Cuban Mojo Marinade
When I was a kid my mom used to take us on dinner table safaris, where we would experiment with foods from around the world and learn about culture and food. As a child, I hated it, but as an adult – I absolutely love it! Who wants to eat the same seven meals week after week? I want some variety! So several years ago my wife and I set a goal of trying one new worldly dish every week. admittedly, most weeks we’re lucky to actually plan our new dish. And of the ones we plan, we’re lucky if it turns out good. But there have been a few that are amazing. The Cuban Pork I make with this Mojo Marinade is one of those dishes.
Now this actually started out as Cuban Mojo Pork. I was first inspired for this dish by an article for Thefoodcharlatan.com making these for Cuban sandwiches. The marinade was so good though that I figured it could stand on it’s own. A few tweaks to the recipe and this is great on any meat. It gives a nice sour yet slightly sweet taste that mixes well with any Caribbean cuisine and goes great on both pork and chicken.
These proportions of marinade made enough for two pork tenderloins and I had plenty to set aside for another dish. It freezes well and I plan to use it on chicken next, but for now just look at this pork tenderloin!
The marinade mixes orange juice and lime juice, with tons of great spices, to give a sweet and sour flavor to the meat. Blend well, and marinate pork or chicken for 2 – 24 hours.
Marinade
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- zest from 1 orange
- 1/4 cup cilantro (fresh or paste)
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped mint
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic or 5-6 cloves
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
