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    Home » Mexican Christmas Food

    PORK LEG ROAST Mexican Pierna de Cerdo

    Published: Nov 8, 2016 · Modified: May 25, 2022 by Laura Muller

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    This post is also available in: Español

    This mexican Pork Leg Roast or Pierna de Puerco en inglés is a most have during any dinner celebration. This is a traditional recipe for a pork leg roast for Navidad or Año Nuevo in Mexican homes and there are different adobos to marinate it.

    In the process to make this pierna de puerco we are making some small wholes in the meat that we are going to fill with a mixture of prunes, almonds, pecans and dried apricots. This is call mechar la carne. We are going to brine the pork meat in a mixture of fruit juices and white wine.

    The result is an oven roasted pork leg juicy, tender and simply espectacular. The best part is that the ingredients we are using you probably have them at home.

    MEXICAN CARNE MECHADA

    We are getting into some hispanic culinary culture in here. In Mexico and Spain mechar carne o puerco mechado is to make wholes with a knife in the meat and the fill those wholes with dried fruits, nuts, or as many food ideas you can imagine.

    In Venezuela, Cuba an other hispanic countries they call carne mechada to the shredded beef. This recipe is made by a mexican mom living in Chicago so we are making wholes in that pork leg!

    HOW TO CLEAN A PORK LEG

    The easiest way to start preparing a leg of pork is when you order it at the butcher shop, ask the butcher to remove the skin. The pork leg is covered in a thick layer of fat.

    Also ask the butcher to give you an extra bag where they put the legs (they are large plastic bags and we will use it to marinate the leg)

    If you already have the leg at home, remove part of the fat layer with a knife and if you don’t have a bag you can marinate on a tray.

    PORK LEG ROAST RECIPE AND MARINATE

    The marinade is the secret to having a delicious leg of pork full of flavor and super moisture. This time I am going to teach you how to make a marinade in fruit juice and white wine.

    stuffed pork loin

    Check out this other recipe with pork Stuffed Pork Loin in Prunes sauce

    The technique that I use to marinate any of my animal proteins is to leave them marinating in a bag. For this recipe you can use the same bag that they put the leg in or one of those Reynolds oven bags that they sell to prepare turkey in the oven at Christmas.

    You can also use the traditional tray and go soaking. If you do it in a tray, cover it well with plastic or aluminum so that the meat does not dry out.

    STEP BY STEP FOR THE PERFECT MARINADE

    Place the leg in the plastic bag and add the marinade. Close the bag and turn so that it goes through the entire leg.

    Paso a paso para el marinado perfecto

    Place in the refrigerator and let it rest. Every time you open the fridge, flip the pork leg so it can marinate from everywhere.

    Paso 2 para el marinado perfecto
    • If you marinate it on a tray, remember to cover the meat well every time you bathe the pork leg with the juice so that it does not dry out.
    • Marinate the leg for a whole night. If you don’t need it to be cooked sooner try at least to marinate for two hours.

    MARINADE RECIPE FOR BAKED PORK LEG

    • 1 cup canned pineapple juice (the syrup)
    • 1 cup of orange juice
    • 1 cup of white wine (optional)
    • 1 tablespoon of cumin
    • ½ tablespoon of thyme
    • 1 tablespoon of black pepper
    • 1 tablespoon of salt
    • 7 cloves of garlic

    Blend all the ingredients to bring the flavors together and this is the marinade for our pork. White wine is optional.

    Before putting pork leg in the bag to marinate, make holes with a knife in the meat. About 1 centimeter long so that the marinade enters and then we will use those same hole to tuck the leg.

    INGREDIENTS TO MECHAR EL CERDO

    • 12 prunes
    • ¼ cup pecans
    • ¼ cup of almonds
    • 12 dried apricots
    • 100 grams or 3.5 oz of bacon

    Pass it through the food processor or blender to grind a little and mix the ingredients.

    Como mechar una pierna de puerco

    Take the mixture and fill in the slits that we had made in the pork and fill them with the loaf that we just made.

    Paso 3 para mechar una pierna de puerco

    HOW LONG TO COOK PORK LEG ROAST

    The trick is to keep it moist but at the same time let the leg take on the roasted flavor. Many people bake it covered in foil but that gives the effect of a steamed pork leg.

    BEST WAY TO COOK A PORK LEG

    • Have the oven set at 450 Fahrenheit or 232 Centigrade.
    • At the base where you are going to bake the leg of pork, place two cups of water.
    • Place the leg on the base and bathe with the marinade, reserve half of the marinade (we are going to use the same one in which the leg was marinated)
    • Place the uncovered leg in the oven at 450f for 30 minutes
    • Remove the leg after 30 minutes, flip over and bathe with the rest of the marinade.
    • Put the leg back in the oven for another 30 minutes.
    • Take out the leg and cover with aluminum foil and bake for 2 hours at 360 ° Fahrenheit  or 180 ° Celsious.

    HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT IT IS READY

    A very easy way to know if your pork leg is already cooked is to check the bone. If the bone has separated from the meat, it means that it is already cooked. You can also bury a knife and make sure that the juice that comes out of the leg is transparent, if it comes out red it still lacks cooking.

    VARNISHED OR GLAZED FOR JUICY PORK LEG

    To give the final touch to our juicy roast leg in the oven, we are going to varnish it so that in addition to being delicious it is beautiful. This is a simple recipe to glaze the leg for a final touch of flavor.

    INGRIDIENTS

    • ¼ cup soy sauce
    • ½ cup of honey
    • ½ orange

    Mix the ingredients very well and with a kitchen brush or a spoon, place the mixture over the entire surface of the leg.

    Pierna al horno | Las recetas de Laura

    HOW TO DECORATE AND SERVE A PORK LEG

    I used pineapple slices in syrup and a cherry in the center after placing the glaze and I put it in the oven for an extra 10 minutes for the flavors to settle and the pineapples take on a little color.

    • Author
    • Recent Posts
    Laura Muller
    Laura Muller is a trilingual Mexican mom living in the city of Chicago. Laura started her YouTube channel Las Recetas de Laura more than 10 years ago to teach people how to cook Mexican food in a healthier way. Laura's recipes are specialized for people with diabetes and high cholesterol. Laura promotes healthy eating for every body size and talks about her own experience dealing with being overweight and how people of any size can have an active and healthy life.

    Laura creates content in Spanish and English for a community of over 3 million followers and has been recognized as one of the most influential Latinas in the US, Latinos 40 under 40 in Chicago.
    Latest posts by Laura Muller (see all)
    • Tacos de Barbacoa - January 13, 2023
    • Caldo de Pollo Authentic Recipe - January 2, 2023
    • Mexican Shrimp Cocktail - June 6, 2022

    More Mexican Christmas Food

    • STUFFED PORK LOIN WITH PLUMS IN RED WINE SAUCE
    • EASY HOLIDAY TRIMMINGS
    • GRAVY FROM SCRATCH FOR OVEN-BAKED TURKEY
    • HOW TO MAKE A STEP BY STEP BAKED TURKEY FOR BEGINNERS DELICIOUS AND JUICY

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Margarita Pecina says

      December 29, 2020 at 6:50 pm

      Ya me andaba dando algo pq no encontraba tu receta de la pierna. Llevamos haciéndola 2 años en esta fecha y queda súper deliciosa. Si es mucho trabajo pq no estamos acostumbrados a hacer grandes cantidades, pero estas son ocasiones especiales y la vdd vale la pena. Gracias por compartir.

      Reply
      • Laura Muller says

        December 29, 2020 at 8:59 pm

        Me hicíste reír ¡Qué bueno que la encontraste! aquí andamos para cualquier cosa ¿con que la van a acompañar? ;echale un ojo a el espaguetti de crema con jalapeño.

    2. Sam says

      December 29, 2020 at 5:22 pm

      La pierna de puerco es ahumada o cruda?

      Reply
      • Laura Muller says

        December 29, 2020 at 5:34 pm

        cruda

    3. Morita says

      November 27, 2019 at 6:27 pm

      Hola solo quisiera saber si las nuecesy la ciruela él tocino pueden introducirse en la pierna con pequeños orificios…. Nunca la he hecho, solo la he probaado…. X q si solo se me ocurre….

      Reply
      • Laura Muller says

        November 27, 2019 at 6:29 pm

        Claro! si te gusta que se sienta así la textura de los trocitos puedes ponerlos así

    4. IRENE says

      December 30, 2018 at 1:50 pm

      Riquisima! Yo la hize para Navidad 2017 y fue un exito!

      Reply
    5. Sandra says

      December 23, 2018 at 10:50 pm

      Me parece deliciosa , y con que salsa se sirve .?

      Reply
    6. Sonia Luz says

      December 19, 2017 at 3:14 pm

      Hola, me llamo Sonia, soy ecuatoriana de Guayaquil
      Apenas vi la foto de la pierna me enloqueció
      Y me dije, Sonia, esta es la que necesitas, ya la tengo en maceración
      El día sábado 23 la meto al horno
      Te mando foto, para que veas cómo me ha quedado
      Ya que el olor y el sabor, no lo puedas degustar, es una gran pena
      Que tengas una Feliz Navidad ?? ?

      Reply
    7. MARTHA ALICIA MARTINEZ GARCIA says

      November 23, 2017 at 11:32 pm

      me gustan tus recetas,son muy fáciles y lista para hacervel pavo y pierna ahora en diciembre ,es la navidad mas hermosa porque voy a cocinar

      Reply
    8. Maria esther almeida says

      July 19, 2017 at 4:46 pm

      Es una excekente y deluciosa receta felucitaciones

      Reply
    9. Yolanda says

      December 23, 2016 at 12:30 am

      Hola una pregunta el tocino lo lícito cocido o sin cocinar gracias

      Reply
      • Laura-Muller says

        December 29, 2016 at 10:45 pm

        sin cocinar, ve en el video la receta con instrucciones en donde explico los pasos!

    10. Elizabeth hernandez says

      December 22, 2016 at 7:49 pm

      Gracias es la primera vez q voy a prepararla,c ve fácil d preparar ojalá y m kede rica y bonita como a ti…Un abrazo y adelante t deseo mucho éxito..

      Reply
      • Laura-Muller says

        December 29, 2016 at 10:45 pm

        un abrazo, espero que te haya quedado deliciosa!! Si tienes fotos mandamelas por facebook para compartirlas! Feliz Navidad!

    11. lucy says

      December 07, 2016 at 7:50 pm

      La preparare para esta navidad, gracias por compartir

      Reply
      • Laura-Muller says

        December 29, 2016 at 10:52 pm

        como te quedo?! Espero que la hayas disfrutado mucho! Un abrazo y feliz navidad

    12. maru says

      November 19, 2016 at 4:01 am

      Gracias se ve muy rica y la haremos . Gracias y adelante y exito.

      Reply
    13. Tere says

      November 16, 2016 at 9:10 pm

      Se ve muy rica
      la hare en navidad

      Reply
    14. lidia says

      November 16, 2016 at 11:48 am

      Gracias por cimpartir esta receta, la pondré en practiva…

      Reply

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    Laura Muller mexican food by laura recipes

    Hola, I'm Laura! Welcome to my Mexican recipes! I am a Mexican mom living in the city of Chicago. I love to share about my culture, our adventures around the city, tips for raising bilingual and bi-cultural children… and of course, turn traditional Mexican dishes into a healthier version for your family and mine. You can find all my content in English & Español.

    More about me →

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