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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.
Need more Tex-Mex in your life? Try my Best Taco Meat recipe!
This recipe is an attempt to recreate a delicious Cuban roast pork from a 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!
Lechon Asado
Cuban roast pork 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 made by being too close to the edge of a roasting pan. Finding a few of those on your plate feels like winning a lottery!
Although traditionally roasted in an oven or even grilled in a covered grill, I was set on using a This is an affiliate link.slow cooker. It’s easy, convenient, and it makes delicious food accessible to everyone!
I thrilled to see that the pork came out beautifully. And the texture was spot on. But I wasn’t willing to compromise on the crispy bits!
One of the things you can do to re-create the crispy bits is to spread your pork on a This is an affiliate link.baking sheet and put it under a broiler (grill in the UK) for a minute or so. Watch your meat carefully, though, so it doesn’t burn!
Pork marinade
Without a doubt, the most important part of this recipe is the marinade. A mixture of citrus, onions, garlic, oregano, black peppercorns and This is an affiliate link.olive oil gives the pork incredible flavour while also tenderising it.
I leave it to marinate in my fridge overnight for the flavour to fully develop. The following morning, simply add the pork with the marinade to your This is an affiliate link.slow cooker and leave slow cooking till dinner.
Hassle free cooking at its best!
Cuban black beans
Black beans are a common feature in much of Latin American cooking and Cubans make them as well as anyone. They lie at the heart of Cuban cuisine as a flavourful, cheap and nutritious food that will compliment many other dishes.
Normally you will find it served over rice with a hit of acid from a slice of lime. The Cuban version is fairly soupy but still quite creamy and with no shortage of flavour. Of course, they can be made thicker if you prefer and will naturally thicken up if given time.
I am happy to enjoy a meal with just these Cuban black beans served over rice, but also think that they compliment slow cooked pork beautifully. And although it might not be traditional, they are amazing as a topping for a baked potato or when served with nachos!
Recipe Tips and notes
- A slow cooker makes wonderfully tender and juicy meat, but if you would like some crispy bits, spread the pork on a baking sheet and place it under the broiler (grill in the UK) for one minute or so. You will need to keep an eye on it so that it doesn’t burn!
- It’s important to choose the right cuts of meat for pulled pork recipes, and pork butt (shoulder in the UK) or leg joints are the ones to look for. These cuts have the right level of fat content to result in tender, moist meat when cooked slowly. There should also be no skin on it as it will prevent flavours from permeating the meat.
- I used a food processor in my recipe to prepare the marinade but it is not essential. You can easily do it by hand.
- While the bean recipe is not necessary to serve alongside your pork it is highly recommended!
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.
Or wrap it up in a tortilla as a truly amazing burrito filling!
If you can track down plantains, slice and fry those up and add to your pork and beans! Finish with a wedge of lime to add a citrus hit.
Storage and leftovers
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.
Or keep it in the fridge for up to four days. It’s absolutely amazing in a quesadilla! Or in the famous Cuban sandwich.
More favourite pork recipes
Slow Cooker Cuban Pork
Ingredients
For the Slow Cooker Cuban Pork
- 2kg / 4-5 lbs lbs pork butt (shoulder – UK), or leg joint
- 20 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 cup / 250ml freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1/2 cup / 125ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 medium onions
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 cup / 125ml This is an affiliate link.olive oil
For the Cuban Black Beans
- 1 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- 6-8 slices(100g / 3½oz) bacon, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 This is an affiliate link.bay leaf
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 800g / 28oz canned black beans, drained
- salt to taste
- 85ml / 1/3 cup This is an affiliate link.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 1/2 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 on the pork and let it marinate overnight. In the morning put the pork together with the marinade in a slow cooker 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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.
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?
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!
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. 🙂
Will be trying this recipe it looks delicious.
I love to turn on a slow cooker, and leave overnight, that’s a meal ready for the next day. great time saver.
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
Gorgeous! I love slow cooker dishes and this is a must try -will be making soon: )
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.
I would cook pulled pork as I love it
This sounds absolutely delicious. Ate a similar dish in Havana and would love to recreate it at home
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
This sounds fabulous, Julia! I love figuring out how to recreate my favourite out-eats at home 🙂 Will try this soon, for sure.