Is already 19th December and if you’re still looking what to cook for Christmas dinner maybe this Venezuelan Pork Roast Recipe can do the trick.
Back in Venezuela our traditional Christmas dinner has pork instead of turkey, although there are some people that want to change it a bit and chose turkey instead.
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This roast is quite different from traditional European roasts, at least in my eyes because of the flavour combinations, but still a soft, moist and ultra flavoursome piece of meat.
Instead of using red wine or stock we use Moscatel which is a Spanish sweet wine and the key ingredient in this roast, plus all the traditional Venezuelan seasoning like onions, garlic, and more.
The Moscatel gives it that sweet savoury flavour that I can’t find in any pork recipe I’ve tried here in Europe. And this flavour combination is not only unique, but produces a strong flavoured sweet savoury gravy, very different to the gravies you get here in the UK.
ROASTING A SMALL PIECE OF PORK
If you prefer to roast a smaller piece of pork instead of the 6 Kg the recipe shows, I always like to divide recipes by halves or quarters.
In this case I would choose either a 3Kg or 1.5Kg piece of pork, this way is easier to divide the ingredients to match the original recipe without adding more or less of one ingredients.
PRINT THE RECIPE
- 1 6 Kg pork shoulder or loin with or without the bone
- 2 large white onions
- 17 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp Worcester sauce
- 1/4 cup of wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp dried rosemary
- 2 or 3 Thyme sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups of orange juice
- Salt and black pepper to season
- Few sprigs of fresh Rosemary
- FOR THE SAUCE
- 1/2 cup Moscatel or Madeira wine
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp Worcester sauce
- 1 tsp flour optional
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1. In a food processor blend the onions, garlic, salt, black pepper, thyme leaves, vinegar, orange juice and Worcester sauce until getting a smooth paste (I did a little bit different in my video but the important thing is to have all the ingredients mixed together).
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2. Add the marinate to the pork and massage it into the meat, cover and leave in the fridge until next day.
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3. Next day remove the pork from the fridge 1 hour before roasting, cover with aluminium foil and place it in a preheated oven at 200 degree C/400 F for approx 40 minutes per Kg.
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4. Once cooked, remove the aluminium foil, increase the temperature to 220 degree C/450 F and leave to roast until golden brown, approx 10/15 per Kg basting every so on.
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5. Once the pork is cooked and golden brown, remove from the oven and wrap it in aluminium foil to rest for at least 20 minutes.
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6. In the meantime place the roasting tray over the hob and add the Moscatel wine, black pepper, 1 tsp of Worcester sauce and the flour if using. Mix everything with a whisk to dissolve the flour.
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7. Leave to boil for approx 10 minutes.
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8. After pass the gravy through a sieve or fine colander to remove all large bits and finish with a smooth gravy.
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9. Remove the pork from the foil, carve in thin slices and drizzle some of the gravy on top, serve immediately.
Recipe Video
If you like a thinner, softer and lighter gravy add water to taste balancing the flavour with more or less Moscatel wine.
For cooking smaller joints always divide the recipe by halve or quarter, in this case a 3Kg or 1.5Kg joint and modify the ingredients accordingly.
A DIFFERENT TYPE OF TURKEY
If you prefer not to eat pork or for religion purposes can’t, I think this recipe would also work well with turkey or chicken.
Of course you will need to modified the roasting times accordingly, but definitely keep the 12 hour marinate as this will help tenderise the meat.
THE GRAVY
Like I said above this recipe produces a strong flavoured gravy, because is only made with the juices from the meat and the wine. But if you prefer a softer and lighter gravy, that by all means add enough water to take it to your taste.
One thing to bare in min if you add water is that you will need to modify the quantity of wine, as is this the key flavour to this roast. So perhaps add water little by little balancing the flavours with the wine.
Other options to improve the flavour of the gravy is to add an extra one or two sprigs of fresh rosemary whilst cooking it.
If you make this recipe please leave your comments below I would love to hear how you made it or if you added a new ingredient…
So, for now happy cooking! And I’ll see you all next week with another delicious recipe! If you enjoy my recipes don’t forget to subscribe to my YOUTUBE channel and BLOG to receive before anyone else all my recipes!!
