Flavourful Mojo Pork, also known as Cuban Roast Pork, has been one of the most popular recipes on Foodie with Family since it first appeared in 2009 — and for good reason. Fragrant and garlicky with crisp edges and succulent meat, this citrusy pork is simple to prepare, budget-friendly, incredibly versatile, and reliably delicious.
Mojo Pork is a recipe that manages to be both effortless and impressive. The classic approach uses a pork shoulder cooked low and slow in a slow cooker, then finished in the oven or an air fryer to develop those irresistible browned edges. The overall method is forgiving and flexible, which makes it ideal for weeknight dinners, meal prep, or feeding a crowd.
Cuban Pork Recipe
Our Cuban Pork Recipe is written for the slow cooker, where a bone-in pork shoulder braises gently with aromatics until it falls apart. After cooking, the pork is shredded, tossed with a reduced citrusy pan sauce, and briefly crisped before serving. The result is juicy, bright, and savory pulled pork with just enough acid to balance the richness.
This recipe works especially well with a large pork shoulder — I usually buy the biggest one I can find because it stores and reheats so well. The basic ingredients are straightforward: whole garlic cloves, dried oregano, cilantro stems, salt, pepper, lime juice, and frozen orange juice concentrate. Combine them in the slow cooker, set it, and let the cooker do the work.
For easier handling and cleaner shredding, I often refrigerate the cooked pork and pan juices overnight. Chilling allows the fat to solidify so it can be scraped away easily. After removing excess fat, pull the pork apart by hand or with forks, strain and reduce the cooking liquid into a concentrated mojo sauce, then toss the shredded meat with the sauce before reheating and crisping.
Cuban Mojo Pork
Wondering what to do with a large batch of mojo pork? Plan on losing roughly 30–40% of the raw weight during cooking, so an 8–10 pound shoulder yields about 5–7 pounds of pulled pork — plenty to use in many dishes and to freeze for later.
This pulled pork is terrific in burritos, quesadillas, tacos, sandwiches, or simply plated with rice and beans. We frequently use leftovers in pressed Cuban sandwiches, loaded burgers, huevos rancheros, sliders, pizza, walking tacos, taco soup, and stuffed pasta shells. Because it freezes and reheats so well, it’s a great make-ahead staple to have on hand.
If you want to stretch the recipe even further, divide the shredded pork into meal-sized portions and freeze. A few containers in the freezer make weeknight dinner decisions much easier. Over the years this recipe has been scaled up to feed large gatherings and scaled down for smaller households — it’s reliably adaptable. If you’ve tried it before, think about how you served it and what your favorite use was.
Mojo Pork
Place an untrimmed pork shoulder, fat side up, into the slow cooker. Scatter whole peeled garlic cloves around the roast and sprinkle with salt, fresh ground pepper, oregano, ground cumin, and crushed red pepper flakes (or add a pierced fresh jalapeño for heat). Dollop frozen orange juice concentrate across the roast and pour 1/3 cup lime juice around the edges. Toss in cilantro stems.
Cover and set the slow cooker to HIGH for 1 hour, then switch to LOW and cook for about 7 more hours, or until the meat falls apart easily when prodded with a fork. When the meat is tender, turn off the slow cooker and refrigerate the insert until cool enough to handle. If your slow cooker has a non-removable insert, transfer contents to a covered container before chilling.
Once chilled, use a spoon to remove the hardened fat from the cooking liquid and discard. Strain the cooking juices through a fine-mesh strainer into a saucepan, discarding solids. Add the remaining lime juice, whisk to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce the liquid over medium-high heat until it reaches roughly one-quarter of its original volume — this concentrated mojo will dress the shredded pork.
Remove and discard the bone, scrape off any remaining exterior fat, and pull the pork apart into large chunks. Trim away pockets of fat as you go, then shred the meat with your hands or forks into bite-sized pieces. You can optionally run a knife through the shredded meat to create smaller pieces.
Transfer the shredded pork to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish or to an air fryer tray. Pour the reduced pan juices over the pork and toss to coat. Tightly cover the baking dish with foil. To serve immediately, heat in a preheated 350°F oven for 25 minutes or until hot through. For make-ahead storage, refrigerate or freeze the tightly covered pan.
To reheat from chilled:
Place the covered pan in a preheated 350°F oven for 30 minutes, or until heated through.
To heat from frozen:
Place the covered pan in a preheated 350°F oven for 45 minutes, or until heated through.
Mojo Pork a.k.a. Cuban Roast Pork
Rebecca Lindamood
Equipment
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Slow cooker
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Saucepan
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Fine-mesh strainer
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9 x 13-inch baking dish or air fryer
Ingredients
- 1 8–10 pound bone-in pork shoulder (trim to fit if needed)
- 1/2 cup frozen 100% orange juice concentrate
- 1/3 cup lime juice (fresh or bottled, plus 2 tablespoons divided)
- 8 whole peeled garlic cloves (or 1 Tbsp granulated garlic)
- 2 Tablespoons dried oregano leaves
- 1 Tablespoon ground cumin (or to taste)
- 1 Tablespoon fresh ground pepper (or to taste)
- 2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or 1 fresh jalapeño, pierced)
- 2 cilantro stems
Instructions
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Place the untrimmed pork in the slow cooker, fat side up.
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Add garlic cloves and sprinkle salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, and crushed red pepper flakes (or jalapeño) around the roast.
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Dollop the frozen orange juice concentrate over the roast and pour 1/3 cup lime juice around the edges. Toss in cilantro stems, cover, and set the slow cooker to HIGH.
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Cook on HIGH for 1 hour, then reduce to LOW and continue cooking for about 7 hours, or until the meat falls apart with a fork. When tender, turn off the slow cooker and chill the insert until cool enough to handle.
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(If your slow cooker doesn’t have a removable insert, transfer contents to a covered container and chill.)
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Spoon off the congealed fat and discard it.
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Transfer the pork to a cutting board and strain the cooking liquid into a saucepan, discarding solids.
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Add the remaining lime juice to the strained liquid, whisk, and bring to a boil. Reduce until about one-quarter of the original volume and set aside.
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Remove and discard the bone. Trim excess fat and pull the shoulder into large chunks, removing additional fat pockets as needed.
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Shred the meat with your hands or forks until bite-sized. Optionally chop briefly to ensure small pieces.
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Place the shredded pork in a 9 x 13 baking dish, pour the reduced pan juices over it, and toss to coat. Cover tightly with foil.
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To serve, heat in a preheated 350°F oven for 25 minutes. To store, refrigerate or freeze the covered pan.
To reheat from chilled:
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Place, still covered in foil, in a preheated 350°F oven for 30 minutes, or until heated through.
To heat from frozen:
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Place, still covered in foil, in a preheated 350°F oven for 45 minutes, or until heated through.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided as a courtesy. Calculate nutrition using the actual ingredients you use if needed.
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This post was originally published March 24 and 26, 2009, republished in 2012, and updated with new photos in February 2022.