Mexican Cochinita Pibil
Rate this recipe
~$4.33 CAD per serving (estimate)
Ingredients
- 1.4 kgpork tenderloin (or pork shoulder for a richer result) (pork & achiote marinade)
- 100 gachiote paste (1 brick) (pork & achiote marinade)
- Juice of 2 oranges (pork & achiote marinade)
- Juice of 3 limes (pork & achiote marinade)
- Juice of 1 grapefruit (pork & achiote marinade)
- 8garlic cloves (pork & achiote marinade)
- 3 tbspwhite or cider vinegar (pork & achiote marinade)
- 3 tbspolive oil (pork & achiote marinade)
- 2 tspground cumin (pork & achiote marinade)
- 2 tspdried oregano (pork & achiote marinade)
- 1 tspground allspice (pork & achiote marinade)
- 2 tspsalt (pork & achiote marinade)
- 1 tspblack pepper (pork & achiote marinade)
- Banana leaves (optional; parchment + foil works) (pork & achiote marinade — banana leaves (optional; parchment + foil works))
- 2red onions, thinly sliced (pickled red onions)
- 240 mlwhite or cider vinegar (pickled red onions)
- 1 tspsalt (pickled red onions)
- 1 tspsugar (pickled red onions)
- Pinchdried oregano (pickled red onions)
- 1.2 kgcauliflower florets (or 2 bags frozen riced) (cilantro cauliflower rice)
- 3 tbspolive oil (cilantro cauliflower rice)
- 4garlic cloves, minced (cilantro cauliflower rice)
- 1 tspsalt (cilantro cauliflower rice)
- 30 gcilantro, chopped (cilantro cauliflower rice)
- Juice of 1 lime (cilantro cauliflower rice)
- 4medium zucchini, sliced (charred zucchini)
- 2 tbspolive oil (charred zucchini)
- 2garlic cloves, minced (charred zucchini)
- 1 tspground cumin (charred zucchini)
- 1 tspsmoked paprika (charred zucchini)
- Salt, pepper (charred zucchini — salt, pepper)
- Juice of 1 lime (charred zucchini)
- Cilantro to finish (charred zucchini — cilantro to finish)
Nutrition / serving
- Calories470 kcal
- Protein48 g
- Carbs24 g
- Fat20 g
- Fiber7 g
Cost Estimate
~$4.33 CAD per serving (estimate)
Yucatán's famous pit-roasted pork: tenderloin marinated in achiote and citrus until it turns vivid red-orange and shreds into juicy, tangy strands — piled with quick-pickled red onions.
Instructions
Quick-pickle the onions
Quick-pickle onions: combine sliced onion, vinegar, salt, sugar, oregano. Refrigerate (excellent for 2 weeks).
Marinate the pork
Blend achiote paste, citrus juices, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, cumin, oregano, allspice, salt, pepper until smooth. Pour over pork in a deep dish, massage to coat. Refrigerate 4 hr minimum, ideally overnight.
Pressure cook
Cut the pork into 5 cm chunks and add it with all of its marinade to the pressure cooker, lined with banana leaves if you have them. Cook 45 min at high pressure for shoulder, 25 min for tenderloin, then let the pressure drop naturally for 15 min. Oven alternative: wrap in leaves (or parchment and foil) and roast at 150°C (300°F) for 2.5 to 3 hr until fork-tender.
Shred
Shred pork with two forks, return to cooking juices, adjust salt. Sauce should be intensely red-orange.
Cauliflower rice
Cauliflower rice: pulse florets to rice. Sauté garlic in oil 30 sec, add cauliflower and salt, cook 6–8 min. Off heat, add cilantro and lime.
Char the zucchini
Charred zucchini: heat oil high, add zucchini single layer, don't move 3 min. Flip, add garlic, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, cook 3 min. Off heat, add lime and cilantro.
Plate
Plate cauliflower rice, cochinita pork, zucchini alongside. Top pork with pickled onions — essential to balance the rich pork.
Freeze & Reheat
Cochinita is ideal freezer pork — flavors intensify and achiote keeps it moist. Portion 2 servings (pork + sauce + cauliflower rice). Freeze up to 3 months. Reheat at 70% microwave 5 min, or skillet covered with 1 tbsp water 6 min over medium-low. Pickled onions and zucchini fresh on reheat.
Thermomix method
Thermomix
marinade: Chop garlic 3 sec/speed 7. Add achiote, citrus juices, vinegar, oil, spices, salt, pepper, mix 15 sec/speed 6 until smooth. Marinate as above. Slow-roast in oven for proper texture. Cauliflower: chop florets 4 sec/speed 5 in batches, then sauté.
Pressure cooker method
Total, start to finish
About 1 hr 30 min once the pork is marinated, of which roughly 30 min is active. The marinade still wants 4 hr in the fridge, or overnight, and that time is entirely unattended.
Marinate
Blend the achiote, citrus juices, garlic, vinegar, oil and spices smooth. Cut the pork into 5 cm chunks, coat it, and refrigerate at least 4 hr. Chunks take the marinade faster and cook far more evenly under pressure than a whole piece.
Pressure cook
Line the pot with banana leaves if using. Add the pork and every drop of marinade, lock the lid, and cook 45 min at high pressure for shoulder or 25 min for tenderloin. Let the pressure fall naturally for 15 min — a quick release here toughens the meat.
Shred and reduce
Shred the pork with two forks. If the juices are thin, lift the meat out and reduce them 5 min on Sauté, then fold the pork back in. The sauce should be an intense red-orange.
Chef's Cool Facts
Little pig in a pit
"Cochinita pibil" means "little pig in pit" — traditionally cooked underground in a pit oven (pib) wrapped in banana leaves.
Achiote's vivid pigment
Achiote (annatto) gives the vivid red-orange color from bixin, a natural pigment used in Mesoamerica for thousands of years.
Citrus tenderizes
The citrus marinade both flavors and tenderizes, and the achiote's fat-soluble pigment stains the pork all the way through during roasting.