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This is one of those dishes that always sounds good,no matter the day. Cochinita is a gift to our senses,it’s cooked over  slow heat and takes quite some time if you want to make it the traditional Mexican way.

Which is why I recommend that you make this meal for special occasions, or for when you have many guests, that way you can take advantage and cook a lot of meat at once. Cooking more meat will take the same amount of time so don’t worry! However, it is safe to say that you probably won’t have any leftovers. 

Slow cooked 

Like with pulled pork, cochinita takes many hours to cook, in fact, its name, pibil, comes from the way it is cooked: it means “an under the ground oven“. Originally, this meat was roasted for hours in an oven buried in the ground.  

The secret to this shredded beef is for it to be in the crockpot on medium-low heat with a dash of salt and rosemary for at least 24 hours. I use a programmable slow cooker. While you can use a pressure cooker,it’s not the same.

The type of meat you choose is also important, the best cut of meat is one that is tender, but not too fatty. My favorite for this recipe is undoubtedly, pork loin.  

Aromatic 

I think the aroma of the meat with all it’s spices is what makes our mouths water even before tasting our cochinita. To take your dish to that next level, like a real chef from Yucatan, you should make a good sauce to marinate the meat in. 

I decided to change the original hot sauce for something a little softer and refreshing for those hot summer days: a homemade barbecue sauce. I made it for this recipe but it turned out so good that I now use it in all my dishes: inside sandwiches, on top of fried eggs…

To go with the cochinita

Normally, this recipe is paired with some wheat or corn tortillas but I have decided to use lettuce leaves instead. To me,this is a much healthier and natural idea which eliminates gluten, and refined flours. Plus, it gives it a refreshing crunchy taste. 

For the topping I added some natural greek yogurt and guacamole. It’s a sin to leave out avocado when making a tex mex dish!  😉 

And for a quick surprise have you tried these Cheesy Snacks? If not, you are missing out on a delicious healthy snack free from  additives, contains no carbs and is high in protein. They are sure to leave you craving more! 

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Cochinita Pibil

Course Tags brunch, dinner, lunch

Coisine Tags Mexican

Keyword bbq, cochinita pibil, guacamole

Ingredients

For the sauce:

• 1 cup tomato paste
• 1 cup spices to your liking ( paprika, cumin, pepper, salt…)
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 7 dates (without the pit)
• 1/2 cup avocado oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup beef broth

For the Guacamole:

• 1 avocado
• 1 tomato
• 1/2 onion
• Fresh Cilantro (aka Coriander)

Other ingredients

• Lettuce leaves
• 1 bag Cheesy Snacks
• Greek yogurt
• Onion

Instructions

For the bbq sauce: 

1. Mix all the ingredients together until you get a nice uniform texture.

For the Guacamole:

1. Dice up the tomato and onion. In the meantime mash up your avocado using a fork and then mix in the diced tomato and onion until everything is combined well.

For the Cochinita Pibil:

1. Season the meat with a little salt and Rosemary. Then cook the meat in a slow cooker for at least 24 hours.

2. Stir in the bbq sauce to the meat.

3. Prepare your lettuce leaf tacos: Take a romaine lettuce leaf, place some of the meat mixture in the middle, top with guacamole, a little extra sauce and sprinkle some cheesy snack on top for an exciting touch.

4. That’s it! We hope you enjoy 😉