Yucatecan Mexican · Dinner

Cochinita pibil

Name: Cochinita pibil
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 4 h
Total time: 13 h
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Yucatecan Mexican
Ingredients: 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 3-inch pieces; 4 ounces achiote paste; 2/3 cup fresh orange juice; 1/3 cup fresh lime juice; 6 garlic cloves; 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided; 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice; 2 large banana leaves, thawed if frozen; 1 large red onion, thinly sliced; 1 habanero chile, thinly sliced, optional; 1/4 cup fresh lime juice; 1/4 cup fresh orange juice; 16 warm corn tortillas

Banana-leaf-wrapped pork shoulder braised until yielding in achiote, sour orange, garlic, oregano, cumin, and allspice, with sharp habanero-pickled red onions.

About 13 hrTotal

About 4 hr 40 minActive

$$Cost

AdvancedDifficulty

Makes 8 servings

Equipment

Use a hot sheet pan under an inverted oven-safe metal bowl for the covered phase.
Best value covered pot
Lodge Essential Enamel 6-Quart Dutch Oven · EC6D43
View at Amazon
Another workable path: Use a hot sheet pan under an inverted oven-safe metal bowl for the covered phase.
Paid links. As an Amazon Associate, Kwilt earns from qualifying purchases.
How we chose
Research-backed · reviewed Aug 2026
We matched capacity, lid fit, oven rating, heat retention, maneuverability, care, stable model identity, and usefulness outside bread baking. Kwilt has not baked with this pot.
Lodge Essential Enamel 6-Quart Dutch Oven · EC6D43: The six-quart capacity, heavy cast-iron body, and fitted lid create the enclosed high-heat environment used by these bread methods while remaining useful beyond baking. Trade-off: At more than thirteen pounds it is demanding to move when hot, and the enamel needs gentler utensils and hand washing.
Another workable path: Bake on a preheated heavy sheet pan under an inverted oven-safe metal bowl, keeping face and hands clear when removing the hot cover.
Sources
Lodge six-quart Essential Enamel specifications
Amazon exact product listing

Ingredients

1× recipe · Makes 8 servings

4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 3-inch pieces
4 ounces achiote paste
2/3 cup fresh orange juice
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
6 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 large banana leaves, thawed if frozen
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1 habanero chile, thinly sliced, optional
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
16 warm corn tortillas

Instructions

Blend achiote paste, 2/3 cup orange juice, 1/3 cup lime juice, garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, oregano, cumin, and allspice. Coat pork, cover, and refrigerate 8 to 12 hours.
Pass banana leaves carefully over a low flame or hot dry skillet until glossy and pliable. Cross-line a with the leaves, leaving enough overhang to seal the pork.
Heat oven to 325°F. Add pork and every drop of marinade, fold the leaves tightly over it, cover the pot, and braise until the meat collapses under a fork, 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
Meanwhile toss red onion and habanero with 1/4 cup each lime and orange juice and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Refrigerate at least 1 hour, stirring once.
Rest the covered pork 20 minutes, shred coarsely into its juices, and adjust salt. Serve with warm tortillas and drained pickled onions.

Yucatán, MexicoYucatecan Maya-rooted cooking traditions

From the table

About this recipe

Cochinita pibil is a Yucatecan Maya-rooted dish: pibil refers to food wrapped and cooked in a píib earth oven, not merely to achiote seasoning. Banana leaves and a sealed home oven preserve the aromatic wrapped-braise logic while remaining an explicit adaptation.

Cochinita pibil is a Yucatecan Maya-rooted dish: pibil refers to food wrapped and cooked in a píib, an earth oven, not merely to achiote seasoning. Banana leaves and a sealed home oven preserve the aromatic wrapped-braise logic but do not reproduce pit cooking. Seville orange is traditional; the measured orange-lime blend is an accessible sour-orange substitute. This Kwilt version follows the reviewed household adaptation: Preserve the achiote, sour-orange, banana-leaf, and sealed-cooking identity while clearly labeling a Dutch oven as a household adaptation to the traditional píib.

Sources

Dinner does not stop at the recipe

Keep recipes, plan meals, and build the grocery list in Kwilt.

Use the recipe here. Get Kwilt when you want the rest of dinner to stay together.

Get Kwilt for iPhone

See every recipe

Deeply browned herb roast chicken carved beside glossy pan gravy, lemon, onion, and fresh herbs.

American · Dinner

Herb roast chicken with pan gravy

Dry-brined whole chicken with deeply browned skin, rosemary-sage butter, tender breast and legs, and a silky gravy built from its fond and defatted drippings.

About 14 hr 50 min6 servings

Fork-tender pot roast with browned edges, carrots, potatoes, onions, and silky dark gravy.

American · Dinner

Slow-braised pot roast

Hard-seared chuck roast braised low and slow with red wine, stock, tomato, thyme, carrots, and potatoes until spoon-tender, then finished with a reduced silky gravy.

About 4 hr 55 min8 servings

Tender sliced beef-and-pork meatloaf with a lacquered tomato glaze and browned free-form edges.

American · Dinner

Classic glazed meatloaf

Tender free-form beef-and-pork meatloaf with milk-soaked crumbs, deeply softened aromatics, and two layers of tangy brown-sugar tomato glaze.

About 2 hr 10 min8 servings

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

Keep recipes, plan meals, and build the grocery list in Kwilt.

Cook something else

Herb roast chicken with pan gravy

Slow-braised pot roast

Classic glazed meatloaf