Pernil and Arroz con Gandules

My stepsister-in-law is Puerto Rican so she decided to make one of her favorite meals, Pernil and Arroz con Gandules.


The pork was delicious with the flavors of the herb marinade and was fork-tender:


I love rice and this was a gorgeous yellow color, with excellent flavors from the Sazon and sofrito (the recipe linked above is a good version, but V used her rice cooker and a few shortcuts to make it easier):


Here's the rice in the cooker:


... and the pork as my stepbrother K was cutting it into chunks for serving:


It was a delicious meal and it was great to see K & V after all this time. I can't wait to cook in their kitchen...it's truly, breathtakingly gorgeous. Can you say double oven and huge island?

Roasted Pork Shoulder (Pernil Al Horno)
Recipe from Bobby Flay

1 boneless pork shoulder (about 4 pounds), skin on
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1 handful fresh oregano
4 tablespoons Kosher salt (1 tablespoon for every pound of meat)
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Place the pork, fat-side up, in a roasting pan fitted with a rack insert, and using a sharp knife, score the surface of the meat with small slits. Mash the garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper into a paste on a cutting board with the flat side of a knife; place the adobo in a bowl and stir in the oil and vinegar. Rub the garlic paste all over the pork, being sure to get into the incisions so the salt can penetrate the meat and pull out the moisture - this will help form a crust on the outside when cooked. Cover the pork with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

Allow the meat to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Roast the pork for 3 hours, uncovered, until the skin is crispy-brown. Let the meat rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes before slicing.