Cuban Mojo Marinated Pork
Cuban Mojo Marinated Pork is marinated overnight in a delicious citrus garlic marinade to create an incredibly savory and tender pork with tons of flavor.
If you haven’t tried Cuban Mojo Marinade before, you are truly missing out. It’s such a flavorful way to marinate meats, like pork, and the citrusy base helps to break down the fibers in the meat to produce an incredibly tender meat.
After marinating the pork shoulder in the Cuban Mojo marinade – made with bitter orange juice and lime juice, garlic, oregano, onion, and cumin – it takes on so much more flavor. Then you cook it low and slow for hours to get that perfect tender texture.
Helpful Tips
- Use a meat thermometer to make sure the pork has fully cooked. It should have an internal temperature of at least 190°F to be fall apart tender. If you’d rather slice it, you can cook it to 160°F instead.
- Any left overs can be used to make Cuban sandwiches or in quesadillas or as Mojo pulled pork sliders.
- For marinating the meat before cooking, I recommend 4 to 20 hours of marinating time. Any less doesn’t impart enough flavor and any more can cause the meat to break down too much and become soggy.
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Cuban Mojo Marinated Pork
Cuban Mojo Marinated Pork is marinated overnight in a delicious citrus garlic marinade to create an incredibly savory and tender pork with tons of flavor.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Extra Virgin olive oil
- 1 cups orange juice
- 1/3 cup lime juice
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon cilantro chopped
- 3 pound pork shoulder
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Season to taste. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Remove pork from the refrigerator and allow it to come up to room temperature, about 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 275°F.
- Remove the pork from the bag and place it in a roasting dish along with the marinade.
- Roast, covered, in the oven for 3 hours.
- Increase heat to 325°F. Uncover the pork and continue cooking for another 2 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 190°F.
- Remove the pork from the oven and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. Slice and serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 481kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 42gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 139mgSodium: 1324mgPotassium: 935mgFiber: 1gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 177IUVitamin C: 42mgCalcium: 73mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Would like to try this in a slow cooker. At the end there is instructions on how to do so, but when printing the recipe it doesn’t include these instructions. I can’t edit the recipe on my MAC, and my old brain won’t remember the slow cooker way.
Made this today. Marinated last night….threw it and marinade in slow cooker on high for 6 hours.took the meat out and thickened the juices with some Wondra. Mixed back in the pork and now having “BBQ” sandwich’s. Its delicious…the marinade is the best.
Sounds like it worked out great. We love this marinade too!
Absolutely delicious!
Making this for the second time Today.
Thanks
I’m making this today, but I don’t know how long to cook it. The summary says it cooks for 2.5 hrs, but the instructions say 3 hrs covered plus 2 hrs uncovered. What???
I’m guessing the pork will taste good, but the RECIPE has issues.
Sorry for the confusion. Once you put the roast in the oven it will bake covered at 275° F for 3 hours, then you will remove the lid or take the foil off and continue cooking at 325°F for 2 hours or until the internal temperature is 190°F.
I make mojo pulled pork; however while trying to keep it on a steam table it tends to get mussy or soggy. How can I do to prevent this?
Hi Joan, thanks for stopping by and trying this great recipe! It’s the fat and the liquid in the pork that makes it soggy. It might be helpful to make sure you’ve drained the pork of as much fat as you can before you put it in the steamer.
I’m making this in two days with a 4 lb. bone-in pork shoulder. Please tell me how long to roast at stated temps with lid and then without. Thank you
Hi Carla, you are going to love how this pork comes out. I would stick with the 3 hours covered and 2 hours uncovered cooking time. Test the internal temperature at that time and see where you are at. You may need to cook it a bit more at that point to reach 190° F.
I’ve tried several pulled pork recipes and never seemed to get it right – and I’m actually a pretty good chef in the kitchen! (I love to cook). Well I tried this yesterday and OMG – I was DELICIOUS! I made a 6.25 pound pork so I cooked it at 300 for 3 1/2 hours. I kept basting it with the juices to it stayed moist. Then I took the lid off the dutch oven and cooked it on 325 for maybe another 1/2 hour to 45 mins. It pulled apart and slowly got browned and crunchy. We have company coming tomorrow for a pool party and I’m making another one for my guests that’s how good it was! Thank you!
Wow, Adam, that is high praise. Thank you! We are so happy that you loved it. I’m sure it will be a hit with your guests.
This was the most wonderfully moist and citrusy pork. I am excited to try the Cubano sandwiches, but having a hard time thinking about using the pork in a sandwich because it’s so delicious exactly as it is. Thank you! Best pork ever.!
We feel the same way Maggie. So glad you loved it!
The recipe isn’t clear on whether you are supposed to put the marinade in the dutch oven with the pork? It says to put the marinade in the cookie sheet lined with foil but I am not sure about if you are using the dutch oven if you are supposed to put the marinade in the pot or not.
Sorry for the confusion Traci. You do want to add the marinade to the Dutch oven along with the pork for added flavor while cooking.
I made this today in the slow cooker the texture is great but the sourness is too sour for me. I would substitute regular orange juice next time.
The combination of zesty citrus, aromatic garlic, and savory spices makes every bite irresistible
I tried this pork for a family gathering, and it was a huge hit!
The marinade really infuses the meat with incredible taste, and the pork turns out tender and juicy.
Glad you liked it Rachel.
This recipe sounds amazing, but I have a smaller pork roast. Should I adjust the marinating and cooking time, or can I follow the same instructions as in the recipe?
This recipe cooks for 5 hours using a 3 pound roast. If your roast is smaller then that you will most likely use a shorter cooking time. Check the internal temperature when you uncover the roast and increase the heat. You are looking for an internal temp of 190° F. There is no need to adjust the marinating time, let the roast soak up all that flavor.
I decided to use boneless pork chops instead of a pork shoulder for this recipe, and it turned out great
That shows the versatility of the recipe. You really can marinate any cut you want.