Traditionally made from bitter oranges, olive oil, and garlic, mojo is a classic Cuban sauce that is both bright and savory. Here mojo starts as a marinade for a slow-cooked pork shoulder and transforms into a cooking liquid that becomes the base for the savory, tangy, creamy gravy. Bitter oranges, also called sour oranges, are typically used in mojo, but if you can’t find them, feel free to use equal parts orange juice and lime juice as a substitute. If the pork shoulder doesn’t fit in your Dutch oven, you can use a roasting pan and cover it tightly with foil.
All products featured on Bon Appétit are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through the retail links below, we earn an affiliate commission.
What you’ll need
Dutch Oven
$133 $80 At Amazon
Blender
$40 At Amazon
Mesh Sieve
$13 At Amazon
Wooden Spoon
$7 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
6–8 servings
Ingredients
Pork
1
4
2
2
2
2
Marinade
1
1
1
¼
2
Gravy and assembly
1
2
8
1
2
1
1
½
2
½
½
Preparation
Pork
Step 1
Pat one 7–8-lb. skinless bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt or picnic) dry with paper towels and place fat side up in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot. Mix 4 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. Morton kosher salt, 2 Tbsp. dried oregano, 2 Tbsp. freshly ground pepper, 2 Tbsp. garlic powder, and 2 Tbsp. ground cumin in a small bowl to combine. Rub pork all over with spice mixture.
Marinade
Step 2
Purée 1 large bunch cilantro, leaves and stems coarsely chopped, 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1 cup fresh bitter orange juice (from 5–7), ¼ cup fresh lime juice, and 2 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 Tbsp. plus ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a blender until smooth. Pour marinade over pork. Cover and let sit at room temperature at least 1½ hours or, preferably, chill up to 12 hours. If chilling, let sit at room temperature 30 minutes before cooking.
Step 3
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 250°. Cover pot with lid or foil (crimped tightly). Transfer to oven and bake pork until fork-tender, 5–7 hours. Uncover pot and increase oven temperature to 350°. Roast until pork is well browned and flesh shreds easily with a fork, 30–45 minutes. Transfer to a platter and let rest at least 30 minutes.
Gravy and assembly
Step 4
While the pork is resting, stir drippings in pot and measure out 1 cup. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl; set aside.
Step 5
Heat 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high. Cook 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced, and 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, stirring often, until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1 bay leaf, 2 Tbsp. whole grain or Dijon mustard, 1 Tbsp. ground coriander, and 1 Tbsp. ground cumin. Pour in ½ cup fresh bitter orange juice (from 2–3) and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits stuck to bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring often, until liquid is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth and reserved drippings and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half, 7–10 minutes.
Step 6
Stir ½ cup heavy cream into gravy and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until gravy is thick enough to coat a spoon, 10–15 minutes. Stir in ½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces. Taste and season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper if needed.
Step 7
Serve pork with gravy alongside.
Leave a Review
Reviews (10)
Back to TopHaven't made it yet, but in previewing the steps it doesn't seem to include that the meat is to be shredded (as it appears to be in the photo), or at what point...obviously it would be done after it has rested, probably between steps 6 and 7...just seems to have been left out of the otherwise detailed instructions.
Anonymous
St Clair, Michigan
11/26/2022
I am in the process of making this. I have the pork in the marinade. I am uncertain if I am supposed to roast the pork in the marinade as it is not specifically mentioned to remove the meat from the marinade before roasting. The marinade is quite a lot of liquid so it would be like a braise.
Portland, OR
12/10/2022
This recipe was delicious! Definitely a weekend project meal, but it still wasn’t overly complicated or cumbersome. Followed the recipe almost exactly using the orange plus lime juice swap for bitter orange. I probably didn’t let the gravy simmer long enough (also didn’t add extra butter since it was already so rich) but we were too excited to wait any longer after smelling it roast all day! Served with the rice and arugula salad from the same recipe group in the magazine. Will definitely be making again!
Laura W
Cincinnati OH
12/11/2022
Fantastic bright flavors, worth the wait!
Anonymous
Tennesse, USA
12/19/2022
This was so good and well worth the wait (we had dinner at 9pm!) This goes so well with the aromatic rice and double pork beans also in this issue. I had about 7.5 lbs of boneless pork shoulder and it cooked in the oven at 250 for about 6 hrs before I turned up the heat for another 30 min. Everything was just so delicious and perfect for anyone on a budget. (Pork shoulder was only $2.99/lb! It also makes really good leftovers. Oh! The flan for dessert too was a big hit!
Carrie
Tacoma, WA
12/26/2022
I was making when I was pressed for time and so I used my crock pot for the first phase of cooking after marinating for only 1 hour (slow cooker cooking on high temp for 4.5 hours). Then followed the rest of the recipe's cooking instructions to a tee. It still came out delicious, tender and crisped up well. Really flavorful with the cilantro in the marinade even though I marinated for under the recommended time. Will make again!
Anonymous
Stamford, CT
1/1/2023
Loved this recipe, especially the gravy. Everything went smoothly and it turned out great, but like a commenter below, I was a bit confused on if it should remain in the marinade for the cook or not. I opted to leave it in the marinade and let it braise. It tasted fine going this route, but I did not have as much dark browning on the outside as in the photos. Would probably experiment with removing half the marinade before the cook next time.
Tyler
Richmond, VA
1/4/2023