masitas de puerco frita, yuca con mojo, y arroz con frijolesor fried pork, yucca with garlic oil, and black beans with white rice
This is the traditional Cuban-American meal for Christmas Eve, or what we call "Noche Buena" ("good night"). If you have a big family, or are particularly evil, you roast a suckling pig (lechon). I think for the most part my family has always roasted a pork leg for Noche Buena. Cubans in Cuba didn't open gifts on Christmas Day. They had a big meal on Christmas Eve and then waited until January 6th, Three Kings Day (when the three kings brought presents to the baby Jesus) to open gifts. Some people still observe Three Kings Day, but we never did. We opened up gifts with all the other American kiddos, bright and early on December 25th. Too early for my parents I'm sure!
One of our Noche Buena celebrations in Lennox, California.
Probably around 1984.
I'm at the top of this Cuban pyramid.
In addition to translating and trying out my grandmother's recipes, I've also been paying attention to my mom's cooking style, since she learned it from the source! Whenever I have a question about a vague set of instructions in the recipes, she comes to the rescue. This recipe is good enough for about four people, and I really don't think she can comprehend how to do such a thing. She cooks for a minimum of 8 people, which is actually an improvement over my grandmother's policy of cooking for 12-15 people. Seriously, we had pots that I have seen only in restaurant kitchens, they were so big. The following is an amended recipe, but in keeping with the flavor and style of the old recipe book.
The Pork
What is key to getting the pork right? Well, the right cut of pork, the right marinade, and making sure it's soft on the inside and glazed and crisp on the outside. It has taken me awhile to do this well on my own, but there are a few key tricks that most online and book recipes don't tell you. Here's the deal:
My mother buys pork shoulder. I always tried this recipe with pork tenderloin, because they always have it at the grocery store, but it didn't turn out too good. Don't get me wrong, it didn't taste bad, but it was tougher and drier than shoulder, which has a good deal of delicious fat running through it. I bought 2lbs of pork shoulder "ribs" for this meal that were cut like short ribs in long strips. I cut those strips into 1-2 inch cubes (saving a good piece with bone to flavor the beans) and put them in a big pot with a lid, added a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and then poured over the marinade, tossing to coat everything. I left it in the fridge overnight. For four people, you could use less pork, but you'll want leftovers. I used my leftovers to make tamales...but that's another post.
The Marinade
Goya makes an amazing product for this step called Mojo Criollo, or "creole marinade." It's what my family has always used, but for some reason the markets around me don't carry it. I know there's got to be some little bodega that has it, but it's not one of the more popular Goya products in my shopping area. If you do find it, step one is done- marinade accomplished. If you don't, here's how to make your own mojo criollo from scratch, which I like doing anyway.
Mojo Criollo
Seville oranges grow in Cuba, and they tend to be bitter, but this is a central component to the marinade. If you don't have access to seville oranges, a good substitute is 2/3 c. of regular sweet orange juice mixed with 1/4 cup of lime juice.
Finally the next day arrives and you're ready to cook. Take the pork out of the fridge and set that pot right on the stove. Add enough water to the marinade to come up 3/4 of the way to the top of the meat. Add about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. Heat to a simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. After the water has evaporated, you'll be left with very soft pork, the simmering marinade, and the oil.
This is the point where you turn up the heat a little and get the outside of the pork to be nice and crisp. If you need to add a bit more oil, do, but sparingly. I used a cast iron pot, but something non-stick would have been better, in retrospect. If the pork isn't browning up like you'd like, use a pinch of sugar to carmelize it up. The pic at the top of this section is what you want your pork chunks to look like, soft on the inside, brown and crisp on the outside. Delicious!
My mother's most recent Noche Buena pork and yuca.
She does something magical to make the pork break apart so delicately.
I think it's that there's just so much of it!
One of our Noche Buena celebrations in Lennox, California.Probably around 1984.
I'm at the top of this Cuban pyramid.
In addition to translating and trying out my grandmother's recipes, I've also been paying attention to my mom's cooking style, since she learned it from the source! Whenever I have a question about a vague set of instructions in the recipes, she comes to the rescue. This recipe is good enough for about four people, and I really don't think she can comprehend how to do such a thing. She cooks for a minimum of 8 people, which is actually an improvement over my grandmother's policy of cooking for 12-15 people. Seriously, we had pots that I have seen only in restaurant kitchens, they were so big. The following is an amended recipe, but in keeping with the flavor and style of the old recipe book.
The Pork
What is key to getting the pork right? Well, the right cut of pork, the right marinade, and making sure it's soft on the inside and glazed and crisp on the outside. It has taken me awhile to do this well on my own, but there are a few key tricks that most online and book recipes don't tell you. Here's the deal:
- 2lbs of pork shoulder, cut into cubes
My mother buys pork shoulder. I always tried this recipe with pork tenderloin, because they always have it at the grocery store, but it didn't turn out too good. Don't get me wrong, it didn't taste bad, but it was tougher and drier than shoulder, which has a good deal of delicious fat running through it. I bought 2lbs of pork shoulder "ribs" for this meal that were cut like short ribs in long strips. I cut those strips into 1-2 inch cubes (saving a good piece with bone to flavor the beans) and put them in a big pot with a lid, added a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and then poured over the marinade, tossing to coat everything. I left it in the fridge overnight. For four people, you could use less pork, but you'll want leftovers. I used my leftovers to make tamales...but that's another post.
The MarinadeGoya makes an amazing product for this step called Mojo Criollo, or "creole marinade." It's what my family has always used, but for some reason the markets around me don't carry it. I know there's got to be some little bodega that has it, but it's not one of the more popular Goya products in my shopping area. If you do find it, step one is done- marinade accomplished. If you don't, here's how to make your own mojo criollo from scratch, which I like doing anyway.
Mojo Criollo
1 cup of seville orange juice
Seville oranges grow in Cuba, and they tend to be bitter, but this is a central component to the marinade. If you don't have access to seville oranges, a good substitute is 2/3 c. of regular sweet orange juice mixed with 1/4 cup of lime juice.
- 7-10 cloves of garlic, chopped
- thinly sliced small onion/half a regular onion
- teaspoon of salt
- teaspoon of cumin
- teaspoon of dried oregano
- pinch of pepper
Finally the next day arrives and you're ready to cook. Take the pork out of the fridge and set that pot right on the stove. Add enough water to the marinade to come up 3/4 of the way to the top of the meat. Add about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. Heat to a simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. After the water has evaporated, you'll be left with very soft pork, the simmering marinade, and the oil.
This is the point where you turn up the heat a little and get the outside of the pork to be nice and crisp. If you need to add a bit more oil, do, but sparingly. I used a cast iron pot, but something non-stick would have been better, in retrospect. If the pork isn't browning up like you'd like, use a pinch of sugar to carmelize it up. The pic at the top of this section is what you want your pork chunks to look like, soft on the inside, brown and crisp on the outside. Delicious!
My mother's most recent Noche Buena pork and yuca.She does something magical to make the pork break apart so delicately.
I think it's that there's just so much of it!
The Yuca
Yuca, or cassava, is a woody shrub grown for its edible root, which looks like the above picture and is sort of like a yam, but not very sweet. It looks pretty uggo if you ask me. It's native to South America and the surrounding tropics, so lots of other Latin-Caribbean cultures use it. People mash it, put it in soups, puree it up just like you would a potato. Basically, you cut off the bark, chop into 2-4 inch pieces and boil it for an hour to soften it. It has an interesting texture that I didn't used to like as a kid, but now I look forward to it every year.
- 1 lb of yuca
Chopping off the bark is something I was unprepared for. It's tough and dangerous, and I found myself wondering when the hell my grandmother ever did this, because I certainly didn't remember her doing it or seeing the purple and brown bark bits around the kitchen. I asked my mom about it days later and she admitted that they had always bought it already peeled and frozen in the frozen vegetable section of the Latin market. Asian markets have it too. Wish I'd known!
Anyway, you make sure there's enough water to cover it and boil the chunks until they are soft, like fall off the fork soft, but before they disintegrate. It took mine about an hour, but they were large chunks. After they have been drained and any woody bits removed from the centers, set them on a plate, salt them, and drench them the garlic mojo, which is just garlic, onions and olive oil heated until fragrant. You can also fry it up a little in the oil and get the outside somewhat crispy, but remember olive oil burns faster than vegetable oil.
close up of yummy yuca with garlic mojoThe Black Beans
Black beans done the traditional way take time, a pressure cooker, and lots of patience. My way is a simple but tasty alternative.
- 1-2 cups of black beans
You can soften black beans overnight or use (gasp!) canned black beans. If you use canned (and I totally secretly do), be sure they are low sodium, good quality, and that you rinse them well.
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
- 1/4 green bell pepper, finely diced
- 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
Start a small pot on medium-high heat and pour in theolive oil. Add in half an onion and maybe a quarter to a half of a green bell pepper. Salt and pepper them and sautee for a few minutes until their golden, then add the garlic. If you add the garlic too early, it will brown and bitter up your dish, so be sure to wait. You have just made what we call a "sofrito." This is the basis of a lot of Cuban dishes. Once the garlic has heated through, add the following spices:
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 bay leaf
Then add
- 1/4 cup of white vinegar
- 1/4 cup dry white wine.
Your pot should look like this:
The beans are barely at the surface of the liquid. If you don't have enough liquid, pour in some water or stock/broth. If you have too much, just cook it longer. With this dish, the longer you let the beans simmer, the tastier they will be. I brought them to a boil and simmered them, uncovered, for about 2 hours. You could totally do it in one, but since I had all the other dishes going on, it wasn't hard to occasionally stir the beans.Pour a couple of spoonfuls of beans over white steamed rice and you have yourself a meal!
Best way to make all of these together so they are all hot on the table:
Start the pork & marinade the day before (obvs.)
Next day, start the beans and get them to a simmer. (couple hours cooking time)
Put the pork on the stove and get it started. (1-1 1/2 hours cooking time)
Get the yuca started (1 hour cooking time, maybe less)
20 minutes from dinner-time, steam the rice
10 minutes from dinner time, cook up the oil/garlic/onion mojo for the yuca.
Yes, it's a pain in the ass dinner.
Yes, it requires a lot of your time.
That's why we do it once a year.
It's totally worth it!!
Tomorrow, how I turn the leftover pork chunks into tasty filling for Cuban style tamales.
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