Organizers say the first one was a huge success, and this weekend they look forward to bringing more Cubans, Latinos and Chicagoans together.
Festival highlights include authentic Cuban food, including offerings from Cafe LaGuardia. Chef Carlos Laguardia was with us Saturday.
CUBAN CARIBBEAN PULLED PORK
4 Lbs of Boneless Pork Butt
1/2 cup of Whole Garlic (main ingredient)
1/4 cup of Lime Juice
1/4 cup of Orange Juice
2 tablespoons of Oregano
2 tablespoons of Cumin
2 tablespoons of Paprika
2 tablespoons of Salt
2 tablespoons of Black Pepper
1/4 cup of Mustard
1/4 cup of honey
7 ounces of Chilpotle Sauce (Love the spiciness and the smoked flavor)
Smoking ingredients:
Wood Chips of your choice, we use Apple
Two Large Banana Leaves
Deep Pan
Baking rack
Pre-heat oven to 275 degrees.
Take the Pork butt and poke holes all over with a knife. Crush the Garlic and insert the garlic in all the holes Blend the remaining ingredients in a blender and rub it on all sides of the Pork Butt. (Make sure it gets in all the holes.)
Take a deep pan and place two cups of water, then take some smoking chips of your choice. (I prefer apple smoking chips)
Place the Pork in the Baking Rack and place it inside the Deep pan. (Make sure the pork does not touch the water.)
Now place the Banana Leaves on top of the pork. This will hold in the moisture and will help with the smoking process:
LOW & SLOW
This part is important, make sure that the pork cooks LOW & SLOW for about 4 hours (depending on the oven)
After about four hours take off the Banana Leaves, baste the Pork in its juices and let it sit in the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes (this process will brown the meat and will thicken the sauce.)
The meat should fall apart with out the use of a knife.
You can add BBQ Sauce if you like. Serve it on a bread of your choice.
We grill a Pineapple Slice with a little bit of Brown sugar for Glazing place it on a Pretzel Roll, add the Pulled Pork and the rest is history!
That's how we Cubans roll.
Festival Cubano runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Riis Park, which is at the corner of Fullerton and Narragansett in Chicago. Admission is free.
