Ahh pork. The one meat I grew up on exclusively. Sure, there were occasions for chicken and even rarer occasions for beef, but the majority of the time we had pork. I mean, I grew up in a Cuban household. That means you have pork rinds, pork chunks, pork belly, pork loins and pork chops on rotation, constantly! It was definitely delicious, but sometimes, we had it too often.
To add to it all, family parties, Christmas and Thanksgiving (including holidays like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day) included a whole roast pig. I mean, we roast it in what we call a “caja china” which translates to Chinese box. I do not know why it is called that, but it is a long wooden box where it cooks over the course of the day. Well, when it is ready, we all pick off the crispy pork skin until it is gone and then sit down to eat rice beans and pork or pulled pork sandwiches. Served with a side of sweet fried plantains or Cuban bread, we had meals for the whole week! We definitely over did it and I was certain I would never cook pork again… until I came across this recipe!
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