Venezuelan Pernil — Homemade Christmas Roast Pork Leg Recipe

Versión en Español

Venezuelan pernil is a whole pork leg injected with a garlic and white wine brine, marinated in a blended sauce of onion, aji dulce, garlic, orange juice, red wine, prunes, and spices, and slow roasted for 5 hours until very tender. It takes 45 minutes of preparation plus 5 hours of cooking and serves 12 people.

Pernil is one of the emblematic dishes of Christmas in Venezuela. This version follows the recipe shared by the well known Venezuelan chef Sumito Estevez.

How to Make Venezuelan Pernil?

First you blend a sauce of onion, aji dulce, garlic, orange juice, spices, and more. Then the pork leg is injected with an aromatic brine, covered with the sauce, ideally marinated overnight, and roasted slowly in the oven. The cooking juices are thickened into a gravy to serve over the slices.

Nutritional Information

Each serving of Venezuelan pernil contains approximately 500 kcal, 38 g of protein, 25 g of total fat, 18 g of available carbohydrates, 13 g of sugars, and 800 mg of sodium. These values are estimates and may vary depending on ingredients and portion sizes.

Homemade Venezuelan Pernil Recipe

Preparation: 45 minutes
Cooking: 5 hours
Servings: 12 people

Ingredients

For the pernil and sauce

• 5 kg (11 lb) of pork leg
• 500 g (1.1 lb) of prunes
• 150 g (5.3 oz) of aji dulce (sweet chili peppers)
• 150 ml (5 fl oz) of Worcestershire sauce
• 20 garlic cloves
• 4 bay leaves
• 3 tablespoons of salt
• 2 onions, cubed
• 2 tablespoons of mustard
• 2 tablespoons of oregano
• 1 bottle of red wine
• 1 liter (34 fl oz) of orange juice
• 1 tablespoon of paprika
• 1 tablespoon of ground pepper
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil

For the injection

• 1 cup of white wine
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed

For the gravy

• 100 g (3.5 oz) of butter
• 6 tablespoons of flour

Instructions

1. Blend all the sauce ingredients, in two batches if needed, and combine them in a large bowl. In a small pot, heat the white wine, salt, sugar, and crushed garlic over medium heat until dissolved, strain, load it into a meat injector, and inject the pork leg several times from different angles.

2. Place the pork leg in a large roasting pan and cover it completely with the sauce. Ideally cover with plastic wrap and marinate overnight. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and roast in an oven preheated to 150 C (302 F) for 5 to 6 hours, until the meat is very tender and easy to cut. Keep the pan juices.

3. In a small pot, melt the butter over low heat, add the flour, and stir until smooth. Add some of the pan juices, mix well, and take it off the heat. Slice the pernil, return the slices to the roasting pan, pour the gravy over them, cover with foil, and reheat before serving.

Additional Tips

Marinate for up to 24 hours

For deeper flavor and juicier meat, marinate the pernil in the sauce overnight or for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator, turning it halfway through.

Brown it first

Before covering and slow roasting, brown the pernil in a very hot oven at 230 C (446 F) for about 20 minutes to caramelize the sugars of the marinade and form a flavorful crust.

Slice before reheating

Slicing the meat and reheating it in the gravy keeps every slice moist and makes serving a crowd much easier.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Which part of the pig is the pernil?

Pernil is the hind leg of the pig, including the thigh and part of the hip. It is a large, meaty piece, perfect for long cooking that yields juicy, tender meat.

2. Why inject the pork?

The brine seasons the meat from the inside and keeps it moist during the long roast, which matters with such a large piece.

3. Can I make it ahead?

Yes. Pernil is ideal made the day before: roast it, slice it, and reheat it covered in its gravy before serving.

4. What is aji dulce?

Aji dulce is a small, aromatic Venezuelan pepper with almost no heat. If you cannot find it, use red bell pepper.

What Is Pernil?

Pernil is slow roasted pork leg, a festive dish in Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and other Caribbean countries. The Venezuelan version stands out for its sweet and savory marinade with orange juice, wine, and prunes.

Pernil at Venezuelan Christmas

Pernil shares the Venezuelan Christmas table with hallacas, pan de jamon, and chicken salad. It is also eaten in sandwiches in the days after Christmas, and Venezuelan families in Chile keep the tradition alive every December.

Did You Know?

Pernil is a traditional dish of the Christmas holidays in Venezuela, and preparing it is a sign of the care and dedication families put into their celebrations.

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• Chilean Pan de Pascua Recipe
• Chilean Roasted Lomo Liso Recipe
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