One of my favorite restaurants in the country is Habana Cafe in Gulfport, Fla. It’s an authentic Cuban spot just minutes from the gulf coast beaches of St. Pete, Treasure Island, and Clearwater. There are several different dishes I like to get there, but one of them is the lechon asado, or roasted pork with grilled onions.
I attempted to recreate it with my own spin, combining a mojo-like sauce and our Song Bird seasoning for a mouth-watering Cafe Habana inspired mojo pork.
Since our Song Bird seasoning is made for the everyday cook, not just the hardcore barbecuer, I wrote out instructions for cooking the pork in a crock pot as well as for smoking it. The citrus-herb base of Song Bird pairs perfectly with the mojo sauce and whether you smoke it or crock pot it, it’s an easy dish to make. With some foresight, it can easily be done for a great weeknight dinner.
Note: It’s not necessary to brine the pork butt ahead of time for this recipe. Since we are using so much citrus and cooking the meat in the juice (if smoking, partially) the end result will be plenty tender.
The Recipe
If you plan to use the crock pot, here are the instructions. If you plan to smoke it, skip down a few paragraphs.
Remove your pork butt from the packaging, rinse, and pat dry. Slather it with yellow mustard (this is just a binder to help the rub stick to the meat — you won’t actually taste it) and then coat it with your Song Bird seasoning.
Slice up a couple of onions and place them in the bottom of the crock pot. Set your seasoned pork butt on top of them.
In a separate bowl, mix together 1 cup of orange juice, 1/2 cup of lime juice, 1/2 cup of olive oil, and 1/2 cup of white wine. Add in 12 cloves of minced garlic, 2 teaspoons of cumin, 2 teaspoons of oregano, and 1 teaspoon of Song Bird. Stir well to combine.
Pour the mojo sauce over the pork shoulder, place the lid on top, and cook on low for approximately 8 hours. You want it to cook to the point that you can easily shred the pork, so it might be shorter or longer than 8 hours, depending on the size of your meat.
When it is almost ready, cook some white rice and heat up some black beans. Shred your pork in all the juices and serve over top of the white rice with the beans on the side. Make sure to get some of the onions too. Garnish with cilantro if desired.
If you are smoking it, fire up your smoker to 225 degrees just as you would regular pulled pork. Coat your pork butt with mustard and then Song Bird, then place in the smoker for a few hours until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Now, mix together your 1 cup of orange juice, 1/2 cup of lime juice, 1/2 cup of olive oil, and 1/2 cup of white wine. Add in 12 cloves of minced garlic, 2 teaspoons of cumin, 2 teaspoons of oregano, and 1 teaspoon of Song Bird. Stir well to combine.
Slice your onions and place them at the bottom of a half foil pan. Set your pork butt on top of them and pour your mojo sauce over top, being careful not to let it overflow. Cover with foil and return to the smoker until the internal temperature reaches approximately 103 degrees. You want it to be easily shreddable, so it may be more or less than 103.
Cook your rice and heat up your black beans. Shred the pork in the juices and serve over top of the rice with the beans on the side. Make sure to get some of onions too. Garnish with cilantro if desired.
Equipment
- Smoker or crockpot
Ingredients
- 1 Pork shoulder
- 1 cup Orange juice
- ½ cup Lime juice
- ½ cup Olive oil
- ½ cup White wine
- 12 cloves Garlic minced
- Yellow mustard as binder
- Song Bird Seasoning
- 2 tsp Cumin
- 2 tsp Oregano
- White rice
- Black beans
- 2 Onions sliced
Instructions
If Smoking
- Fire up your smoker to 225 degrees using your choice of wood.
- Remove your pork butt from packaging, rinse, and pat dry
- Cover with yellow mustard, then with your Song Bird seasoning. Place in the smoker until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. This will take several hours, depending on the size of your pork butt.
- Slice your onions and place at the bottom of a foil pan
- In a bowl, combine 1 cup orange juice, ½ cup lime juice, ½ cup olive oil, and ½ cup white wine. Mix together, then stir in 12 cloves of minced garlic, 2 tsp of cumin, 2 tsp of oregano, and 1 tsp of Song Bird seasoning. Mix well to combine.
- Set your pork butt on top of the onions in the foil pan. Pour the mixture over top.
- Cover with foil and return to the smoker until the internal temperature reaches about 103. All cuts are different, so it's done when it easily shreds…not necessarily at 103 exactly.
- Cook your white rice and warm up the black beans on the stove.
- Remove from the smoker, shred, and serve the shredded pork over white rice with black beans on the side.
If Using Crock Pot
- Remove your pork butt from packaging, rinse, and pat dry
- Cover with yellow mustard, then with your Song Bird seasoning. Set aside.
- Slice your onions and place at the bottom of the crock pot.
- In a bowl, combine 1 cup orange juice, ½ cup lime juice, ½ cup olive oil, and ½ cup white wine. Mix together, then stir in 12 cloves of minced garlic, 2 tsp of cumin, 2 tsp of oregano, and 1 tsp of Song Bird seasoning. Mix well to combine.
- Set your pork butt on top of the onions in the crock pot. Pour the mixture over top.
- Set to low for approximately 8 hours (ideal), or high if you don't have as much time.
- The pork will be done when it's able to shred easily.
- Cook your white rice and warm up the black beans on the stove.
- Shred your pork and serve the shredded pork over white rice with black beans on the side.
