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.
What is Mojo Pork?
If you’re pronouncing this like “moe-joe” stop it right now, it’s “moe-ho” (as in “ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas!” as in, I wish Santa Claus would bring me some mojo pork). In Spanish “mojar” means to “to wetten” and we’re going to wetten, nay, DRENCH this pork with a delicious citrus herb marinade.
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)
What cut of pork to use for mojo pork?
Are you the person standing in the meat aisle, staring at the shrink wrapped styrofoam trays glinting in the fluorescent light and wondering helplessly what the labels mean? Pork shoulder. Boston butt. Picnic roast. Blade roast. Pork butt. How to choose??
The good news is, all of those things I just listed are the. same. thing. I know this is confusing but until somebody makes a rule, just know any of the above are great. A bone-in cut is going to be soooo flavorful but I’ve made this with boneless too. It’s still delicious!
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.
- 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.
Check out the meat before and after cooking. It’s so beautiful!
Mojo Pork Recipe Tips
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 Cuban Mojo
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?
How to store 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 pork recipes to try
- Slow Cooker Pulled Pork >> tastes like you cooked it on a smoker…without the smoker!
- Easy Pork Ramen >> there is no wrong time for ramen
- Asian Pork Tenderloin with Ginger Glaze (Slow Cooker) >> so little time for an awesome dinner
- Brown Sugar Balsamic Pork Tenderloin >> this one is just packed with flavor!
- 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 Recipe
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.
Worked great tasted even better and I tried it on pork chops on the grill, very tasty!
Love the idea of doing this on the grill! Great tip John!
It’s the most amazing pork meat for cubano sandwiches. I have made it in the oven and also in a slow cooker. Both ways were excellent. I make a couple of roasts at a time and freeze them. It’s the best!!!
Great idea to make some ahead to freeze! Thanks Kristie!
I was given 6 Pork Loins at five pounds a piece and would like to use the recipe. How would you suggest altering the cooking for this?
Hi Jenny! I would look up a recipe for roasted pork loins and use the roast times for that. Enjoy!
I found sour orange at my publix supermarket in the international foods section.
Score!! That’s awesome!
Your eye for interesting dishes is impressive! So is your photography. I will follow you on Pinterest and hope to add more recipes to my repertoire.
Thanks Charlatan!
Why thank you Neal! I hope you find some other recipes to try!
I made this with a 6 lbs roast and made a meal for another family too. It was great! I used fresh squeezed orange juice and don’t modify too much at all. I marinated over night for a good 20 hours.. I couldn’t taste the mint at all, so I wonder if omitting it would matter. It browned well, but I cooked it for the first 30 minutes at 450, so the ends in some spots were a bit charred. It was still tender and wonderful to munch on. The crispy ends tasted like chicharonnes/pork rinds, and that was my favorite part. I’ll make this again when my dad is in town!
I’m so glad you liked it Julie! This recipe is not meant to taste minty at all, the mint adds a crucial flavor element traditional to mojo that you won’t get without it. I wouldn’t skip it!
Hi there,
This recipe sounds amazing! I would like to make it on a BBQ, have you got experience with this and can you give any advice on cooking times, maybe?
Thanks so much for your advice in advance.
Julia
Hi Julia! I have not tried it on the grill unfortunately! I’m sure it will be amazing. I would google recipes for grilled pork shoulder and go with the times suggested. And be sure to use a meat thermometer! You could also poke through the comments section on this post, I bet someone has grilled this before and may have given tips.
I replaced the pork with canned jack fruit for a vegan pulled pork alternative, It was absolutely delicious! I’ve since cooked a pork fillet in the slow cooker in this marinade too and it was no less delicious!
That is awesome Sherry! Thanks so much for sharing your idea!
I tried it yesterday and it was delicious! My wife loved it too. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes :)
That’s great Philipp! This recipe is totally worth it. Did you make the Cubano with it? I know it’s hard to save any for the sandwich but it is so amazing if you do. Thanks for the note!
Hello! I cannot wait to try this recipe, one quick question though. I’m not sure how I feel about mint. I usually omit it in most recipes just because I am scared of having a minty toothpaste taste lol. Would it be fine to omit? Should I really just go ahead and do it and live life on the edge? This looks soooo good!
Hi Lexi! Live life on the edge! I promise it is not minty AT ALL. I actually just responded to another commenter who tried the recipe as-is and said she might leave out the mint next time because she couldn’t taste it. But I’m telling you, the mint and cilantro combo is what give this mojo pork it’s distinctive flavor. Don’t skip it!
I made this marinade with boneless chicken thighs last night, and my husband grilled it since he is the master of the grill. It was so good, it seemed sinful! He just kept saying, “oh my gosh, why haven’t we ever made this before?!?” I am sure we will be fighting over the leftovers for lunch today , lol!
I am going to triple the recipe and grill this up on Memorial Day for cubanos along side the burgers. I’ll let you know which dish my extended family wipes out first! Thank you for the amazing recipe!
Lots of people have tried this marinade with chicken, I don’t know why I haven’t tried it yet! It sounds amazing! If I were there, I would fight you for the leftovers too :) Thanks so much for the review Latisha!
I made this today and it turned out great. I used a 6.5 boneless pork shoulder and increased recipe to compensate. We served it with a vegetable paella and salad and loved it.
Will definitely do this again.
Veggie paella!! That sounds amazing! Great combo, thanks for the idea!
I would love to make this pork dish, but am not interested in turning it into a sandwich. What sides do you think would go well if the pork was the main dish?
Thank you!
Hi there A.! You are about 2 weeks too early! ;) I’m literally working right now on the recipes to pair with this dish, specifically Cuban black beans and fried plantains. I will add the links to this post when they go live! (So pork, rice, beans, and fried plantains is how I would serve it)
Hi! Can’t wait to try it! I was wondering if I could use a pork tenderloin instead, and if so how would I adjust the recipe?
Hi Brianna! I haven’t tried that. Pork tenderloin is a lot more lean, so it won’t be as flavorful. I really would recommend the shoulder.
Brianna- I’ve made this as a marinade for pork tenderloin multiple times and I promise you don’t lose any flavor! I like to make a little extra marinade kept to the side to brush on while grilling.
Ive just finished all the things for my feast tonight except the pork which is in the fridge marinating. My family decided to make fresh pita breads and stuff them with the pork, guacamole, pico de gallo, homemade hot sauce, and a yoghurt sauce. I hope it will be good. Thanks!👌
Oh man! That sounds amazing! I love the idea of stuffing this in pita bread!! I will have to try that!