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You are here: Home » Pork

Mexican Pork Adobo Leg (Pierna de Puerco Adobada)

Published: Dec 31, 2013 · Updated: Feb 22, 2021 by Mely Martínez

JUMP TO RECIPE

If you are looking to roast a piece of meat for the holidays this year, take a look at this recipe for Mexican pork adobo. This pork leg (or pierna de puerco as we call it in Spanish) is marinated for a few hours and then slathered in homemade adobo sauce. Then, it is roasted in the oven and ready to serve for dinner! 

Pierna de Puerco Adobada

New Year’s Eve is a big celebration in Mexico accompanied by food, music, and fireworks. Families gather to celebrate the end of the old year (“el año viejo”) and to welcome the new one. The firecrackers start just a few minutes before midnight, the glasses of wine start to get filled up, and right at 12:00 am, everyone cheers and toasts to the new year, hugging each other and wishing the best for everyone in the brand new year.  

Jump to:
  • Classic Mexican Traditions For New Years
  • Frequently Asked Question About Pork Adobo
  • Roasted Pork Adobo Leg Recipe
  • How To Make Pierna De Puerco Adobada: Step By Step Tutorial
  • More Authentic Mexican Recipes To Enjoy
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Comments

Classic Mexican Traditions For New Years

It is also a time when people do some of the many traditions in the Mexican culture, like eating 12 grapes by the time the clock strikes at midnight, which represents 12 wishes, or wearing red underwear to attract love. One thing that many families still do is to clean and paint their houses and get rid of old things to start the new year fresh.  

But, there’s one other thing that is also traditional in Mexico which is the “recalentado”, meaning the leftovers that are reheated the next day. Yes, when cooking dinner for New Year’s Eve you keep in mind that the next day, some friends or relatives will stop by to wish you a happy new year and for the recalentado (leftovers), which sometimes tastes better the next day.  

Roasted pork leg, tamales, and pork leg in adobo sauce are some of the dishes that many families prefer for New Year’s Eve dinner since the leftovers are really tasty.

Pork Leg hanging in a market

Frequently Asked Question About Pork Adobo

Before I share my adobo de puerco recipe, here are a few questions I've been asked about homemade pork adobo.

What kind of meat is used with adobo?

You will typically find adobo sauce being used with pork more than anything. But, with that being said, I have done a pollo asado in adobo in the past and it was delicious! 

Can I only use pork leg with adobo sauce?

No, I've also used pork ribs in adobo sauce as well. 

Do I have to make my own adobo sauce?

I would highly recommend it you can. If not, you can always find some in a can or jar at your local Spanish market. 

Roasted Pork Adobo Leg Recipe

Here is the list of ingredients you will need...

  • Pork leg (skin removed)

For The Marinade:

  • Garlic cloves
  • White onion
  • Bay leaves
  • Dried oregano
  • Ground black pepper
  • Ground cumin
  • Fresh orange juice
  • Cider vinegar
  • Coarse salt
  • Aluminum foil or baking bag

For The Adobo Sauce:

  • Ancho peppers (cleaned and deveined)
  • Pasilla peppers (cleaned and deveined)
  • Orange juice
  • Cider vinegar
  • Water
  • Coarse salt
  • Melted lard

Please note: For exact measurements of the ingredients listed above, scroll down to the recipe card located at the bottom of this post!

JUMP TO FULL INSTRUCTIONS

How To Make Pierna De Puerco Adobada: Step By Step Tutorial

To make things easier for you, I am going to breakdown the directions to this recipe into sections.

Marinate The Pork Leg

  • First, pierce the pork leg with the help of a sharp knife.
  • Roast the garlic and onion in a skillet.
  • Transfer the roasted onion and garlic along with bay leaves, oregano, black pepper, cumin, orange juice, vinegar, and salt into a blender.
  • Process until you have a smooth sauce, almost like a paste.
  • Transfer the pork leg to a large baking dish and cover with the marinade, making sure it gets inside the incisions and penetrates the meat.
marinating pork leg

Make The Adobo Sauce

  • Roast the peppers on a griddle or comal over medium heat. Remember that this is a quick step to avoid bitter flavors from burnt peppers.
  • Place the peppers in a small saucepan and cover with water.
  • Simmer for about 8 minutes until they are soft. Let them cool for about 10 minutes.
  • Drain the peppers and place them in your blender with the orange juice, vinegar, and water.
  • Puree the mixture until it is smooth and season to taste with the salt.
  • After you have made the sauce, remove the pork leg from the refrigerator and let stand until room temperature.
  • Preheat oven 20 minutes before roasting at 350F.

Add The Adobo To The Pork Leg

  • Using a pastry brush, spread the melted lard on the meat, making sure to cover it all around.
  • Then, cover the pork leg all over with half of the adobo sauce and place it in the preheated oven.
  • Cover meat with aluminum foil. If using the baking bag, make sure to tie the bag and make the incisions according to the package instructions.

Keep Basting The Pork While It Cooks

  • After 1 hour, turn the meat and baste it with its own juices. Baste the meat one hour later and turn the pork leg over.
  • Turn the meat at least twice during the cooking process. It is very important to keep the baking dish tightly covered with aluminum foil to have a moistened meat.
  • When the meat can easily be pierced by a fork, then it’s almost done. It will take about 5 hours. I like to have a moist, almost falling-apart meat.

Roast The Pork Adobo For The Last 10 Minutes

  • When you see that the meat is done, uncover and turn the oven temperature up to 450F. Roast for about 8-10 minutes to have browned meat. Make sure you don’t burn it. It will take just a few minutes.
  • Remove meat and let stand about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
basting roasted pork leg in adobo sauce

What To Serve With Roasted Pork Adobo Leg

When I serve pork adobo, I love to slice it up and serve it with some of the remaining adobo sauce that was unused. To do so:

  • Place the leftover juices from the baking pan and the remaining adobo sauce in a medium-size skillet and simmer for about 8 minutes.
  • Taste, add more salt if needed, and add more of the spices used for the marinade if you wish to.

Serve a spoonful over the top of the pork and enjoy!

roasted pork adobo

Cooking Tips:

  • If you see that it’s getting dry, add more of the adobo sauce.
  • The cooking time will depend on the pork leg’s size and weight. The average baking time is 1 hour of baking for every 2 lbs. of meat.

More Authentic Mexican Recipes To Enjoy

If you enjoyed this recipe for pork adobo, take a look at some of these other authentic Mexican recipes:

  • Mexican Pork Ribs In Adobo
  • Shredded Pork In Achiote Sandwich
  • Country Style Pork Ribs In A Spicy Tomato Sauce
  • Cochito Al Horno
  • Authentic Red Pork Tamales

I hope you make this recipe for Mexican pork leg in adobo sauce! If this recipe was of any help to you, come back to let me know your experience. Please leave us a comment done below and tell us all about it!

¡Buen provecho!

Mely,

📖 Recipe

Pierna de Puerco Adobada

Mely Martínez
Roasted Pork Leg in Adobo Sauce, tamales and Pork Leg in Adobo are some of the dishes that many families prefer for New Year’s Eve dinner since the leftovers are really tasty. A delicious and elegant dish that’s perfect for a nice dinner.
4.91 from 20 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 5 mins
Marinade 25 mins
Total Time 5 hrs 50 mins
Course Pork
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 20 SERVINGS
Calories 295 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 PORK LEG ABOUT 10 LBS SKIN REMOVED

For the marinada:

  • 10 garlic cloves
  • ½ large white onion
  • 6 bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper
  • 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ cup fresh orange juice
  • ½ cup cider vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon of coarse salt
  • Aluminum foil or baking bag

For the Adobo Sauce

  • 8 Ancho Peppers cleaned and deveined
  • 6 Pasilla Peppers cleaned and deveined
  • 2 cups of orange juice
  • 1 cup cider vinegar
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 tablespoon of coarse salt
  • 3 tablespoons of melted lard

Instructions
 

  • First, pierce the pork leg with the help of a sharp knife.
  • Roast the garlic and onion in a skillet. Transfer the roasted onion and garlic along with bay leaves, oregano, black pepper, cumin, orange juice, vinegar and salt into a blender. Process until you have a smooth sauce, almost like a paste.
  • Transfer the Pork leg to a large baking dish and cover with the marinate sauce making sure it gets inside the incisions and penetrates the meat.

Now to the Adobo sauce instructions:

  • Toast the peppers on a griddle or comal over a medium heat. Remember that this is a quick step to avoid bitter flavors from burnt peppers.
  • Place the peppers in a small saucepan and cover with water. Simmer for about 8 minutes until they are soft. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
  • Drain the peppers and place them in your blender with the orange juice, vinegar, and water. Puree until mixture is smooth and season to taste with the salt.
  • Baking day, remove pork leg from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature. Preheat oven 20 minutes before roasting at 350F.
  • Using a pastry brush, spread the melted lard on the meat, making sure to cover it all around. Then cover pork leg all over with half of the Adobo sauce and place in the preheated oven. Cover meat with aluminum foil. If using the baking bag, make sure to tie the bag and make the incisions according to the package instructions.
  • After 1 hour, turn the meat and baste with its own juices, baste the meat one hour later and turn the pork leg over. Turn the meat at least twice during the cooking process. It is very important to keep the baking dish tightly covered with aluminum foil to have a moistened meat. If you see that it’s getting dry, add more of the adobo sauce. The cooking time will depend on the pork leg’s size and weight. The average baking time is 1 hour of baking for every 2 Lbs. of meat.
  • When the meat can easily be pierced by a fork then it’s almost done. It will take about 5 hours. I like to have a moist, almost falling-apart meat. when you see that the meat is done, uncover and turn the oven temperature up to 450F. Roast for about 8-10 minutes to have browned meat. Make sure you don’t burn it. It will take just a few minutes. Remove meat and let stand about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
  • Place leftover juices from the baking pan and the remaining adobo sauce in a medium-size skillet and simmer for about 8 minutes. Taste, add more salt if needed and add more of the spices used for the marinade if you wish to. Use this sauce to pour over the slices of meat when serving.

Notes

*If you are using the baking bag, then the pork leg should be placed inside the bag and then into a large baking dish. Marinate for at least 6 hours, or preferably, overnight. Turn the meat at least once during the process. This step will tenderize the meat and infuses the flavors. Baking the meat in the oven bag will take less time and will render a juicy meat.

Nutrition

Serving: 6ozCalories: 295kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 29gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 93mgSodium: 840mgPotassium: 874mgFiber: 5gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 4614IUVitamin C: 22mgCalcium: 43mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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« Mexican Christmas Eve Salad
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jerry Green

    December 23, 2021 at 9:57 pm

    Hey! Lovely recipe! Should I be using dried/seco ancho and pasilla peppers or fresh? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Mely Martínez

      December 24, 2021 at 10:25 am

      Hello,
      The recipe use dried peppers.

      Reply
    • Joni Schork

      May 07, 2022 at 8:43 pm

      5 stars
      Made this recipe today with a 10# fresh ham (pork leg) I used a cooking bag. It turned out delicious! I made the following changes: I injected the marinade rather than just piercing with a knife. I added about 5 small cloves of garlic to the adobo sauce because I love garlic! Used fresh oregano in the marinade because I have it in my garden. I did not do the high temperature finish, it seemed fine without it. Note: In the US, at least in California, the dry pasilla chilies are called Chilie Negro.

      Reply
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ABOUT ME

Mexico in my kitchen | Mely Martinez

Hi, I'm Mely Martinez, a former Mexican school teacher, home cook, and food blogger. I moved to the United States about ten years ago, after living in Mexico my whole life. Now I love to share home-style recipes for authentic Mexican food.

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