Cuban-style pork loin - it's eatin' time!

I had part of a pork loin in the fridge that I wanted to use before we left for Mexico. For some reason, I had a hankerin' to prepare it with lime and decided to go with a Cuban-style preparation.

As such, I decided to consult with the experts: Three Guys from Miami. I pretty much followed their recipe for lechón asado (within the constraints of my pantry & fridge), but with a twist. I decided to stuff the pork loin to somewhat mimic a Sandwich Cubano. (I don't like pickles, so I didn't use any of those nasty things...) I didn't have any Swiss cheese, so I used processed pepper jack (whatev...)

Anyway, I started out with a head of garlic (separated and peeled), a teaspoon each of coarse sea salt and black peppercorns, the zest of one lime, and a handful of fresh oregano. I put this in my mortar and attempted to make a paste. I think it would've worked better if I had a larger mortar...

I added about half of a large onion (finely diced), 1/4 cup of lime juice, a splash of lemon juice & 3/4 cup of orange juce.

I heated 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil to about 225 and then whisked it into the rest of the marinade, and let it cool.

I prepped the pork loin by removing most of the fat and silver skin. Then, to allow maximum penetration by the marinade, I violently assaulted the pork loin with a very sharp knife - stabbing it repeatedly... Plus, I cut a slit lengthwise to convert the column to a tube...

I put the pork loin in a gallon zip bag, poured in the marinade and put it in the fridge overnight.

I took some thinly sliced ham (lunchmeat) and laid out an overlapping sheet. (About ten slices...) I laid out three slices of pepper jack cheese on the ham, folded over the sides (in an attempt to keep the melted cheese from seeping out the ends), and rolled it up. I then inserted Roll A into Slot B.

I put the pork loin in a cake pan, poured the marinde over top, and cooked it until it was 160 degrees F in the center. I let it rest (covered with a foil tent) for about ten minutes, then sliced and served it...

All I can say is, "Wow!" That's some fine eatin'!!

The pork was as tender and as moist as can be. The lime added a nice brightness.

I would've preferred to use a smoked ham lunchmeat instead of the honey ham, but that's all that I had. I think that the pepper jack was a good choice (better than the cheddar or American that I had in the fridge...). Just a hint of spiciness...

I will definitely do this again...

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Taken on: July 2, 2010

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Camera: Canon EOS REBEL T1i, f/11.0, 1/25 sec, 25mm, ISO 1600 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS REBEL T1i
Aperture:	f/11.0
Exposure Time:	0.04 sec (1/25)
Focal Length:	25mm
ISO:	1600
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 Windows
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