roast mojo pork butt
Pork and mojo are as intertwined with Cuban culture as are congas and rum. From the moment we are old enough to eat solid foods, pork, or as we call it lechon, becomes an integral part of our culinary identity. Be it as a whole roasted suckling pig, chicharrones (crispy cracklin’), chorizos, or fried chunks called masitas–the pig is the noble animal that has fed generations with its delicious versatility and unambiguous delectability.
It is to Spain, however, that the Americas and the Caribbean owe the introduction of the magnanimous pig. Cuba was the first country in the Caribbean to be colonized by the Spaniards and due to this, Cuban food has deep-rooted ties to Spanish cuisine. Having been domesticated and used as a source of sustenance for millennia in Europe, pigs were brought by these Spanish explorers on their long journeys. De Soto, it is said, brought about 200 pigs with him on his expedition and it is believed that these were the ancestors of most now in the Americas.
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