Pernil

There's nothing quite like a tasty, juicy pernil, whic is simply a roasted pork shoulder. Unfortunately, it's hard to find the right cut of meat over in these parts, as pernil is made of bone-in pork shoulder and all I can find is boneless.

Dave inquired at a reputable butcher shop, and they are able to order in that cut from their purveyor. By Friday we'll have two bone-in pork shoulders, one of which we'll take to a large potluck we're attending on Saturday. The other will be great for homemade Cuban sandwiches. Now all I need to do is learn to bake the right kind of bread for cubanos, but that's beyond my abilities at this point.

We've never made a proper pernil before, and, frankly, I'm nervous. I want to do this pig right. Also, I want to show up at this party with a kick-ass PR dish, and be able to gloat about how fantastic our food is. Godspeed to us, and I'll try to document the pernil-making process for posterity. If it comes out well it will be a photojournalistic triumph. If not, it will probably be a cautionary tale of how not to cook a big ol' slab of pig.