Out of all the dishes in the Yucatan Peninsula, I think this is the dish that is best known throughout the whole country. Cooked with Achiote (Annato paste) and sour orange juice, the slow roasted pork meat was traditionally buried in a pit, hence the word “Pibil”, meaning “buried” in Mayan.
Cochinita Pibil Recipe
It is really easy to make at home, you can do it in an oven bag, slow cooker, or even in your pressure cooker. I tried those 3 ways of cooking and had great results with all of them. It is ideal to serve with hand-made tortillas and habanero pepper sauce. You can also cook it ahead of time and just reheat it before serving. Leftovers freeze very well, too.
I still remember in my years living in Southern Mexico, going on Sunday morning to the local market where the Chochinita Pibil Taco Stand was surrounded by people waiting for their order. As soon as the cook saw a new customer joining the crowd, he will give them a taco to make their waiting time less painful. 😉
How to make Cochinita Pibil Recipe
DIRECTIONS:
- Roast the banana leaf, if you bought it from the frozen section of the supermarket, wait until it is completely defrosted. (Please check the ingredients list below)
To roast the banana leaf, place it directly over a medium-hot fire of your gas stove, it will start changing color and getting some shiny while in contact with the fire. Make sure not to burn the leaves, we just want them to be pliable.
- Line your roasting pan with the oven bag and arrange the banana leaves overlapping as in the above picture. You can also use aluminum foil instead of the oven bag.
- In your blender, mix the Achiote (annatto) seasoning with the pepper and bitter orange juice. Add salt.
- Place the pork meat on the leaves. Pour the Achiote mixture over. And add the oil/lard to give it more flavor.
- Cover with the sliced onion and herbs. Fold the ends of the banana leaves over the pork.
- Close the oven bag and cut 3 or 4 slits according to packages instructions. If using aluminum foil wrap tightly . Add about 1 ½ quarter of water to the roasting pan to create a steaming effect. One time, I forgot to add the water and it still came out great.
- Bake 2 ½ hours in a preheated oven at 350 degrees. Add more water to the pan if needed.
- Remove roasting pan from oven and uncover the meat. The meat should be tender. If it isn’t, cover and return to the oven for another 30 minutes.
To serve shred the meat and cover with the juice with warm tortillas and habanero sauce.
Did you like the recipe? Please let me know in the comments section, do you have questions, or share the link with your friends. I hope you have an incredible time cooking!
Buen Provecho!
Mely Martinez, the cook at Mexico in my Kitchen!
More recipes:
Mexican Pork Carnitas Torta
Pork Ribs in Salsa Verde
Cochinita Pibil recipe from Yucatán
Ingredients
- 2 large banana leaves
- ½ cup of Achiote Paste
- 2 cups of bitter orange juice or one cup orange juice mixed with one cup of grapefruit juice
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 3 Pounds of boneless pork loin or pork shoulder cut in pieces
- 1 large red onion sliced.
- 3-4 bay leaves
- ½ tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon marjoram
- 1 Tablespoon dried Mexican oregano
- ½ cup oil or lard
- 1 turkey size oven bag
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Roast the banana leaf, if you bought it from the frozen section of the supermarket, wait until it is completely defrosted.
- To roast the banana leaf, place it directly over a medium hot fire of you gas stove, it will start changing color and getting some shiny while in contact with the fire. Make sure not to burn the leaves, we just want them to be pliable.
- Line your roasting pan with the oven bag and arrange the banana leaves overlapping as in the above picture. You can also use aluminum foil instead of the oven bag.
- In your blender, mix the Achiote (annatto) seasoning with the pepper and bitter orange juice. Add salt.
- Place the pork meat on the leaves. Pour the Achiote mixture over. And add the oil/lard to give it more flavor.
- Cover with the sliced onion and herbs. Fold the ends of the banana leaves over the pork.
- Close the oven bag and cut 3 or 4 slits according to packages instructions. If using aluminum foil wrap tightly . Add about 1 ½ quarter of water to the roasting pan to create a steaming effect. One time, I forgot to add the water and it still came out great.
- Bake 2 ½ hours in a preheated oven at 350 degrees. Add more water to the pan if needed.
- Remove roasting pan from oven and uncover the meat. The meat should be tender. If it isn’t, cover and return to the oven for another 30 minutes.
Cathy
Hi Mely, I would really like to make this. The recipe calls for achiote paste, but all I have and can find is powder. Can I make the paste from the powder and if so how do I make it?
Mely Martínez
Hello Cathy,
I don't have experience using powder Achiote. You can try mixing with it the vinegar, onion, and garlic to form a paste. Let me know if it works for you.
Wendy
I don’t have a gas stove. Any recommendations for roasting the banana leaves?
Mely Martínez
Hello Wendy,
If you have an electric stove. Try passing the leaves over the electric stove coils or your ceramic top stove heat element. Another option is to submerge the leaves in hot water until they are soft and pliable.
J-lo
Hi, I have made cochinita pibil as well as pollo pibil using several recipes including yours. I'm really having difficulty capturing the same flavor my family and i had in the yucatan. We were served by a mayan family who cooked it in an earth oven for us. I have recreated the earth oven, but haven't been able find the one ingredient that must be causing my disappointment, the naranja argria. I have even made my own achiote paste. My question is: will be impossible for me to duplicate these two dishes without the naranja agria? My dishes have been too sour and nothing like the mildly sour, but flavorful version we had last year in mexico. Please help!!!😭
Mely Martínez
Hello J-lo,
You are right, the bitter orange flavor is key. I try a mix of orange juice and a little lime juice to make my own substitution. What are you using to recreate the bitter orange flavor?
BTW, where do you live? I have found bitter orange now sold at some large Latin stores.
Sara Lichtenberg
How might I adjust the recipe (cook times) for an electric pressure cooker?
mmartinez
Hello Sara,
I sent you an email about the Cochinita Pibil cooking time last week when you left this comment. I hope you find that helpful. I'll leave the note here in case you didn't see the email.
To cook Cochinita Pibil in the electric pressure cooker, cook for about 40 minutes if you are cooking meat with bones, like ribs. However, if you are using only boneless pork, then it will be about 35 minutes. Every electric pressure cooker is a little different. Maybe your meat is not that extra soft and ready to shredded, after the above given times. But better safe than sorry. You can add five more minutes of cooking time after checking the meat for doneness.
Please let me know if you still have more questions.
Happy cooking!
Vada Baird
I'm in Texas. Not sure I can get banana leaves any where. What can I do?
mmartinez
Hello Vada,
I'm not sure where in Texas are you located, but in large cities, you can find the fresh banana leaves sold at Latin and Indian Markets. Even at Asian markets, you find them fresh and also frozen.
Erin M Brewster
Can I use chicken instead? How would I change the cooking time?
I saw you have a recipe for chicken, but it looks a good bit different and the chicken isn't shredded like the pork.
Thanks!
Mely Martínez
Helo Erin,
Yes, you can use chicken, the meat is not usually shredded, it looks like that due to the long cooking time.
The meat is cooked until tender. The cooking time will vary depending on the cooking method.
mmartinez
Hello Ken,
This step (roasting-steaming) the banana leaves is done all over Mexico, this also helps the banana leaves to soften and be more pliable.
Happy cooking!
Ken, Lakeland, Florida
Hola Mely,
¿Qué tal?
I love cooking REAL Mexican food and love your site.
Interesting that you toast the banana leaves first. I made this Pibil once and wrapped the pork in the banana leaves with all the spices. My wife could not stand the aroma of the banana leaves in the house, so I removed them. dish was still outstanding, but i will try your technique to toast the leaves and also wrap in a roasting bag.