When we are grieving the loss of a loved one, it’s tempting to think about their last day, especially for suicide survivors. I prefer to think about their first day, their birthday, and how we celebrated. Pablo and I made so many beautiful memories. And a lot of them included Cuban food.
I frequently see 10:23 displayed on my phone, and I saw it twice daily in the weeks after his death a little over ten years ago. I always say, “Hi, Pablo!” Because I can think that today is his birthday, and I will never forget him.
Today is his birthday.
This year, however, the day snuck up on me. Yet, it must have been on my mind last Sunday when buying deli meat at Publix. I almost said aloud, “But I want a REAL Cuban sandwich!”
So, I looked up my Cuban Pork Roast recipe after stepping away from the counter and updated my list to include bone-in pork butt and sour orange juice. Before Hurricane Helene, I had real sour orange juice in my freezer. But it didn’t survive the week without electricity.
Pablo would have used a fresh ham, but it’s just me, and I wanted something smaller. A bone-in Boston Butt is perfect. And I had seen the ‘sour orange juice’ bottle on the International Aisle at Publix. As I took it off the top shelf, I couldn’t help but look at the ingredient list: orange juice, grapefruit juice, and more that told me it wasn’t sour orange juice. But it would have to do.
My pork roast was 3.1 pounds, so it was easy to halve the ingredients.
Pablo’s Cuban Marinated Pork Recipe
6-8 lb. pork roast
12 garlic cloves, divided
¾ – 1 cup sour orange juice
1 tsp. ground oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste
½ – 1 cup Spanish (white) cooking wine
1 onion, sliced
Start 1-2 days before serving. Peel and crush all of the cloves of garlic. Use the point of a sharp knife to make deep slits all over the meat. Combine garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Insert garlic mix into slits in the meat, pushing down with your finger. Put meat in a large Ziploc bag and pour citrus juice and wine over the roast. Place the onion slices on the meat. Let the roast marinate in the refrigerator for 8-24 hours, turning occasionally.
When ready to roast, preheat oven to 325°F. Line a roasting pan with a large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place meat with fat side up onto the center of the foil. Pour the marinade over the meat and create a pouch with the foil to keep the steam and the marinade in. Roast until internal temperature reaches 170°F (approximately 35-40 min/lb.). Allow the meat to rest for 15-20 minutes. A boneless roast may require an additional 5-10 minutes/lb. to cook properly. Reheat in a 300°F oven for 45 – 60 minutes until warmed through.
How did it turn out?
This was the best Cuban roast pork I have ever made. I cooked it an hour longer than the recipe called for, which seemed to be a good thing. The meat is tender and flavorful.
Last night, I had a plate of pork, black beans, and white rice. Today, I made a Cuban sandwich. Both times, I raised my glass to Pablo. And then, I spent some time remembering our times together and his stories, which always made me laugh. The stories often revolved around fishing.
I also remember us sitting at Heathrow Airport’s Havana Club Rum bar. It was good rum, but it came with bittersweet memories. Pablo was born in Havana. One uncle worked in the cigar industry, and another uncle was an executive with Bacardi. The entire family fled in the early 1960s after Castro came into power. None of them settled in Miami. At first, their new lives began in Tampa, Florida, with the cigar factory and Bermuda, the new home of Bacardi.
In the early days of our relationship, when we got together for dinner with his parents in Tampa, making a pitcher of frozen Bacardi Daiquiris was guaranteed.
Later, when Mojitos became the rage, I asked him why we didn’t make them. He said no one in his parents’ circle drank them in Havana. It was always daiquiris.
I can’t remember the last time I made daiquiris, can you?
