Cochinita Pibil

Where Is This Special Pork Stew From?

It is originally from the state of Yucatán, Mexico, where it is mainly served on Sunday mornings or festive days. But now it is traditionally eaten all over Mexico year-round.

Its origin goes back to the pre-Hispanic era and used to be prepared as Hanal Pixan which means food for the souls. So it’s meant as a stew to share with the souls of our ancestors. Isn’t that beautiful?

Traditionally, Cochinita Pibil is tightly wrapped in banana leaves and buried in a pit with a fire at the bottom to braise it. That earth oven is called a “pib” in the Mayan language hence the name of the dish “pibil”.

Originally, pheasant, boar, deer, or armadillo was used as meat in the stew, but with the arrival of the Spanish conquerors so did pork and the dish slowly transitioned into being a mainly pork-based stew. It was eventually then called “Cochinita” Pibil, which basically means baby pork braised in an earth oven.

For a super traditional and authentic recipe check out this amazing video made by a born and raised Yucateco. And this video shows an even more traditional cooking process. I’ve tried the Cochinita Pibil cooked in the traditional earth oven and there just is no better meat I’ve ever tasted. My version tries to get to the original flavors as much as possible, but if you ever get the chance to travel to Mexico and try the real deal, DO IT! SO GOOD!

The Main Ingredients

• Pork — pork shoulder (butt, blade, picnic) or pork leg both work. The most important is that it has a lot of marbling and that you remove the thick layers of fat and still have enough meat left.
• Oranges — typically Cochinita Pibil marinade uses Seville oranges which taste very bitter and are not that easy to find. So to get the acidity into the marinade what a lot of people do is simply add vinegar to the orange juice of any other orange.
• Apple Cider Vinegar — the orange juice simply needs to be acid so you can add either lime juice, white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar to it. Whichever you prefer. My favorite is apple cider vinegar.
• Garlic — some recipes call for onion as well. I prefer to add only garlic because I love serving the Cochinita with onion salsa already.
• Spices — this is where the biggest difference is between all stews you’ll try in Mexico. Some add few spices like salt and oregano only, other like to add cinnamon, clove, and cumin as well. Our family likes it with all the spices.
• Achiote Paste (Annato Paste) — this is the most important ingredient and what differentiates a simply pulled pork stew from a true Cochinita Pibil. It is a paste made of the red seeds of the Bixa Orellana. Achiotl in the Aztec’s Nahuatl language means “red dye” or “red paint”. You can find this condiment in any Hispanic grocery store or online.
• Banana leaves — this ingredient is optional but does give the cochinita a slightly more earthy taste. If you can get your hands on it it’s definitely worth adding. They are actually way easier to find than many believe. Any Hispanic and Asian grocery store tends to have them. They are often sold frozen.

How To Prepare the Pork And Marinade

1. Trim fat — trim as much of the thick layers of fat from your pork shoulders. The stew needs fat to make the pork tender so don’t remove the fat in between the meat. Do cut off the thick layers on the side though or else your cochinita pibil will taste too oily.
2. Cut into 2″ pieces — you can leave the pork shoulders whole if you prefer. I prefer to cut them into big pieces to ensure the marinade penetrates the meat from all sides.
3. Make orange juice — there is nothing like fresh orange juice. You need 1 cup of it for 4 lbs of pork. I used 8 oranges to get to 1 cup.
4. Add spices — add chopped garlic, spices, and achiote paste to the orange juice. Then either blend in a blender, use a food processor or mix by hand. The blender takes only 2 minutes and by hand, it’ll take more like 15 minutes. I mix it by hand because the achiote dyes the plastic jug of my blender. If you have a glass jug on your blender use your blender!
5. Add the marinade — add the marinade to the pork and use tongs to mix it well.
6. Marinate — cover your bowl tightly with cling film and marinate the meat for at the very very least 2 hours but better overnight and up to 24 hours in the fridge.

How To Make Cochinita Pibil In The Pressure Cooker

1. Line Pot with banana leaf — if you got your hands on banana leaves, line your pot with a small piece. There are several things you have to pay attention to avoid the burn warning though. Add a little water (1/4 – 1/3 cup) and let it sit for a few minutes to ensure the leaf is soft and very wet. Also, make sure some of the stew liquid can get to the bottom of the pot. Fold the leaf in a way that makes this possible. If you have one of those super finicky instant pots that give you the burn warning when you just look at them a certain way: don’t line your pot and just put the top leaf on the stew.
2. Add marinated pork — add your marinated pork to your instant pot.
3. Top with banana leaf — top the stew with another small piece of banana leaf. If you don’t have any banana leaves simply omit steps 1 and 3. No problem at all, the Cochinita Pibil will still turn out amazing.
4. Pressure Cook — pressure cook the pork for 90 minutes on high pressure then wait for full natural pressure release. A lot of recipes out there suggest 45 minutes or 60 minutes, and while the pork does cook through in that time, it does not really get fall-apart tender. You’re always better off with longer cooking times.
5. Remove banana leaf — remove the top banana leaf with some tongs. Banana leaves are not edible, we just add them for the extra earthy flavor they provide. Then, transfer the meat to a shallow container and use two forks to pull the meat apart. Pulling apart is easier in a shallow container than in the big pot.
6. Serve — once all the meat is pulled apart give it a quick toss in the juices and serve.