Jazz, Blues and Cochinita Pibil on NPR

Gastronomy expert and author Dick Stein is KPLU host and producer of the “Food for Thought” feature in the Seattle Times, writer and director of the three “Jimmy Jazzoid” live radio musical comedies and record holder of 100 episodes of the “Jazz Kitchen” show. He came up with this fantastic briefing document about Cochinita Pibil, check it out!

Cochinita Pibil, the Yucatan-style roast pork, is smoked and slow roasted in banana leaves. My mistake was trying to smoke it in a gas grill. After 30 minutes over max heat my little disposable aluminum tray of wood chips was barely scorched, let alone smoking.

When I complained to Nancy Leson, she replied, “Look Stein, you just need to go buy yourself a human-size Weber grill.” By “human sized” I think she meant a grill able to accommodate big hunks of meat on one side and charcoal and wood chips on the other. At least I hope that’s what she meant.

That’s what I’ll do next time. And there will be a next time because even un-smoked that pork pack came out beyond delicious.

cochinita_pibil_the_pork_pack_unwrapped — Cochinita Pibil – The Pork Pack unwrapped (Photo: DICK STEIN / KPLU)

I’d never heard of this dish until I read about it on the Serious Eats site. But once I did it looked like so much fun to make – especially the marinade – that I had to give it a try…

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Source: http://www.kplu.org/post/food-thought-yucatan-pork-pack-revealed