Cuban Roast Pork with Black Beans and Rice

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that one of my favorite meal starters is a Mexican-type pork tenderloin, slow-cooked until tender then shredded.  So versatile for carnitas, soft tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, casseroles, salads, chimichangas….you get the idea!  We’ve been down this path before, with the Cafe Rio Pork Salad and the Slow Cooker Pork Tacos.  Both of those were crockpot recipes, but this one cooks in the oven (though I suppose you could easily sub your crockpot!)  I see recipes like this frequently, but this one grabbed my attention because of the unique ingredient list which includes salsa verde, orange, and Mexican Beer.  We loved how flavorful this pork was!  I served with Cuban Black Beans and Rice  (recipe below!).  This was my first time making this type of black beans and rice, and I really liked how it complemented the pork.

Cuban Roast Pork

recipe from Foodie Tots

Ingredients:

• 3 to 4-pound pork shoulder (Picky Apple note: I used pork tenderloin)
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 1 blood orange, cut into eighths (Picky Apple note: I used regular oranges, peeled and sectioned)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• kosher salt
• pepper
• smoked paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 ounces salsa verde
• 1 bottle Mexican beer (Picky Apple note: I used Negra Modelo)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season pork generously with salt, pepper and a touch of smoked paprika and set aside. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium high heat. Sear pork until browned, 4-5 minutes on each side. Spread onions around and under pork, and arrange orange slices around pan. Add bay leaves, salsa and the beer. Cover and cook in oven for 2 hours. Remove lid and cook 1 hour more, until pork falls apart when prodded with a fork.

Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes. Cut out excess fat, and slice a portion for the first night. Serve with rice, black beans, fresh cilantro and additional orange slices.

Cuban Black Beans and Rice

recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients: