It’s glorious to eat cochinita pibil at home with corn or flour tortillas, along with pickled red onions, beans, and guacamole. It’s the Yucatecan way to serve this mouthwatering dish, which I enjoy with my family too.
If you haven’t tried cochinita pibil before, let’s say it’s a traditional Yucatecan dish that upgrades pulled-pork to a whole new level of taste and color. It’s a spicy, sweet, and tangy meal.
The “recado” or “recado rojo” is the secret behind its color and flavor. “Recado” is a zesty marinade with achiote, a red seed, which brings a slightly sour taste and sharp red color. Additionally, the “recado” has exotic spices like clove and cinnamon that round this dish’s flavors along with oregano, black pepper, and a handful of garlic.
What does Cochinita Pibil mean?
You might ask, what does cochinita pibil mean?. Well, “cochinita” means “suckling pig” in Spanish. And pibil comes from “pib,” the Mayan name of the underground ovens that traditional cooks use to bake the pork.
The original recipe takes 24 hours to marinate the pork and then bake the entire suckling pig inside a pib for 6 hours.
But relax, I won’t make you build a pib at home! Just make sure you plan ahead so that you have enough time to prepare and cook this recipe. It’s totally worth it.
I’ll show you a modern twist of the cochinita pibil. This sliders’ recipe is delicious and is great for sharing with family and friends.
To start, I prefer to buy spices in whole grains, so I can roast them lightly before blending them. This way, we can get more intense flavors. Another nice tip to get closer to the traditional recipe is to add sour orange juice to the “recado.” I couldn’t find it in my city. Still, some people recommend substituting it by adding apple cider vinegar to orange juice. I tried it, and I love it! Give it a try. It will bring an authentic touch to your dish.
Finally, I couldn’t help adding a typical Honduran feeling to our sliders. Instead of brioche or regular burger buns, I recommend you to try Honduran coconut bread. You’ll enjoy a tropical touch, and if you’re from Honduras, like me, you’ll immediately feel closer to your home.
What you need to make cochinita pibil sliders
Finding a good casserole to bake cochinita pibil was a bit hard. For the rest, most items are pretty common. In any case, I suggest to check you have all you need to make this recipe at home:
You can watch the step-by-step video for this recipe on my YouTube channel and check the ingredients and instructions below!
Cochinita Pibil Sliders
Ingredients
Pork filling
- 6 lbs of pork shoulder, shoulder blade, shoulder, or loin, cut into large cubes
- 2 white onions, finely chopped in julienne
Marinade/"recado"
- 0.4 lbs of achiote paste
- ½ tbsp of ground black pepper
- ½ tsp of cracked pepper
- ½ tsp of ground cloves
- 2 tsp of cumin
- 1 tsp of cinnamon
- 1 head of garlic, minced (12-15 cloves)
- 1 tsp of oregano
- 1 guajillo chili, hydrated in 1 cup hot water. Can be substituted with 1⁄2 tsp piquin chili (optional)
- Salt, to taste (approx. 1 tsp.)
Sauce
- ¼ cup of cochinita pibil juice that comes out after it is cooked.
- 1 cup of sour cream
- 2 tsp chopped cilantro
Slider toppings
- Pickled red onion to taste
- 3 sliced radishes
- 1 bunch of cilantro, for garnish
- 1 Roasted habanero
You'll also need
- Honduran coconut bread for sliders (Or brioche bread)
- 6 large banana leaves (for wrapping the pork in)
Instructions
- Lightly roast 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 2 teaspoons of cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves, and 1 teaspoon of oregano in a hot pan.
- Before hydrating the guajillo pepper, cut the stem, and take the seeds out. Then, put it in hot water for two minutes.
- Add the spices to a blender, along with the black pepper, garlic cloves, and guajillo chili, along with some of the water you used to hydrate it. Then, before putting the achiote inside the blender, crush it slightly and add it to the mix. Remember to use gloves to avoid staining your fingers when handling the achiote. Lastly, add 1 1⁄2 cup of sour orange juice and blend it all together.
- To prepare the pickled onions, cut them into julienne and put them in hot water for two minutes. Then, drain the water and add the juice of two lemons and two tablespoons of vinegar.
- Take 6 pounds of your favorite pork cut and chop it into manageable pieces. Put the pork chops inside a large bowl, and pour over the "recado.” Make sure you are wearing gloves, and massage the pork carefully to cover every chop with the marinade. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it marinate inside the fridge overnight (6-8 hours would be fine)
- When your pork is thoroughly marinated, prepare the container to cook it. Place a few long banana leaves in your container until you cover the entire base and some sides. Then put the pork inside. Pour over all the marinade and add the julienned onions. Then, wrap well with more banana leaves and cover it with the container's lid.
- Cook the pork in a preheated oven at 325 ºF or 160 ºC for 5 to 6 hours approximately.
- Take the pork out of the oven and let it rest for 20 minutes.
- While the pork is resting, prepare the toppings. First, the creamy sauce. Mix 1/4 cup of cooked cochinita pibil juice, 1 cup of sour cream, and 1 to 2 teaspoons of chopped cilantro. To finish, top the mix with salt and pepper. Then, take the habanero and roast it slightly. You can put the habanero directly over a burner, just enough to roast the skin a bit.
- Shred the pork with a fork and put it inside a bowl. Then pour all the cooking juice over it.
- To build the sliders, spread the creamy sauce on both bread slices. Add the cochinita pibil, and top it with pickled onions. Lastly, assemble the slider with the top bun slice.
- Serve your juicy cochinita pibil sliders with roasted habaneros, sliced radishes, and fresh lime wedges. Finally, you can experience its sweet, tangy, and fresh taste and incredibly juicy mouthfeel!
Video
Notes
If you liked this cochinita pibil sliders recipe, you might like some of my other recipes too.
And remember, if you try this recipe and want to share your pictures, tag me @lacooquette on Instagram. I’d love to share your photos on my IG stories.
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