Mojo Cuban Fresh Ham Roast*

*This recipe is adapted from here: http://www.recipetineats.com/juicy-cuban-mojo-pork-roast-chef-movie-recipe/
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Often customers ask me what to do with a fresh ham roast. I usually tell them to treat it like a roast, with pot herb seasonings, vegetables, and slow roasted in the oven for a couple hours. However, after trying this Cuban inspired roast, this is now what I'm going to recommend! The overnight citrus marinade is crucial to this recipe--it really infuses the pork. What is also crucial is to make sure to have leftovers, so you can make Cubano sandwiches the next day (recipe at bottom).

What You'll Need:

1 Pasture Song Farm Fresh Ham Roast, 2-3 pounds

Marinade:
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1 T orange zest
Juice from 3 large oranges
Juice from 3 limes
Handful of mint, finely chopped
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 T fresh oregano, minced (or 2 t dried oregano)
2 t ground cumin
1 t salt
1 t ground pepper

Roast:
3 small onions, coarsely chopped
1 small orange

Mojo Sauce:
Juice from 1 lime
Juice from 1 large orange
1 T honey
Salt and pepper

Directions:

First get the overnight marinade ready. Mince the garlic and herbs (or chop in a food processor) and then mix this with the rest of the ingredients. Add the marinade and the fresh ham to a gallon size plastic bag, and place in a bowl in the fridge overnight (or 12-24 hours).

When ready to cook, remove pork from the fridge and let the it come to room temperature. Reserve the marinade juices in the fridge for the mojo sauce. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 F and get your roasting pan ready. Coarsely chop the onions and place on the bottom of the roasting pan. Place the pork on top of the onions, and squeeze the juice from one orange over the pork, and place the remaining orange in the roasting pan. Loosely cover with foil or lid and place in oven.

Let it cook for 2 1/2 hours. Remove the foil, and let it cook for another half an hour, or until slightly browned on top. Remove from oven and let it rest for half an hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the mojo sauce. Strain the marinade into a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the mojo sauce ingredients and 1/4 c (or whatever is left) of drippings, along with the cooked onions in the bottom of the pan. Blend together using a food processor or immersion (stick) blender; alternatively whisk together until well blended.

Slice the roast and serve with mojo sauce drizzled over. Good pairings with this meal are rice, salad, citrus cole slaw, &/or corn on the cob.

Cubano Sandwiches

What You Need:
Leftover Mojo Pork Roast, thinly sliced
Cuban bread, or baguette (if unable to obtain, just use the bread you have around!)
Yellow mustard
Swiss cheese
Several T butter
Leftover mojo sauce
Mayo or cultured cream
Thinly sliced ham (optional)
Avocado (optional)
Pickles, thinly sliced

Directions:
Heat cast iron skillet up on medium heat. Add 1 T of butter, and then the pork slices and optional ham. Cook until browned on each side. Mix the mojo sauce with mayo or cultured cream. Prepare sandwiches: Add mustard, layer on pork, drizzle over mojo sauce mix, then the cheese, pickles, and avocado. Flatten sandwich somewhat by pressing down. Add butter to the skillet on stove, and cook sandwiches on medium-low. Flip after about 5 minutes, and cook until cheese is melted and bread is toasted. You can use another cast iron skillet to press the sandwich at the end of cooking it to further flatten it.

If you're really going all out, you can grill the sandwich for some extra flavor!
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