Slow-Cooker Puerto Rican Pernil With Pique Criollo Recipe

By
Jennifer Olvera
Jennifer Olvera is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Jennifer Olvera
Jennifer Olvera is a Chicago-based food writer and cookbook author who has written eight cookbooks and contributed to Serious Eats, the Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, and others.
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Updated August 30, 2018
20140914-Serious-Eats-Slow-Cooker-Pernil-Pique-Criollo-Jennifer-Olvera.jpg
Fall apart-tender pork flavored with garlic and oregano from the slow cooker. . Jennifer Olvera

Assertively seasoned with garlic, oregano, pepper, and enough salt to form a crust, pernil—a Puerto Rican mainstay—lingers in the slow cooker for 18 hours until browned and fork-tender. It's served with vinegar-based pique criollo, a hot sauce made with peppers, garlic, pineapple and herbs.

Why this recipe works:

  • A tropics-like, vinegar-based hot sauce employs peppers, garlic, oregano and pineapple to enliven meat.
  • A salty, garlicky oregano rub is massaged into the pork shoulder, which has been marked with a cross-hatch pattern. Then, it's marinated overnight before the cooking begins.
  • A long time in the slow cooker—18 hours—yields a crusty interior and ultra-tender meat.

Note: After using the pique criollo, it keeps in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks. Use it to enliven other meats as well as beans and rice.

Recipe Details

Slow-Cooker Puerto Rican Pernil With Pique Criollo Recipe

Active 30 mins
Total 72 hrs
Serves 10 to 12 servings
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

For the Hot Sauce (Pique Criollo):

  • 1 cup distilled white vinegar

  • 1/2 cup distilled water

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lime juice

  • 2 habaneros, halved, seeds and stems removed

  • 2 jalapeños, halved lengthwise

  • 2 serrano peppers, halved lengthwise

  • 1/4 cup finely diced, fresh pineapple

  • 5 cloves garlic, peeled and halved

  • 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Pork (Pernil):

  • 8 cloves garlic, smashed

  • 1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

  • 1 tablespoon freshly cracked pepper

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 4 tablespoons distilled white vinegar, divided use

  • 1 (5- to- 6-pound) bone-in pork shoulder, preferable with fat left on

  • 1 cup water

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients for hot sauce in a large, 32-ounce Mason jar. Seal tightly with lid and place in a cool, dark place to macerate for 2- to-3 days.

  2. To make the rub, bash together garlic, oregano and salt using a mortar and pestle. Add vegetable oil and 2 tablespoons vinegar and thoroughly combine.

  3. Mark pork in a crosshatch pattern 1/4" into the meat, using a sharp knife. Rub all over with prepared paste. Place meat on a large platter. Cover and transfer to the refrigerator to marinate overnight.

  4. Remove meat from the refrigerator and transfer to the bowl of a slow cooker, placing it fat-side up. Add water and remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar. Cover and cook on low for 18 hours, turning once.

  5. When meat is nicely browned and fall-apart tender, transfer to a cutting board to rest for 20 minutes. Cut or pull apart pork in hunks and serve immediately with prepared hot sauce.

Special Equipment

Quart-sized mason-jar, mortar and pestle, slow cooker

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
442 Calories
33g Fat
4g Carbs
30g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 10 to 12
Amount per serving
Calories 442
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 33g 42%
Saturated Fat 11g 53%
Cholesterol 115mg 38%
Sodium 614mg 27%
Total Carbohydrate 4g 1%
Dietary Fiber 1g 3%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 30g
Vitamin C 13mg 63%
Calcium 52mg 4%
Iron 2mg 12%
Potassium 485mg 10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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