Mojo criollo

Ingredients

The garlic base

• 1whole head of garlic
• about 12 cloves, peeled
• 2 teaspoonssalt
• 2 teaspoonsground cumin
• 1 teaspoondried oregano
• 1 teaspoonblack pepper

The oil

• 200 mlolive oil
• or a mix of olive and neutral oil

The citrus

• 200 mlsour orange juice
• naranja agria
• or 130 ml orange juice with 70 ml lime juice

Sometimes added

• 1onion, thinly sliced
• 1bay leaf
• a pinch of chilli

To serve over

• roast pork
• boiled yuca
• fried plantain
• grilled meat or fish

Directions

1. Juice hitting very hot oil spits badly. Let the oil cool for a minute or two. Do not reduce it out of caution. Peel all of the garlic cloves. Crush each clove lightly with a knife. Put all of the garlic into a mortar. Add all of the measured salt to it. Pound them together into a paste. Add the cumin to the garlic paste.
2. Add the oregano and the black pepper. Work them all into the garlic paste. Crumble it between your fingers as it goes in. Pour the oil into a small pan. Heat it over a steady medium heat. It should be hot but not smoking at all. Put the garlic paste in a heatproof bowl.
3. Pour all of the hot oil over it. Stir it as the foaming settles. Use a bowl large enough for the foaming. Pour the oil away from yourself. Hot oil that foams over burns badly.
4. Set the bowl on a stable surface first. The garlic itself should stay pale. Start again if it does go dark. Let the mixture cool for a minute or two. It must cool before the citrus goes in. Juice hitting very hot oil spits violently. Two full minutes is quite enough.
5. Pour in the sour orange juice. Stir it thoroughly through the oil. Oil and juice do not stay combined. Stir it again just before serving. Add thinly sliced onion to the warm mixture. The warm oil softens the onion slightly. Taste the mojo and adjust the salt. It should be sharply sour first.
6. Add more citrus if it tastes too oily. Add more oil if it is too sharp. Add salt until the flavours come forward. Salt is what makes the other flavours read. An undersalted mojo tastes flat and thin. Add it a little at a time and taste. Let the mojo stand for an hour. It is better after an hour than immediately.
7. Stir it well before you pour it. Pour it generously over roast pork. Or pour it over hot boiled yuca. Rub it into pork before roasting. Give it several hours or overnight. Keep some back to pour over at the end. It keeps a week in the refrigerator. Shake or stir it before each use.

Technique

• Hot oil is poured over the mashed raw garlic rather than the garlic being fried: frying browns it, and browned garlic tastes nutty and bitter where mojo wants it pungent and sharp. The oil should be hot but not smoking, and the garlic should stay pale — if it browns, the oil was too hot and it is worth starting again.
• Let the oil cool a minute or two before the citrus goes in, since juice hitting very hot oil spits violently and loses its fresh flavour. Use a bowl large enough for the foaming and pour away from yourself.
• A whole head of garlic is not a mistake — Cuban mojo is meant to be strongly garlicky and that intensity is the point. Mash it with the salt in a mortar, where the grains grind against the cloves and break them down far better than chopping.

Substitutions

• Two parts orange juice to one of lime approximates sour orange, though it lacks the particular bitter aroma.
• A blender does the mashing faster, though a mortar gives a better texture.

Variations

• Thinly sliced onion added to the warm mixture softens slightly and flavours the sauce as it sits.
• It is used as a marinade for pork as well as a sauce; keep some back to pour over at the end.
• Oil and juice separate as it stands, which is normal — stir it again before serving.

History

Built on the bitter orange the Spanish brought to the Caribbean; it seasons Cuba’s roast pork and gives yuca con mojo its name.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mojo criollo?

Mojo criollo is a sauce & condiment from Cuba: garlic, sour orange and cumin sauce poured over pork and yuca. Built on the bitter orange the Spanish brought to the Caribbean; it seasons Cuba’s roast pork and gives yuca con mojo its name.

How long does Mojo criollo take to make?

Mojo criollo takes 15 minutes of preparation and 5 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 400 ml. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Mojo criollo?

Yes, within limits. Two parts orange juice to one of lime approximates sour orange, though it lacks the particular bitter aroma. A blender does the mashing faster, though a mortar gives a better texture.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mojo criollo?

Juice hitting very hot oil spits badly. Let the oil cool for a minute or two. Do not reduce it out of caution. Peel all of the garlic cloves. Crush each clove lightly with a knife. Put all of the garlic into a mortar. Add all of the measured salt to it. Pound them together into a paste. Add the cumin to the garlic paste.