Cochinta Pibil Qview

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arnie

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Feb 20, 2010
648
14
West Liberty, Iowa
A close friend of mine asked me if I could prepare this for her family.

It looked interesting enough so I thought I’d give it a try, and like everything else there is more than what meets the eye.

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Ingredients

            Marinade

3 Tbsp Ground ancho chili pepper

2 tsp     Sea salt

1 Tbsp Dried Mexican oregano

1 Tbsp Ground coriander

1 tsp     Ground cumin

1 Tbsp Ground black pepper

1 tsp     Ground cinnamon

1 tsp    Ground allspice

1 Tbsp Ground cloves

6 oz      Achiote paste (1/2 of a brick)

3 Tbsp Minced garlic (12 cloves)

2 Tbsp Dehydrated onion

4 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

½ cup   Orange juice

½ cup   Lime juice

½ cup   Cider vinegar

¼ cup   Extra virgin olive oil

2           7 lb pork butts

            Banana leaves (soaked in water)

4-6 oz   Hickory chunks

Corn tortillas

Guacamole

Sour cream

Thinly sliced red onion

Cilantro

Lime wedges

White rice

dacde597_glands.jpg


Locate the pituitary gland in the fat vein above the exposed bone and remove it along with the associated false fat. Some say it makes a difference while others say it doesn’t matter. I don’t know weather or not it does. I have only read about it and it grosses me out so out it goes.

b1d711a9_Glandsremoved.jpg


On the left is the fat I trimmed from both of the pork butts. On the right are the pituitary glands and the associated false fat. This fat is kind of soft and squishy unlike the hard fat cap on the other side of the pork butt.

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Marinated in the refrigerator for 24 hours and wrapped in banana leaves in a shallow disposable pan before putting in the smoker at 225.     

   
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Eight hours later the internal temperature of the pork butts hit 200 and the smoker turned down to 140.   I held them in the smoker for one hour before wrapping them in foil and towels and putting them in a room temperature cooler.

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I held it in the cooler for 7 hours before shredding it and putting in a crock pot. I combined the juices and put them in the freezer to separate the fat. After separating the fat I heated the juice up and poured it over the shredded pork.

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Served with Spanish rice, refried beans, jalapeños, and cherry peppers. The Conchintina Pibil then gets a fresh lime and fresh cilantro

Because of the steaming affect from being wrapped in the banana leaves the pork butts finished 5 hours earlier than I had expected.

Holding for 7 hours in the cooler allowed more of the fat to render before the meat was shredded and continued to tenderize the meat.

The trade off was no smoke flavor. I am not sure why, but the recipe called for more wood for smoke than I am used to using.

Even with the extra smoke none of was able to penetrate the banana leaves.

The banana leaves did speed up the cooking time and impart a light flavor on the meat at the cost of the hickory flavor
 
Last edited:
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I have been thinking of doing a similar thing to make kahlua pork, but instead of wrapping the pork in the banana leaves at the start of the smoke I was going to wait till the pork got to 165° first, then wrap them.

But all things considered that still is one fantastic looking dish you made! Hope it was as good as it looks!
 
Wow that blows the doors off a regular boston butt. What a great idea for Cinco Da Mayo...a big plate of this and a few ice cold Corona's excellent way to celebrate the day. I have to agree with Johnny though, i think a few hours of smoke before the banana leaf wrap could give you the smoke taste your missing. Thanks for sharing this i'm always looking for different recipes to try and this sure fits the bill.
Looks-Great.gif
 
I have been thinking of doing a similar thing to make kahlua pork, but instead of wrapping the pork in the banana leaves at the start of the smoke I was going to wait till the pork got to 165° first, then wrap them.

But all things considered that still is one fantastic looking dish you made! Hope it was as good as it looks!
I think starting in the smoke would put this over the top
 
 
HOLY SMOKES!!!!  That's a Broad Spectrum Flavor Palate! Piggy might be traditional but Beef, Chicken or Seafood would be Awesome with those flavors...JJ
 
This looks awesome!! I've done something similar. It came on the extra features DVD of Once Upon a Time in Mexico. The director had a "10 minute cooking school" which was well edited to say the least. I have followed this recipe to the letter several times and it always comes out perfect.

Next time however: I may have to try it in the smoker. (grin)

http://www.boreme.com/posting.php?id=17950 <<< less than 6 minutes, worth watching but no smoker (sorry folks).
 
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