Baked Ham

Translated from Spanish. View the original post here

#b #food #nativity

INGREDIENTS
1 Pork leg of 5 — 6 kilos
For the marinade:
10 cloves of garlic
½ large white onion
4 bay leaves
1 tablespoonful of dried oregano
1 ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ cup fresh orange juice
½ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoonful of grain salt
Aluminum foil or oven bag
For Adobo sauce
8 Clean Ancho Peppers without seeds and deveined
6 clean pasilla peppers without seeds and deveined
2 cups of orange juice
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup of water
1 tablespoonful of grain salt
3 tablespoons melted butter
Preparation
First make small perforations to the pork leg with the help of a sharp knife so that the flavors of the marinade penetrate.
Roast garlic and onion on a griddle. Transfer the already roasted onion and garlic, along with bay leaves, oregano, black pepper, cumin, orange juice, vinegar, and salt into a blender. Blend until you have a smooth sauce, almost like a paste.
Transfer the pork leg to a large baking sheet and cover it with the previous sauce, making sure it enters the incisions and penetrates the meat. Marinate for at least 6 hours in the refrigerator.
Now to the instructions for Adobo sauce:
Toast chiles on a griddle over medium heat. Remember that this is a quick process to prevent the chilies from burning and the sauce does not become bitter.
Place the roasted chilies in a small pot and cover with water. Simmer for about 12 minutes until soft. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
Drain the chilies and place them in the blender with orange juice, vinegar and water. Blend until mixture is smooth and season with salt to taste.
When you are ready to bake the leg. Remove the pork leg from the refrigerator and let it rest at room temperature. Preheat the oven 20 minutes before cooking it to 180° C.
Using a pastry brush, spread the melted butter over the meat, making sure to cover it completely. Then cover the pork leg with half of the Adobo sauce and place it in the preheated oven. Cover the meat with foil. If you use the baking bag, be sure to close the bag and make the incisions according to the instructions on the package.
After 1 hour, turn the meat over and with a spoon cover with the juices that you have released, cook the meat for another hour and turn the leg again. Turn the meat at least twice during the cooking process. It is very important to keep the pork leg tightly covered with foil so that the meat is juicy. If you see that it is drying, add more adobo sauce.
The cooking time will depend on the size and weight of the pork leg. The average baking time is 1 hour of cooking per kilo of meat.
When meat can be easily pierced with a fork, it's almost ready. It will take approximately 5 hours. I like that the meat is very soft and juicy, it almost melts. When you see that the meat is ready, uncover and raise the oven temperature up to 225° C. Roast for about 8-10 minutes to make the meat golden brown.
Make sure you don't burn the meat. It will take only a few minutes. Remove the meat and let stand for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Place leftover juices from the baking sheet and remaining adobo sauce in a medium-sized skillet and simmer for about 8 minutes. Test to see if it is necessary to add salt and more spices than those used for the marinade if necessary. Use this sauce to serve over slices of meat when serving.