Dinner · 300 min · brazilian

Pernil Assado (Roast Pork Leg)

This is the kind of Brazilian dinner you’ll make on repeat — pork leg and garlic, 300 minutes, big payoff. At 814 calories and 96g protein per serving, it fits easily into a high-protein day. Simple enough for a Tuesday, good enough to serve to guests — that is the whole idea.

✓ USDA-verified nutrition data

Ingredients

• 5 lb Pork leg
• 8 cloves Garlic
• 3 Lime
• 0.25 cup Olive oil
• 2 tbsp Oregano
• 1 tbsp Cumin
• 3 Bay leaves
• 2 tbsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Black pepper

Steps

1. Score the skin in a diamond pattern and rub the entire leg with a paste of crushed garlic, lime juice, olive oil, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper — worked into every score.
2. Marinate overnight in the fridge, turning once. This long marinade is what perfumes the meat all the way to the bone.
3. Roast at 325°F, skin-side up, for 4 to 5 hours, basting every hour with the pan juices, until the skin is crackling-crisp and the meat pulls apart.
4. If the skin needs help at the end, blast under the broiler 5 minutes — watch it like a hawk, as crackling goes from perfect to burnt in a minute.
5. Rest 30 minutes before carving. The wait is agonizing but the juiciness depends on it.
6. Serve with rice, black beans, farofa, and orange slices. Pernil is the centerpiece of every Brazilian celebration worth remembering.

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