Throw everything in the pot, then come home to the most delicious slow cooker Cuban Pork aka Lechon Asado. The recipe for the best marinade and beans included. Low effort, maximum satisfaction.
This recipe is an attempt to recreate a delicious Cuban roast pork from our local restaurant. Tender, melt in your mouth pork with rice and black beans, which served topped with fried plantains is one of our guilty pleasures.
It’s the type of a meal that feels like you’ve come home. Even if you’ve never eaten it before, it’s easy to fall in love with. It’s the best of comfort food!
This recipe is adapted for the slow cooker from Three Guys from Miami and their recipe for Lechon Asado or Roast Pork Cuban style.
Lechon Asado
Cuban roast pork we came to love packs an incredible flavour. And don’t even get me started on the texture!
For the most part it is tender and juicy pork. But once in a while you’d come across a slightly crispy bit by being too close to the edge of a roasting pan. Finding a few of those on your plate feels like winning a lottery!
The Recipe Method
Although traditionally roasted in an oven or even grilled in a covered grill, I was set to use a slow cooker. It’s easy, convenient, and it makes delicious food accessible to everyone!
I wasn’t willing to compromise on the crispy bits, so was I ever happy to see that the pork came out beautifully. And the texture was spot on.
One of the things you can do to re-create the crispy bits is to spread your pork on a baking sheet and put it under a broiler/grill in the UK for a minute or so. Watch your meat carefully, so it doesn’t burn!
The Marinade
Without a doubt, the most important part of this recipe is the marinade. A mixture of citrus, onions, garlic, oregano, black peppercorns and olive oil gives the pork its incredible flavour and tenderises it!
I leave to marinate in my fridge overnight for the flavour to fully develop. The following morning, simply add the pork with the marinade to your slow cooker and leave slow cooking till dinner.
Hassle free cooking at its best!
Serving Suggestions
Cuban pork is usually served with rice and beans. I’ve also included the recipe for the beans below. It’s a simple, very inexpensive and an utterly delicious side dish to your pork.
If you can track down plantains, slice and fry those up and add to your pork and beans!
A great way to use your leftovers is to make the famous Cuban sandwich.
Can I freeze this Cuban Pork?
This Slow Cooker Cuban Pork recipe produces quite a large amount of meat and the good news is it freezes beautifully! It will keep well in your freezer for up to 1 month.
More Favourite Pork Recipes To Try :
This recipe was originally published in 11/2015. Updated and republished in 01/2021
Slow Cooker Cuban Pork
Ingredients
For the Slow Cooker Cuban Pork
- 4-5 lbs pork shoulder or leg joint
- 20 cloves of garlic
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 cup/250ml freshly squeezed orange juice
- ½ cup/125ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 medium onions
- 1 tsp oregano
- ½ cup/125ml olive oil
For the Cuban Black Beans
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 6-8 slices(100g) bacon chopped
- 1 green pepper chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp oregano
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 800g(28oz) canned black beans
- salt to taste
- 85ml/1/3 cup chicken stock
Instructions
For the Slow Cooker Cuban Pork
- In a food processor or a blender combine garlic, salt, smashed peppercorns, orange and lemon juice, onions and oregano. Process until smooth.
- Heat ½ cup of olive oil in a saucepan, the oil should be hot but not deep frying temperature hot.
- Take it off the heat and stir in the contents of the food processor and keep stirring to avoid burning.
- Pour the mixture of the pork and let it marinate overnight.
- In the morning put the pork together with the marinade in a slow cook and cook on low for 8 hours.
- At the end of cooking time pull pork with two forks and mix it well with the juices.
For the Cuban Black Beans
- In a large pan cook chopped bacon with a tablespoon of olive oil. If your bacon is very fatty omit oil.
- Add chopped onion and green pepper and cook over low hear for 7-10 minutes until tender.
- Add garlic, bay leaf, cumin and oregano and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
- Then add red wine vinegar, black beans, salt to taste and stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook on low for 15 minutes.
- Serve pork and beans with long grain rice.
Pam says
Great! The best recipe I found😋
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
That is excellent news, Pam. Thank you for sharing with me.
Suzie says
I know this is an older recipe – but PLEASE fix the error in the instructions – it says to heat ONE cup of oil, but the ingredients list is ONE HALF cup. I unfortunately took the measurement from the instructions portion, not the ingredients list, and I’m crossing my fingers it still turns out okay since I’m having people over tonight! But doubling the oil to citrus ratio obviously has me very concerned…
vikalinka says
Hi Sizie, it should turn out okay. 1 cup is the original and correct measurement. I reduced the amount later as I felt like it didn’t need that much oil.
Giju says
This post is pure gold! Every one of these recipes looks delicious, can’t wait to try them! Thank you for such an amazing post.
Mrs Rachel Heap says
I love a pulled pork dish
Mike King says
Pork and beans, what’s not to like!
Lisa James says
My that looks really yummy. Great site. Thanks for the chance xx
Jennifer Farley says
Slow cooked pork shoulder is one of my absolute favorites. This looks wonderful and I know Jeff will love it. Thank you!
Anna D Kart says
This looks amazing! I love adding cilantro to my dishes too. Thank you for sharing plus your photography is superb. Do you take your own photos?
vikalinka says
Thank you, Anna. Yes, I do. 🙂
tanya says
Made this yesterday following your recipe exactly. The black beans turned out perfect! So delicious. On the other hand, the pulled pork, not so well:( I had almost 5lb of pork loin submerged in soup like marinade. Seemed like there was way too much liquid. The pork was too tender after 8 hours of cooking on low. I had to take the pork out of the soup like marinade, pull apart and use the liquid as gravy. What went wrong??? This recipe looks so good on your pictures. Any advice? Thanks for posting.
vikalinka says
Hi Tanya, I think taking it out of the sauce might have been a mistake. We had a lot of liquid too. I pulled meat apart with two forks while it was still in the sauce and the meat absorbed all of it and turned into juicy and full of flavour deliciousness. That being said I supposed slow cookers can vary in strength and may be my “low” is higher and more liquid evaporated? I should add that my slow cooker is 6.5L capacity, so a lot surface and if yours is smaller but deeper it will retain more liquid. You can alway scoop some of it out if there was too much. I am not sure what you mean by too tender. 🙂 Cuban pork is incredibly tender and juicy meat, so it’s usually a desired outcome. Have you enjoyed the taste?
tanya says
My slow cooker is 7 quart. What I meant by too tender was that it was very close to mushy texture:/ It turned out as if the pork was boiled in soup. The flavor itself was good. I did double the salt portion though. It seemed a little too low for the amount of meat. Im thinking of maybe trying a different kind of pork cut next time and cooking it less or on high. Thanks again!
vikalinka says
I am so sorry, this didn’t turn out as you expected. I would have to agree with you on trying another cut. I would suggest either a shoulder or a leg joint. I used a leg joint and it might be why yours turned out a bit too tender/mushy. If you do go with a shoulder or a leg joint I wouldn’t reduce cooking time though. Those cuts are usually much tougher then a loin and need longer to cook. Your liquid shouldn’t come up higher than 1/4 of height of the roast, so a big part of it is exposed and that’s how you get those brown bits. 🙂
Nancy Mitchell says
Will be trying this recipe it looks delicious.
rihar swift says
I love to turn on a slow cooker, and leave overnight, that’s a meal ready for the next day. great time saver.
Hannah Hossack-Lodge says
I’ve made pulled pork several times in the oven but it is a much better idea to do it in a slow cooker, it leaves the oven free to do dessert! 😛 My fiance would go mad for this, I’ll definitely make it once I get a slow cooker
Lucy@Supergolden bakes says
Gorgeous! I love slow cooker dishes and this is a must try -will be making soon: )
Sandra Lane says
Th Cuban Pork looks lovely to eat on a cold winter evening. My old slow cooker gave up the ghost last year but I used to cook a tasty sausage casserole for the family.
Eva Vida says
I would cook pulled pork as I love it
Michael Griffin says
This sounds absolutely delicious. Ate a similar dish in Havana and would love to recreate it at home
Tudie says
My son has made Cuban pork several times and we felt there was something missing. Cuban pork is not common where we live but my sister lives in Miami and she tells me how much they enjoy it there. Will try your recipe soon. Thanks
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says
This sounds fabulous, Julia! I love figuring out how to recreate my favourite out-eats at home 🙂 Will try this soon, for sure.