Pernil - Best Puerto Rican Slow Roasted Pork Recipe (2024)

Published: December 9, 2022 • Modified: November 8, 2023 • by Author: Analida • Word count:2217 words. • About 12 minutes to read this article. • This post may contain affiliate links.

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This recipe came from my friend Eimy from Puerto Rico. I tried this dish at her house, many years ago, and instantly fell in love with it. You could say that pernil is the Puerto Rican cuisine version of America's pulled pork minus the barbecue sauce. In my humble opinion it is better, much better!!!

Pernil - Best Puerto Rican Slow Roasted Pork Recipe (1)

Jump to:

What is pernil?
When do people make pernil?
What are the best side dishes?
Step by step photos to make the perfect pernil:
Ways to use leftover pernil
Frequently Asked Questions
Pernil - Best Puerto Rican Slow Roasted Pork Recipe

What is pernil?

Pernil (per neel) is a typical Puerto Rican pork roast consisting of a pork shoulder (pork butt) or leg that has been marinated and seasoned overnight with slivers of garlic cloves inserted, sofrito, abobo and sazón rubbed all over. Slow Roast the pork the next day at300° F until the meat fall apart tender and then the skin or cuero is crispy. The result is a flavorful, and tender meat that will fill your house with a delicious aroma, and your belly with a whole lot of "piggy goodness." I have made one small adaptation from her recipe, since I prefer to use my homemade sofrito instead of the store bought sofrito.

When do people make pernil?

Pernil is the special occasion dish and expected at the Christmas table in Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and in other Latin American countries' family gatherings. I remember Christmas dinner at relative's houses where pernil was always on the menu. The one I remember most fondly was pernil with a crispy skin. In addition to the succulent pork, we also sipped on cups of freshly made coquito. If you like egg nog you will love coquito!

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What are the best side dishes?

You can definitely serve it as a main course with the typical sides of rice with pigeon peas (arroz con gandules), rice and beans or tostones (fried plantains). You can make great tacos, or a fantastic sandwich on a nice Kaiser roll or slider buns. Slow roasted pork, how can you go wrong? For a dessert you can pick a Latin favorite like tres leches cake, coconut flan or arroz con leche.

Step by step photos to make the perfect pernil:

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Step 1: Layout your ingredients (left to right):
Sofrito, garlic slices, adobo and sazon con culantro y anchiote.Note: You can leave the skin on and it will get crispy and delicious. Note: If you want a lower fat version you can trim the skin and the fat cap off. Either way is fantastic. Place the pork in the roasting pan.
Step 2: Start making deep cuts or slits with a sharp paring knife.

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Step 3: Insert the garlic slices into the slits as you go. Do this all over the entire shoulder: top, bottom and sides.
Step 4: Take the adobo and sazón and sprinkle over all sides of the shoulder

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Step 5: Rub in the adobo and sazón as you go. Scoop up and loose spice that falls into the roaster and rub it all in. Tip: You can rub a little olive oil over the roast to help the dry spices to stick.
Step 6: Take your sofrito and pour it over all sides of the shoulder.

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Step 7: Rub the sofrito all over the shoulder.
Step 8: Cover the shoulder with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.

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Step 9: Remove the plastic wrap and place the shoulder so the top of the roast is fat side up or skin side up. Cook covered at 300°F for 5 hours. After three hours flip the shoulder over, cover and continue to cook. Add ½ cup to 1 cup of water to the roaster during cooking. This will make some extra juice. The pork is done when it is fall-apart tender or your instant-read thermometer shows the internal temperature as 205°F. If you left the skin on, place the roast skin side up, pat the skin dry and turn up the oven temperature to 500°F. Roast uncovered until the skin is crispy on top. For extra crunchy skin use your broiler but keep an eye on it to be sure it does not burn. The overall cooking time will vary based on the size of your roast. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Step 10: Place the shoulder on a large cutting board, remove any fat and chop into small pieces.

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Step 11: I like to take all the juice from the roaster and put it into a fat separating pitcher. The juice has LOTS of flavor! Save the juice and add it to the meat. Discard the fat.
Step 12: You can serve with the juice and place any extra into containers for freezing and add some of the juice back to the meat. Note: You can broil the meat on a tray until you see those lovely slightly burnt edges.

Ways to use leftover pernil

Tacos: Use this as the meat filling for your next taco Tuesday. Add cheddar cheese, lettuce, pickled onions or jalapeños, tomatoes, sour cream and your favorite salsa.
Pernil Quesadillas: Heat a pan on medium and add one flour tortilla. Carefully place a layer of cheddar cheese and then a layer of hot pernil and then another layer of cheddar. Place another tortilla on top then carefully flip when the bottom is nicely brown. Brown the other side then slice into wedges and top with your favorite salsa, sour cream, lettuce, avocado and jalapeños.
Scrambled eggs: Heat the pernil in the microwave and then add to scrambled eggs then top with pico de gallo or salsa. This makes a great version of juevos rancheros.
Burritos: Heat up the pernil, spicy black beans, rice and place on a large tortilla then add some of your favorite cheese and guacamole. Roll up and top with salsa.

Frequently Asked Questions

What cut of meat is pernil?

Pernil is typically pork shoulder roast also known as pork butt but the leg can also be used.

What is the difference between pernil and pulled pork?

Pernil is the Puerto Rican version of slow roasted pork and made with pork shoulder or pork leg. Pulled pork is the American version and uses different flavors for marinating and then is served with BBQ sauce.

Is pernil the same as carnitas?

The flavor profile is different. Carnitas are typically roasted in citrus and then fried until crispy. Pernil is marinated and roasted with sofrito, adobo, garlic and sazón.

Is the slow cooker or oven better for making pernil?

The oven is best for getting the crispy skin and edges but you can make it in a slow cooker and it turns out great. The key is to get the pork to where it is fork tender. So roasting it in the oven or using a slow cooker will get the job done.

Can I freeze pernil?

Yes, this dish freezes very well so I like to make a big batch and freeze in the juice. It will store nicely for 2-3 months.

How long can I store the pernil in the refrigerator?

Once the meat has cooled you can store it for 3-5 days in an airtight container.

How long do I cook pernil?

You slow roast this in a 300°F oven for 5 hours until it is fall apart tender. The internal temperature should be 205°F for a fall-apart tender roast.

What do I cook the pork in?

You will need a large roasting pan with a lid. If you don't have one get a disposable one and cover with foil.

If you love Hispanic food here are some more great easy recipes:

Try Cuban Ropa Vieja, a succulent slow cooked pulled beef. If you liked my pernil, you'll love this!
Authentic Mexican pork carnitas are are easy to make in the slow cooker and made crispy under the broiler.
Another Puerto Rican favorite of my family is shrimp monfongo!

Pernil - Best Puerto Rican Slow Roasted Pork Recipe

Puerto Rican pernil is one of my all time favorite dishes. You can eat this alone or make tacos, tostadas, quesadillas and it freezes well also. This is the best pernil recipe I have ever made and it gives a really tender, slow cooked juicy pork with wonderful flavors. Be sure you save the juice, separate it from the fat and add it back to the meat! Que rico!

5 from 10 votes

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Course: Main dish

Cuisine: Latin American

Keyword: adobo, pork shoulder, Puerto rican dishes, roasted, sofrito, taco

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 hours hours

Total Time: 5 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 277kcal

Author: Analida Braeger

Ingredients

8 lbs pork shoulder 1 full pork butt or shoulder, skin off or on
8-10 garlic cloves cut into 4-5 slivers each
6 Tbsp sofrito
2 packets of Goya Sazon with culantro y achiote paleo diet: substitute a 3 Tbsp mixture of equal parts of sea salt, black pepper, coriander, cumin, garlic powder, paprika and oregano
¼ cup adobo seasoning

Instructions

Stab the pork shoulder in various places and insert the garlic pieces.Combine the adobo and sazon and use as a dry rub and coat pork shoulder. Rub the sofrito all around the pork shoulder. See the notes for preparing the skin.
Cover with plastic wrap and set in your refrigerator overnight.
Preheat your oven to 300° F. Remove the plastic from pork shoulder and place in a roaster pan.
Cook covered for about 5 hours. You can add ½ to 1 cup of water to the roaster to add some additional juices for later. The internal temperature should reach 205°F. The meat will be fall apart tender when it is done.
If you left the skin on, place the roast skin side up, pat the skin dry and turn up the oven temperature to 500°F. Roast uncovered until the skin is crispy on top to your liking. For extra crunchy skin use your broiler but keep an eye on it to be sure it does not burn.
Remove from oven, let it rest for 15 minutes and place half the shoulder on a large cutting board. Remove the skin and set aside. Discard the layer of fat.
Start chopping the meat with a sharp knife and place chopped pieces in a large bowl.
Take remaining juices from the cooking process and place in a container in the refrigerator to allow the fat to rise to the top and solidify. Remove solid fat and discard. If you have a gravy and fat separator, those work very well. Mix the juice with your chopped meat.
Portion off into individual containers and freeze. This will keep frozen for several months if you vacuum pack the frozen blocks from the containers.

Notes

Preparing the skin: If you leave the skin on you want to cross cut it in a diamond pattern of about 2 inch cuts. If you want really crispy skin you can broil it but keep a close watch that it does not burn the skin. Tap the skin with a spoon to check if it is crispy.

What cut of meat is pernil?

Pernil is typically pork shoulder but the leg can also be used.