Becca! You can but you really don’t need to. The high heat in the beginning gives you a really nice crust. If you sear on the stove, skip the high heat and just cook at the lower temperature so it doesn’t dry out. Enjoy!
So this was good! I should have read all the comments, since you say to discard the marinade, but in the comments, you can save it and use it. I will save it next time to baste it or reduce it.
How does it get a crust on it when it’s only salt and peppered to go in the oven after marinating?
Hi Patricia! The crust is not made of ingredients added to the meat. It forms when the meat itself is cooked at a very high temperature. You could form this crust with a piece of completely unseasoned meat (although it wouldn’t taste as good.) We turn the temperature down after a while though, so it doesn’t burn the edges and undercook the center. Enjoy!