History
Pernil is the canonical Puerto Rican Christmas and special-occasion roast, cooked overnight from a sour-orange and garlic marinade. Central Florida absorbed massive Puerto Rican migration after Hurricane Maria in 2017 and earlier waves through the 1990s, making Orlando the largest Puerto Rican community outside the island. The eastern Colonial Drive and Semoran Boulevard corridors plus the Kissimmee John Young Parkway stretch now hold the densest lechoneras in the region. La Lechonera El Jibarito in Kissimmee and Pio Pio in Lake Eola anchor the city's pernil map.
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Make it at home
Ingredients
- 2.5kg bone-in skin-on pork shoulder
- 10 garlic cloves
- 20g kosher salt
- 5g dried oregano
- 5g freshly ground black pepper
- 60ml sour orange juice (or 2 parts orange to 1 part lime)
- 60ml olive oil
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- Rice and red beans to serve
Method
- Score the pork skin in a 1cm crosshatch pattern. With a sharp knife, cut 3cm-deep slits all over the meat side.
- Mash garlic, salt, oregano and black pepper into a paste in a mortar. Stir in sour orange, olive oil and vinegar.
- Rub the marinade deep into every slit and over the skin. Refrigerate uncovered overnight, ideally 12 hours.
- Heat oven to 165C / 325F. Place pork skin-up on a rack in a roasting pan.
- Roast 4 hours until internal temperature reaches 88C / 190F and the meat shreds easily.
- Increase oven to 220C / 425F. Roast 20 to 30 minutes more until the skin (chicharron) is deep amber and crackling.
- Rest 20 minutes. Crack off the chicharron in shards. Shred the meat with two forks.
- Serve with rice, red beans and a piece of chicharron on top.
Tip from the editors. The overnight marinate is non-negotiable. The high-heat skin finish is what turns the chicharron crackling-crisp; watch it carefully so it doesn't burn.
Where to eat pernil
Pernil in Orlando
La Lechonera El Jibarito ★ 4.5
La Lechonera El Jibarito on John Young Parkway in Kissimmee is the canonical Puerto Rican roast-pork counter, with lechon, pernil and rice plates daily.
TryPuerto Rican lechon, pernil and roast pork plates
Pio Pio Restaurant ★ 4.4
Pio Pio Restaurant on East Washington Street near Lake Eola is the Peruvian rotisserie chicken spot with pollo a la brasa, lomo saltado and tres leches cake.
SignaturePollo a la brasa, Lomo saltado
More places near La Lechonera El Jibarito and Pio Pio Restaurant
Not on this list, but close by, nearest first. Every one is in our guide with its address, hours and what to order.
- Stardust Lounge Cocktail bar, about 150 m away
- SoCo Restaurant Southern American, about 200 m away
- Graffiti Junktion Burgers, about 400 m away
- The Robinson Room Cocktail bar, about 750 m away
- Hanson's Shoe Repair Cocktail bar, about 800 m away
- Tin and Taco Taqueria, about 900 m away
More cities are in research. Want pernil covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.