Cerdo asado en cazuela (roasted pork in casserole)
1 boneless pork leg
1 onion
1 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of oregano
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
2 heads of garlic
1 tablespoon of salt
1 bitter orange or 2 limes
200 ml lard
1 bay leaf
500 ml of cooking wine (or other)
1 bottle of Havana Club rum
Method of preparation :
Clean the boneless leg. Pierce the meat with a knife and season with the marinade made with salt, crushed garlic, pepper, bitter orange juice, oregano and cumin.
Today it's sunday. The calm is absolute, the weather is cloudy but it doesn't even rain more than a little from time to time. It's incredible that just a few hundred kilometers from the passage of the tropical storm, here in the capital we feel absolutely nothing. However, it is better to stay at home because the picture could change suddenly. So the day is good to celebrate life with a very tasty meal.
Very often we want to make just a small piece of roast, not for the big occasion, but for a more intimate event. So you can make this roast in a pot and enjoy a small-scale feast.
Taking into account that not every Cuban family has an oven or ideal conditions to prepare a barbecue in the garden, and that today it can also rain at any time, so making a roast in a casserole dish is the most common method of cooking a small piece of pork for just a few people.
Seasoned meat should be allowed to rest for at least three to four hours, but it is best to do this the day before and store it in the refrigerator.
When cooking, first sauté the leg in very hot lard, season again with a pinch of salt, add a head of crushed garlic, bay leaf, chopped onion, cooking wine, and a little water if necessary, until half the meat is covered; and cook over low heat for 2 hours. After the first hour, the meat should be turned and allowed to cook further until the juices are used up. To finish, brown well on all sides.
Finally, we cut the meat into slices and serve a very juicy roast, with white rice and black beans, very Cuban. This is how we celebrated a random Sunday as a family. So the Havana Club...yes, I forgot, the rum was just for us.
And it didn't even rain all day, or the storm gave the slightest sign of approaching.
