Pernil al horno is a traditional Puerto Rican slow-roasted pork shoulder dish. This is a delicious and unique change from a traditional pulled pork recipe. It’s a centerpiece dish that takes a little more time and effort to prepare and cook so it is perfect for special occasions. The delicious combination of fall apart tender pulled pork, crispy pork skin, garlic, and oregano is absolutely delicious.
Typically pernil is slow-roasted in a large baking dish in an oven. However, I discovered that you can cook pernil low and slow on a pellet grill. A pellet grill provides a convenient way to roast the pernil over indirect heat, freeing your oven to make other side dishes or desserts. If you like cooking pork butt on your pellet grill you will love this recipe.
Ingredients
A perfect pernil starts with a large pork shoulder and a few herbs and spices to create a flavorful marinade. The meat is allowed to marinate overnight before being slow roasted for 4-6 hours until tender and juicy. There are many different ways to cook Puerto Rican pernil, but this is my go to recipe:
8-10 pound bone-in Pork Shoulder Roast – also known as a Picnic Roast
10 tablespoons coarse kosher salt
2 tablespoons fresh ground black pepper
12 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons white vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons Goya Adobo Seasoning
How to Make Pernil
This recipe requires a bit more time to prep since you should marinate the pork overnight, but it does not require any special techniques or fancy steps. The overall process to make an amazing pernil is: make the marinade, rub the pork shoulder, refrigerate overnight, then cook on the pellet grill for 4-6 hours, and enjoy! The great thing about cooking this on your pellet grill is you will have your oven free to cook side dishes or desserts.
Make the Marinade
Blend the olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, Adobo, and 8 garlic cloves using an immersion blender or mortar and pestle. You are looking to make a nice thick garlic paste to rub the pork with. Some pernil recipes call for red or green sofrito, but I do not like to use sofrito.
You can also use a food processor or blender, but you do not want to over-blend it into a liquid.
Prep the Pork Shoulder
Take your pork shoulder out of the package and pat it dry. I like to separate the whole skin from the meat. There are a few reasons to do this. First, this adds more surface area to apply your delicious marinade, as you can coat the meat and the skin. Second, it helps render the fat from the skin so the roast is self-basting. As the fat from the skin will render down and baste the meat as it cooks.
To do this you want to peel the skin back from one corner towards the bone. You can use a paper towel to grab one corner of the skin and use a sharp knife to slice under the skin apply pressure and pull back the skin. It is very easy to do, the skin and knife will come apart very quickly. Leave the skin attached at one end so the skin will stay in place as it cooks.
Some people like to score the skin because it helps provide more surface area for the seasoning. I don’t think this step is necessary.
Recipe Tips – Pernil should always be prepared with a bone-in pork shoulder. Do not use a boneless roast because you will not develop the same flavor, and the meat will cook much faster and possibly dry out.
Apply the Marinade to the Pork Shoulder
Generously apply the marinade paste over the entire pork shoulder. Rub it on the meat and on top of the skin. Use a steak knife or boning knife to stab into the meat to create holes to push the marinade down into the pork. Use 4-6 of the reserved garlic gloves and push them into the meat.
Place the marinated pork shoulder into a tin foil pan and cover with plastic wrap or foil. Place it in the refrigerator and refrigerate overnight for 12-24 hours.
Roast the Pernil
Preheat your pellet grill to 300 degrees F. Once your pellet grill is preheated take the pernil out of the refrigerator. Apply some Adobo seasoning on the top of the skin only. This will help draw out some moisture so the skin will get nice and crispy. Loosely cover the roasting pan with foil.
Place the roast in tinfoil on your pellet grill and cook it low and slow. Use a meat thermometer or meat probe on your grill to monitor the cooking progress of the meat. A meat thermometer is very important because the pernil will take hours to cook and internal temperature will tell you when the roast pork is cooked perfectly. You want to end up with a tender juicy roast and the skin crispy. The pernil will be pull apart tender at 195-205 degrees F. Some people like to use some fresh lime juice, lemon juice, or sour orange juice to baste the pernil at this point. I have tried this in the past but have found that it does not add much to the overall taste.
Once the internal temperature of the roast reached about 190 degrees F I remove the tin foil from the roasting pan. The skin will be a beautiful golden brown color. Use a pair of tongs or fork to separate the skin and place it directly on the grates. Continue to cook the pernil for let it cook for 20-30 minutes uncovered as the skin is nice and crispy.
The cooking time will vary from 4-6 hours based on the overall size of your pork shoulder. The bigger the shoulder the longer the cooking time. I have found that 300 degrees is the perfect temperature to slowly cook the meat and reduce the excess fat in the roast. A lower temperature will not render out the excess fat giving you a greasy dish and a higher temperature than 300 will often dry out the meat. Set your pellet grill to 300 and be patient while the grill does all the work. Once the pernil is finished cooking you can keep it warm for up up to 2 hours by simply keeping it covered with aluminum foil on your counter.
Rest the Pernil
After you take the pernil off the pellet grill let it rest covered with tin foil. This lets the muscle fibers relax and the juices distribute evenly back throughout the entire cut of meat. Let it rest for at least 15 minutes.
After it is done resting you can pull the meat apart and shred it using two large forks. I shred it directly in the tin foil pan to combine the meat with the cooking juices.
Enjoy!
Other Ways to Cook Pernil
Pernil is my favorite holiday meal. Even though pernil is a traditional Puerto Rican dish, I enjoy it in the USA and have exposed many other Americans to the delicious Puerto Rican roast pork. My recipe above is a little bit rustic, but if you prefer a more traditional sliced pork roast like a sliced pork loin, you can follow this same, recipe but do not cook the meat as long. If you remove the pork shoulder from the pellet grill when the internal temperature is 175 degrees the meat will not pull apart and you can slice it like a traditional roast.
Where to buy a Pork Shoulder?
You can find a pork shoulder roast at your local grocery store. It may be labeled as a “pork shoulder”, “pork picnic roast” or “pork shoulder roast”. While shopping for a pork shoulder roast in the grocery store you may also see a “Boston butt” which is a similar cut of meat, but from a slightly different place on the pig. A Boston butt is typically a little smaller and the skin has been removed. You can follow this recipe with a Boston butt as well.
How to Pick the Best Pork Shoulder
If you have a choice of many different roasts at your grocery store here are a few tips to pick out the best pork shoulder to give you the most delicious Puerto Rican pernil.
Look for a shoulder that is well-marbled with fat. The fat should be evenly distributed throughout and will help keep the meat moist and tender as it cooks. Avoid shoulders that look very lean.
Choose a pork shoulder that is pinkish-red in color and has a fresh smell. Avoid any that look brown or dull in color
Examine the skin. It should be smooth and creamy white. Pass on shoulders with skin that is dried out, wrinkly or has blemishes.
For the best flavor, choose a bone-in pork shoulder. The bone adds extra flavor during cooking.
How to Serve Pernil
The juicy, flavorful pernil is the star so you can keep the sides pretty simple. My family loves to eat pernil over rice and black beans. I like to place a piece of the delicious crunchy skin on each plate (everyone in my family always fights over the last of the crispy skin). However, there is no right or wrong way to serve pernil. Some traditional sides to serve with pernil include arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas), tostones (fried plantains), and roasted potatoes.
You can use the meat to make a delicious Cuban sandwich the next day when you reheat leftovers. Because the pork shoulder is such a large cut of meat you will most likely have some leftover pernil. I like to reheat it with some rice and beans. You can also serve leftover pernil will a fried egg for an awesome breakfast meal.
Pernil Al Horno – Puerto Rican Pork Shoulder
Equipment
- 1 Pellet Grill
Ingredients
- 1 Bone-in Pork Shoulder (8-10 lbs)
- 10 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp ground black pepper
- 12 cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp white vinegar
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp Goya Adobo seasoning
Instructions
Make the Marinade
- Blend the olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, Goya Adobo, and 8 garlic cloves in food processor or with an immersion blender. You want a thick paste, do not over blend
Prep the Pork Shoulder
- Use a sharp knife to seperate the skin from the roast.
- Rub the garlic paste all over the roast. Use a knife to make some cuts in the meat to push marinade and garlic cloves into.
- Cover the pork and place in the refridgerator overnight.
Roast the Pernil
- Preheat the pellet grill to 300 degrees F
- Place the covered roasting pan directly on the grill grates. Cook the pork covered for at least 4 hours.
- Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the roast. At 190 degrees remove the tin foil cover. Pull the skin off and place it directly on the grates to crisp up. Cook the skin and pork shoulder for another 30 minutes uncovered.
- Remove the pernil from the grill and let it rest covered for 20-30 minutes.
- Shred the prok directly in the roasting pan and mis with the drippings.
- Serve and Enjoy!