Marinated 5 pounds of shoulder for 12 hours in:

1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup lime
1/4 cup oregano
1 head of garlic chopped
1 tablespoon salt
3 crushed bay leaves
teaspoon pepper corns

Cooking for 7 hours at 225F.

My place smells like heaven.

"Paul M. Cook" > wrote in message
...
> Marinated 5 pounds of shoulder for 12 hours in:
>
> 1 cup orange juice
> 1/2 cup lemon juice
> 1/2 cup lime
> 1/4 cup oregano
> 1 head of garlic chopped
> 1 tablespoon salt
> 3 crushed bay leaves
> teaspoon pepper corns
>
> Cooking for 7 hours at 225F.
>
> My place smells like heaven.

30 minutes to go. The black beans are filling my place with thick aromas of
onions and cumin, garlic and lemon juice. I sliced off a piece of the
roast. Tender as butter and rich with flavor - nonetheless it cries out for
more. I am thinking of adding cumin to the marinade and some bitters,
perhaps orange zest. Maybe onions as well.

Stand by.

Paul

On Tue, 5 Apr 2011 18:39:23 -0700, "Paul M. Cook" >
wrote:

>
>"Paul M. Cook" > wrote in message
...
>> Marinated 5 pounds of shoulder for 12 hours in:
>>
>> 1 cup orange juice
>> 1/2 cup lemon juice
>> 1/2 cup lime
>> 1/4 cup oregano
>> 1 head of garlic chopped
>> 1 tablespoon salt
>> 3 crushed bay leaves
>> teaspoon pepper corns
>>
>> Cooking for 7 hours at 225F.
>>
>> My place smells like heaven.
>
>30 minutes to go. The black beans are filling my place with thick aromas of
>onions and cumin, garlic and lemon juice. I sliced off a piece of the
>roast. Tender as butter and rich with flavor - nonetheless it cries out for
>more. I am thinking of adding cumin to the marinade and some bitters,
>perhaps orange zest. Maybe onions as well.
>
>Stand by.
>
>Paul
>

I'll be interested to see what you think is missing. I am definitely
not an expert, but as I read the recipe my tongue and brain says there
is something missing. Perhaps a bit of sweetness? Or something with
a rounder flavor?
Janet

"Janet Bostwick" > wrote in message
...
> On Tue, 5 Apr 2011 18:39:23 -0700, "Paul M. Cook" >
> wrote:
>
>>
>>"Paul M. Cook" > wrote in message
...
>>> Marinated 5 pounds of shoulder for 12 hours in:
>>>
>>> 1 cup orange juice
>>> 1/2 cup lemon juice
>>> 1/2 cup lime
>>> 1/4 cup oregano
>>> 1 head of garlic chopped
>>> 1 tablespoon salt
>>> 3 crushed bay leaves
>>> teaspoon pepper corns
>>>
>>> Cooking for 7 hours at 225F.
>>>
>>> My place smells like heaven.
>>
>>30 minutes to go. The black beans are filling my place with thick aromas
>>of
>>onions and cumin, garlic and lemon juice. I sliced off a piece of the
>>roast. Tender as butter and rich with flavor - nonetheless it cries out
>>for
>>more. I am thinking of adding cumin to the marinade and some bitters,
>>perhaps orange zest. Maybe onions as well.
>>
>>Stand by.
>>
>>Paul
>>
>
> I'll be interested to see what you think is missing. I am definitely
> not an expert, but as I read the recipe my tongue and brain says there
> is something missing. Perhaps a bit of sweetness? Or something with
> a rounder flavor?


OK, this is good. First, the pork is not at all mushy. It has plenty of
texture. The crust is divine. I think that is the best part. Janet is
right, it needs something more. I think sweetness, yes. I will add a
tablespoon of sugar to the next attempt. Also, a teaspoon of cumin. Cumin
is definitely missing plus I will add more salt next time. I am close to
the flavor I seek. More time in the marinade, too. Perhaps 18 hours next
time. The crust is incredbibly good. I think just getting more flavor down
deep into the meat will yield the result I am after.

The beans are heaven. I took 2 cans of black beans and added them to a
baking dish. I diced 1 green pepper, one red onion, 8 cloves of garlic,2
teaspoons of cumin and a tablespoon of lemon juice plus a squeeze of lime.
Cooked with 2 crumbled bay leaves, 1 teaspoon of oregano and a pinch of
salt. Added that to the beans with the can water, heated to simmer then
into the 250F oven for 2 hours. The beans are out of the park. Best ever.
I think I will claim success on the beans. No improvemnet needed there.

Paul

"Omelet" > wrote in message
news
> In article >,
> "Paul M. Cook" > wrote:
>
>> OK, this is good. First, the pork is not at all mushy. It has plenty of
>> texture. The crust is divine. I think that is the best part. Janet is
>> right, it needs something more. I think sweetness, yes. I will add a
>> tablespoon of sugar to the next attempt. Also, a teaspoon of cumin.
>> Cumin
>> is definitely missing plus I will add more salt next time. I am close to
>> the flavor I seek. More time in the marinade, too. Perhaps 18 hours next
>> time. The crust is incredbibly good. I think just getting more flavor
>> down
>> deep into the meat will yield the result I am after.
>
> Would stabbing the roast allow more flavor inside?

Did that. I think I just need to marinate for a longer period of time.
Next time I think just a teaspoon of sugar, not a tablespoon like I wrote.
That would be way too sweet. If I can get sour oranges I think that would
be even better. These oranges were a tad bland.

> That is what I've done in the past with heavily garlic'd pork roasts.
> Stabbed them at regular intervals and stuck garlic slivers into the
> stabs, then topped with herbs. The herb flavors got deep into the meat
> thru the stabs I imagine.
>
>>
>> The beans are heaven. I took 2 cans of black beans and added them to a
>> baking dish. I diced 1 green pepper, one red onion, 8 cloves of garlic,2
>> teaspoons of cumin and a tablespoon of lemon juice plus a squeeze of
>> lime.
>> Cooked with 2 crumbled bay leaves, 1 teaspoon of oregano and a pinch of
>> salt. Added that to the beans with the can water, heated to simmer then
>> into the 250F oven for 2 hours. The beans are out of the park. Best
>> ever.
>> I think I will claim success on the beans. No improvemnet needed there.
>>
>> Paul
>
> Sounds tasty and creative. :-)

Yeah, the beans are awesome. I'll be making them often this way.

Paul

On Tue, 5 Apr 2011 23:02:48 -0700, "Paul M. Cook" >
wrote:

>
>"Omelet" > wrote in message
>news
>> In article >,
>> "Paul M. Cook" > wrote:
>>
>>> OK, this is good. First, the pork is not at all mushy. It has plenty of
>>> texture. The crust is divine. I think that is the best part. Janet is
>>> right, it needs something more. I think sweetness, yes. I will add a
>>> tablespoon of sugar to the next attempt. Also, a teaspoon of cumin.
>>> Cumin
>>> is definitely missing plus I will add more salt next time. I am close to
>>> the flavor I seek. More time in the marinade, too. Perhaps 18 hours next
>>> time. The crust is incredbibly good. I think just getting more flavor
>>> down
>>> deep into the meat will yield the result I am after.
>>
>> Would stabbing the roast allow more flavor inside?
>
>Did that. I think I just need to marinate for a longer period of time.
>Next time I think just a teaspoon of sugar, not a tablespoon like I wrote.
>That would be way too sweet. If I can get sour oranges I think that would
>be even better. These oranges were a tad bland.
>
snip
>
>Paul
>

There is a science behind marinades -- salt draws the moisture out of
the meat, then there is an equalization process where moisture goes
back into the meat drawing the flavorings in with the transfer.
Perhaps you should do a little 'Net research and see what proportions
will help you get the most flavors into the meat. I just don't know
the salt/liquid ratio off hand. Good luck
Janet

"Paul M. Cook" > ha scritto nel messaggio
...
> Marinated 5 pounds of shoulder for 12 hours in:
>
> 1 cup orange juice
> 1/2 cup lemon juice
> 1/2 cup lime
> 1/4 cup oregano
> 1 head of garlic chopped
> 1 tablespoon salt
> 3 crushed bay leaves
> teaspoon pepper corns
>
> Cooking for 7 hours at 225F.
>
> My place smells like heaven.

I can smell it from here! Can't think when I will ever again see 1/2 cup of
lime juice, though.

"Giusi" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Paul M. Cook" > ha scritto nel messaggio
> ...
>> Marinated 5 pounds of shoulder for 12 hours in:
>>
>> 1 cup orange juice
>> 1/2 cup lemon juice
>> 1/2 cup lime
>> 1/4 cup oregano
>> 1 head of garlic chopped
>> 1 tablespoon salt
>> 3 crushed bay leaves
>> teaspoon pepper corns
>>
>> Cooking for 7 hours at 225F.
>>
>> My place smells like heaven.
>
> I can smell it from here! Can't think when I will ever again see 1/2 cup
> of lime juice, though.


You'd think it would overpower the dish but in fact it didn't. I tried to
reverse engineer the perfect recipe once before and I used much more timid
amounts of lime juice. It didn't work out well. I tried the paste style
marinades with only a few tablespoons of citric acid and it just did not
work either. I could barely taste the citric juices.

Next attempt will include cumin and sugar and a longer marinade time.
Probably do that this weekend. This attempt was good but it can be a lot
better. I am thinking my oranges just did not have much flavor. I think I
will zest them next time.

Paul

On Apr 6, 2:39 am, "Paul M. Cook" > wrote:
> "Giusi" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
>
>
>
>
> > "Paul M. Cook" > ha scritto nel messaggio
> ...
> >> Marinated 5 pounds of shoulder for 12 hours in:
>
> >> 1 cup orange juice
> >> 1/2 cup lemon juice
> >> 1/2 cup lime
> >> 1/4 cup oregano
> >> 1 head of garlic chopped
> >> 1 tablespoon salt
> >> 3 crushed bay leaves
> >> teaspoon pepper corns
>
> >> Cooking for 7 hours at 225F.
>
> >> My place smells like heaven.
>
> > I can smell it from here! Can't think when I will ever again see 1/2 cup
> > of lime juice, though.
>
> You'd think it would overpower the dish but in fact it didn't. I tried to
> reverse engineer the perfect recipe once before and I used much more timid
> amounts of lime juice. It didn't work out well. I tried the paste style
> marinades with only a few tablespoons of citric acid and it just did not
> work either. I could barely taste the citric juices.
>
> Next attempt will include cumin and sugar and a longer marinade time.
> Probably do that this weekend. This attempt was good but it can be a lot
> better. I am thinking my oranges just did not have much flavor. I think I
> will zest them next time.
>
Orange zest would be good, sour oranges better. Look for sour orange
juice in cans; if you find it you don't need the lime and lemon
juices, though you can use them if you like. Cumin would be good,
sugar doubtful. My experience assisting a Cuban friend with similar
dishes says one head of garlic is not nearly enough. Increasing the
marinade time would help flavorwise, don't know if it might threaten
too much textural breakdown from the acid. My friend always marinates
for a day or more. My version of Cuban-style black beans uses vinegar
(cider) rather than lemon juice. -aem

OK, good. Yeah, more garlic. This is my next attempt: I'm reducing the
lime and lemon. I'm going to try adding orange zest for bitterness and I
will crush the peppercorns this time. I'm going to add a little sugar for
this next run. I'm going to baste more often too.

Marinate 5 pounds of shoulder for 18-24 hours in:

1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup lime
1/4 cup oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
2 heads of garlic chopped
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3 crushed bay leaves
zest from the oranges
1/2 teaspoon crushed pepper corns

Cooking for 7 hours at 225F. Baste every hour.


----- Original Message -----

"aem" > wrote in message
...
> On Apr 6, 2:39 am, "Paul M. Cook" > wrote:
>> "Giusi" > wrote in message
>>
>> ...
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> > "Paul M. Cook" > ha scritto nel messaggio
>> ...
>> >> Marinated 5 pounds of shoulder for 12 hours in:
>>
>> >> 1 cup orange juice
>> >> 1/2 cup lemon juice
>> >> 1/2 cup lime
>> >> 1/4 cup oregano
>> >> 1 head of garlic chopped
>> >> 1 tablespoon salt
>> >> 3 crushed bay leaves
>> >> teaspoon pepper corns
>>
>> >> Cooking for 7 hours at 225F.
>>
>> >> My place smells like heaven.
>>
>> > I can smell it from here! Can't think when I will ever again see 1/2
>> > cup
>> > of lime juice, though.
>>
>> You'd think it would overpower the dish but in fact it didn't. I tried
>> to
>> reverse engineer the perfect recipe once before and I used much more
>> timid
>> amounts of lime juice. It didn't work out well. I tried the paste style
>> marinades with only a few tablespoons of citric acid and it just did not
>> work either. I could barely taste the citric juices.
>>
>> Next attempt will include cumin and sugar and a longer marinade time.
>> Probably do that this weekend. This attempt was good but it can be a
>> lot
>> better. I am thinking my oranges just did not have much flavor. I think
>> I
>> will zest them next time.
>>
> Orange zest would be good, sour oranges better. Look for sour orange
> juice in cans; if you find it you don't need the lime and lemon
> juices, though you can use them if you like. Cumin would be good,
> sugar doubtful. My experience assisting a Cuban friend with similar
> dishes says one head of garlic is not nearly enough. Increasing the
> marinade time would help flavorwise, don't know if it might threaten
> too much textural breakdown from the acid. My friend always marinates
> for a day or more. My version of Cuban-style black beans uses vinegar
> (cider) rather than lemon juice. -aem
>
>