I make this super delicious dish at least twice a year since I first saw it featured in Robert Rodriguez's 2003 movie ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO with Antonio Banderas as El Mariachi, Salma Hayek, and Johnny Depp. Johnny Depp's character loves this dish, orders it all the time. He deems the pork dish is so good that he has to shoot the cook, and after eating he went to the kitchen and shot the cook. Yeah, it's crazy, but it's Johnny Depp, how can I not like the movie, which is really really good, IMHO. Robert shows how to prepare his recipe in one of the extra features in the DVD, watch it at the bottom of the post.
Puerco Pibil is very versatile. You can have it with plain white rice, or shredded in tortillas with some salsa and avocado, or as taco filling. Good to have while watching Eli kick Tom's butt this coming Sunday, just kidding. I'm not a sports fan and I don't care who wins the super bowl.
Robert Rodriguez's Puerco Pibil
5 pounds pork butt, cut into 2 inch cubes
banana leaves
½ cup orange juice
½ cup vinegar
2 tablespoons salt
juice of 5 lemons
8 cloves garlic
2 habanero peppers, chopped
1 tablespoon tequila
annatto paste: in a coffee grinder finely grind 5 T annatto seeds, 2 tsp cumin, 1 T black peppercorns, 8 pieces allspice, and ½ tsp cloves
- In a blender, blend annatto paste and the rest of the ingredients except banana leaves and pork. In a large bowl mix pork and annatto mixture until pork is evenly coated. Line a deep roasting pan with banana leaves, put the pork mixture and cover with another layer of banana leaves. Cover tightly with tin foil and bake in a 325° F oven for 4 hours.
Here is the video of Robert Rodriguez making Puerco Pibil