Ribs Pibil

• Tweet
• Pin It

In the Mayan village of Yaxuná, Xaxcabá, Yucatan,(Ya shun a, Ya shu ka ba), cochinita pibil is cooked in an earth pit oven.  It’s suckling pig marinated in spices, wrapped in banana leaf and cooked until the meat falls apart.  The mayan word – pib, means to roast below the earth.  Pibil refers to food cooked wrapped in banana leaf.  This recipe is nearly identical to the one used in the Yucatan village of Yaxuná.  I included allspice and in lieu of seville orange juice that’s sour/bitter, I use a combination of citrus juices that simulates seville orange.

Let’s get started….

 

 

Ingredients

Serves 4

Marinade

4 cloves of unpeeled garlic, roasted

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon pepper corns

1 teaspoon whole allspice

½ teaspoon whole cloves

3 inch stick cinnamon (Mexican preferred)

1 tablespoon oregano (Mexican preferred)

3 tablespoons achiote seed

⅓  cup orange juice

⅓  cup grapefruit juice

⅓  cup lime juice

 

Meat

1 rack of ribs – baby back or St. Louis- style cut about 5 lbs

(Cut ribs in half to fit in a dutch oven)

½ large white onion sliced

2 medium tomatos sliced

Salt

Banana leaf, 5 ft in length, rinsed

Cooks string

 

Pickled red onion

1 red onion sliced

1 teaspoon salt

2 limes juiced

water

 

Salsa Habanero

2 habanero chiles

1 small clove garlic roasted

1 large tomato

⅓  cup red onion diced

½ lime juiced

Marinade Preparation

In a saucepan over medium-high heat roast the unpeeled garlic until skins are charred. Remove, cool, peel and set aside.  In the same pan add 1 teaspoon of cooking oil and toast the cumin seeds, pepper corns, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, oregano and achiote seeds.  Toss and stir until  very fragrant. Cool then grind the spices.  I use a coffee grinder to powder my spices.  Transfer them to a mini-blender, add the garlic, juices and salt. Blend for several minutes and set marinade aside

 

Pickled Onion Preparation

Place the sliced onion is a bowl, add salt and juice from 1 ½ limes, stir/toss and set to rest for 15 minutes.  Add 1½ cups hot water and rest for 15 minutes.  Rinse with water and add the juice of ½ lime.  Refrigerate until plating.

 

Habanero Salsa

In a saucepan over medium heat roast a clove of garlic, tomato and habanero peppers until charred black.  Cool, peel tomato and using a food blender liquify the garlic, chiles, tomato. Pour out to a serving container, salt to taste and add the onion and the juice of ½ lime.

 

Rib Preparation

Wash, dry and salt the ribs.  Place in a 9 inch long baking dish and cover both rib sides with marinade.  Place two overlapping banana leaves on a work place. Center the ribs and top with any remaining marinade, slices of onion and tomato.  Wrap the ribs like a package and bind with cooks string as shown below.  Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

 

Place the rib packages in a dutch oven, add 1½ cups of water, cover and bake at 300°F for 2 ½ hours.

 

Note:

Cochinita means “suckling pig” but for home cooking and restaurants they use pork shoulder.  For Cocinita Pibil substitute the ribs with a 3-5 lb pork shoulder roast.  Achiote seeds are commonly found in Mexican markets though some stock it in paste form.

 

 

• Tweet
• Pin It