Recipe for Cochinita Pibil?

[Jesus]

The problem with both the Cochinita Pibil and Carne al Pastor is the cooking and getting the exact flavor.

My Mom tried the Cochinita Pibil and the results were good but the flavor wasn´t the proper one of the taco carts. Of course a normal gas oven would never get to the level of a hole in the dirt.

[mindz]

Intersting to see everyone's comments and recipes. I've made it also; my local Mexican grocery now has the sour orange juice, but I've also made my own mixture with part grapefruit juice. I think that grapefruit has the bitter/sour flavor you need. Banana leaves I buy frozen at an Asian grocery. The biggest disappointment, in making cochinita pibil in the States, is the pork itself. It goes against our health-conscious ways, but you need pork with lots of fat, or the dish will be dry and the flavor thin.

I've been off the forum for quite a while, but will be coming to Playa March 20-23, after three peaceful days at cesiak in Sian Kaan.

[Jesus]

Originally Posted by mindz

Intersting to see everyone's comments and recipes. I've made it also; my local Mexican grocery now has the sour orange juice, but I've also made my own mixture with part grapefruit juice. I think that grapefruit has the bitter/sour flavor you need. Banana leaves I buy frozen at an Asian grocery. The biggest disappointment, in making cochinita pibil in the States, is the pork itself. It goes against our health-conscious ways, but you need pork with lots of fat, or the dish will be dry and the flavor thin..

Completely agree, the fat during the cooking is important for the flavor, same as with Carnitas, if they are not greasy they won´t taste good, and they don´t need to be as greasy at eating time,
I have never thought about the grapefruit substitute, good to have an alternative.