Colombian Roast Pork Leg (Pernil)

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Pork leg scored, rubbed with a garlic, oregano and pepper paste, and roasted slowly for about three hours, basted every half hour. The Christmas roast of Colombian tables. Serves six.

Prep Time10

Cook Time3

Total Time3 10

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Colombian

Keyword: pork roast recipe, roasted pork ribs

Servings:

Calories: 753kcal

Author: Angela Giraldo

Ingredients

1 pork leg about 4 kg for six people; larger legs need proportionally longer
Salt, to taste rubbed into the scored skin
Cloves pushed into the points of the diamonds
Juice of 4 oranges or lemons
Pepper
1 head garlic peeled, for the paste
2 tablespoons oregano dried
1 tablespoon coarse salt sal de asar; coarse sea salt or kosher salt
Oil for the roasting tin

Instructions

Heat the oven to 160°C (325°F).
Score the skin of the pork leg in diamonds, cutting through the skin and fat but not into the meat. Rub salt into the cuts.
Push a clove into the point of each diamond, as many as you like.
Oil a roasting tin and set the leg in it, skin side up.
In a mortar, crush the peeled garlic with the coarse salt, pepper and oregano into a smooth paste, loosening it with the orange or lemon juice.
Rub the paste all over the leg and put it in the oven.
Roast slowly, about three hours. Cooking has to be long and gentle for the meat to give way.
Every 30 to 40 minutes, spoon the juices from the bottom of the tin back over the leg. The skin should end up dark and crisp.
Rest it before carving, and serve with rice or a salad of lettuce, tomato and onion.

Notes

Three hours is a guide, not a rule, because it depends entirely on the weight of the leg. Around 40 minutes per kilo at 160°C is the usual calculation, and a thermometer in the thickest part away from the bone is more reliable than any of it: 63°C for slices that hold together, closer to 75°C if you want it falling apart, which is how it is usually served in Colombia. Basting is what builds the crust, so do not skip it. And rest the leg for twenty minutes before carving or the juices run out onto the board instead of staying in the meat.

Nutrition