Smoked Pernil- Puerto Rican Roast Pork Shoulder

Protein:

Origin: Puerto Rico, Taste of the Islands

Method: Smoker or Oven

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Puerto Rico has quickly become one of our family's favorite Caribbean destinations. The food is fantastic and the people are friendly. Old San Juan is one of our favorite cities in all of the Caribbean with its old forts and Spanish architecture. We were excited to recently return to the Island of Enchantment as one of our first post-Covid vacations and it was just as enchanting as we remembered.

Pernil is a festive roast pork dish that is widely popular in Puerto Rico and in many countries across the Caribbean.  Derived from the Spanish word pierna, meaning leg, pernil typically consists of slow roasted pork shoulder or ham.  This succulent pork dish is marinated in flavorful seasoning, stuffed with garlic, and covered in sofrito. The pork is then slowly roasted for juicy perfection.  

These days the dish is typically made from a whole or section of pork shoulder. Though you can make the dish with a Boston butt, we highly recommend using a skin on roast so you can also enjoy the crispy pork rind, or cuero.  For this recipe we are using a skin on picnic roast and cooking the pernil on our smoker, to add a subtle smoky element to the dish.

Preparing the Smoked Pernil

To make this Puerto Rican Smoked Pernil recipe you will need:

• 1 8-10 Pound, Skin On Picnic Shoulder
• 10 Garlic Cloves, sliced
• ½ Cup Sofrito
• ¼ Cup Adobo Seasoning
• 2 Packets Sazon (Achiote style)
• 1-2 Tab Fresh or Dried Oregano

Trim the meat and marinade

Start with an 8-10 pound picnic roast.  A picnic roast is the lower section of a pork shoulder, located below the Boston butt. It is traditionally cooked with the skin on.

If you can't find a picnic roast, pernil can be prepared with a pork butt or even a fresh ham.

Prepare your seasoning by combining the Adobo and Sazon. Both can now be found in many supermarkets, or will be available at most any Hispanic market

Prepare your garlic but peeling the garlic and slicing into slivers.

Carefully peal back the skin from the roast, while still leaving one end intact.  Puncture the meat on all sides with a sharp knife and stuff the holes with slices of garlic. 

Generously season the roast with the seasoning mix and then cover the meat with the sofrito. Sofrito is a sauce consisting of tomato, peppers, onion, garlic, and spices. You can make this from scratch, or it can typically be found in the Hispanic aisle of most supermarkets. Be sure to work the marinade into the holes with the garlic. 

Sprinkle the meat with some dried, or better yet, fresh oregano.

Pull the skin back up over the meat and score the skin with a very sharp knife.   You want the marinade under the skin, not on it. Try not to cut all of the way through to the pork. 

Place the roast in a pan and cover with plastic wrap.  Allow to marinate overnight in a refrigerator.   

Cooking the Smoked Pernil

Remove the meat from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature while you set up the smoker.  Make sure the pork skin is completely dry prior to cooking, to help it crisp up properly.   Preheat your smoker to 325 degrees. 

Cook the pernil with the skin toward your heat source for the first 2 hours. 

After 2 hours, reduce your heat to 250 degrees and flip the pernil over so the skin is away from the heat source. 

Continue to cook until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 185 degrees.  This will typically take another 6-8 hours, but every piece of meat and smoker cooks differently so monitor the cook with a meat thermometer.

If the skin begins to get took dark you can spritz it with some apple juice, or cover the roast with foil to prevent further browning.  If you cover with foil, you will want to uncover the meat at about 175 degrees so the skin can crisp back up.

Resting, slicing, and eating the Smoked Pernil

When your smoked pernil has reached 185 degrees, remove it from the smoker and cover with foil. Allow to rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing.

If your skin is not adequately crispy, or softened due to wrapping in foil, you can remove the skin before wrapping to rest. Increase the temperature of the smoker back to 300-325 degrees and place the skin facing the heat source. Cook for 5-20 minutes, to finish your skin to crispy perfection.

Slice the Smoked Pernil and serve while warm.

In Puerto Rico, Pernil is traditionally eaten with arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas). It also goes great with a side of charro beans.

Left over pernil is perfect for our Caribbean Roast Pork Sandwich or when used to make Grilled Cubanos.

The leftover meat can also be vacuum sealed and reheated later. By far the best way to reheat meat like brisket or pork and avoid drying it out is with a sous vide. You can read more about this useful kitchen tool on our Tools of the Trade page, or by clicking here.

If you are looking for more pork recipes, then be sure to check out our renditions of Eastern North Carolina Pulled Pork, Spanish Cochinillo Asado: Roast Suckling Pig, and Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin.

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