Pierna Criolla a Lo Caja China

PIERNA CRIOLLA A LO CAJA CHINA - STUFFED PORK SHOULDER

Recipe by Roberto Guerra

This impressive pork shoulder recipe is a must. Covered in bacon, ham, prunes and guava shells, once roasted, you are in for a seriously juicy bite. Also with this recipe, you will find small recipes for Garlic Mojo, Fried Green Plantain, White Rice, and Black Beans.

min
prep

3.5

hours
cook

INGREDIENTS

Serving Size
8

1 8 lb. pork shoulder 8 slices bacon
1/2 lb. ham 1 bottle Malta
1 cup guava shells
1 cup La Caja China Cuban Style Mojo Marinating Sauce

1 cup prunes

4 tbs. La Caja China Cuban Style Adobo Criollo
2 cups brown sugar
2 tbs. salt

STEPS

Remove bone and flatten meat so that it may be rolled. If the pork shoulder is very fatty, a small amount may be removed. Score fat well and marinate for a minimum of 12 hours in the La Caja China Cuban Style Mojo Marinating Sauce and La Caja China Cuban Style Adobo Criollo dry rub. Line meat with ham slices, bacon slices, prunes and guava shells. Roll meat carefully to keep the filling inside the roll. Tie firmly with a butcher cord. Cover with brown sugar and 1/2 bottle of Malta.
Place Racks inside the box skin side down, attached probe from the wired thermometer and run wire under short aluminum top frame.
Cover box with the ash pan and charcoal grid.
Add charcoal to the roasting box
10 lbs. of charcoal for the Weekender
16 lbs. of charcoal for Model#1 Box
18 lbs. of charcoal for Model#2 Box.
Once lit (20-25 minutes) spread the charcoal evenly over the charcoal grid.
Cooking time starts right now.
Add charcoal every hour until you reach your desired temperature.
5 lbs. of charcoal for the Weekender
8 lbs. of charcoal for Model#1 Box
9 lbs. of charcoal for Model#2 Box.

IMPORTANT: Do not open the box until you reach the desired temperature.
Once you reach 187 F, lift the charcoal grid shake it well to remove the ashes, now place it on top of the long handles. Do not place on the grass or floor it will damage them.
Remove the ash pan from the box and dispose of the ashes. Make sure you water down the ashes on the ground, they can cause fire.
Flip the pork shoulders over to crispy the skin. This is easily done using our patented Rack System, just grab the end of the rack lift and slide as you pull upward, using the other hand grab the top end of the other rack and slide it down.
Score the skin using a knife, this helps to remove the fat and crisp the skin.
Cover the box again with the ash pan and the charcoal grid; do not add more charcoal at this time.
After 30 minutes, take a peak by lifting the charcoal pan by one end only. You will continue doing this every 10 minutes until the skin is crispy to your liking.