Heavenly Springs

Holding Fast The Doctrines of Grace

  • About
  • The Doctrines of Grace
  • My Puerto Rican Grandmother
  • Women of the Reformation
  • Resources & Links
You are here: Home / Christmas / A Puerto Rican Christmas: How to cook pernil

A Puerto Rican Christmas: How to cook pernil

December 9, 2010 by Christina

So, I finally broke down and paid a little extra for the video upgrade.  That means you can expect to see a lot more videos on Heavenly Springs since I am determined to get my money’s worth!

With Christmas approaching, I thought I’d post on a few traditional Puerto Rican classics.  The first is pernil  (pronounced per-neel).  Pernil is a “pork shoulder picnic” that is slow roasted and seasoned to perfection with spices like garlic, oregano, sazon, adobo, olive oil and sofrito. Sofrito, by the way, is the base for most Puerto Rican dishes. It is very simple to make and it will mean the difference if you truly want to cook authentic Puerto Rican food.

One of the best things about the pernil is the crunchy skin that Puerto Ricans refer to as chicharrones.  Yes, I realize that this is terribly unhealthy but that’s really not a concern for most Puerto Ricans! As Elba, who I am about to introduce to you explains, family members in Puerto Rican households will literally fight over these crusty pieces!

Now, I’d like to introduce you to Elba.  I discovered her on You Tube. Not that she was waiting for me to discover her, but you understand what I mean.  At any rate, I think she is pretty wonderful!

In the first video, Elba will teach you how to make pernil.  But remember, you must make the sofrito first! The second video will teach you how to do that!

Buen provecho!  Next week I will post on arroz con gandules!

Share this:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit

Filed Under: Christmas, Puerto Rico, Recipes

Comments

  1. Jeff Peterson says

    December 9, 2010 at 9:27 am

    Hmm….may have to take a swing at this….

    Funny how the people who added the WordPress snow don’t have sufficient snow of their own. We could send you ours if you’d like. Watch the Weather Channel. We’re in one of those places in Northern Michigan that Jim Cantore is ranting about every winter that gets “lake effect snow” like Buffalo.

    The LAST thing I need is snow on my blog….

    • Christina says

      December 9, 2010 at 9:58 am

      How funny, Jeff! You are right! We still haven’t had a good snowfall here in Brooklyn! I even contacted WordPress to find out if there was a way to increase the speed of the snowfall? Unfortunately it is one speed for all!

      If you do make the pernil, please let me know how it turns out!

      Blessings!

  2. Jeff Peterson says

    December 9, 2010 at 10:02 am

    Increase the speed of the snow? You have GOT to be kidding.

    See our local forecast. The snow falls plenty swiftly here: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=49706&wuSelect=WEATHER

    • Christina says

      December 9, 2010 at 10:15 am

      Brrr….ice pellets on Friday. How lovely.

      But, on a more upbeat note, I did read that your forecast for today is actually warmer than yesterday! Haha!

  3. Petra Hefner says

    December 9, 2010 at 10:24 am

    Jeff might want to ignore the snow and roast some pernil, it looks delicious!!! Now I need to figure out some of these ingredients… any recipe with more than 5 basic ingredients scares me to death! (But I can build a snowman.) And where does the green stuff go? I know I need a lot of help/prayers (or dinner invitation)! 🙂

    Blessings!

    • Jeff Peterson says

      December 9, 2010 at 10:31 am

      I’d ignore the snow if I didn’t have to shove it aside to get in the house and out of the house……hmph..

      RE: “Warmer.” Not to be confused with “warm,” eh?

      • Christina says

        December 9, 2010 at 10:44 am

        Jeff, I think you put on the oven and roast a pernil. The warmth and the delicious aroma of the pork will help take the edge off — make you forget about all the shoveling!

    • Christina says

      December 9, 2010 at 10:38 am

      Petra, you can do it! It is so easy! I promise you!

      And, when you say “green stuff” you mean the sofrito, right? LOL! Watch the video! You will be a pro in no time!

      • Petra Hefner says

        December 9, 2010 at 10:05 pm

        Easy? Oh boy, I need an ingredient dictionary for dummies! 😀

    • Christina says

      December 9, 2010 at 10:14 pm

      Oh, Petra! That’s ridiculous! You are one of the most brilliant people I know! A little old pernil is not going to scare you! : ) YOU CAN DO IT!

  4. Jeff Peterson says

    December 9, 2010 at 10:50 am

    Uhhh…once you get past 50 you NEVER forget when you shovel.

    Although, pork does have many healing qualities. Our kids raised hogs for 4-H when they were of age (approx. 1992-2006).

  5. Becky says

    December 9, 2010 at 10:57 am

    Gracias por publicar esta receta.

    I need to try it!

    Mucho cariño para ti.

    • Christina says

      December 9, 2010 at 11:10 am

      You are very welcome, Becky! I know that it will be delicious if you make it! Y gracias por el carino! Te quiero mucho mi hermana!

  6. persis says

    December 9, 2010 at 3:29 pm

    Looks delicious. What are the little vegetables on top of the peppers at the beginning of the sofrito video? Are those tomatillos?

    • Christina says

      December 9, 2010 at 3:42 pm

      Si! Son tomatillos!

      They are kind of tart…although I can’t play the video here at work to be certain but I’m guessing because that is one of the ingredients for sofrito.

      Glad you made it back home! : )

    • Christina says

      December 9, 2010 at 7:04 pm

      Persis — Elba used aji dulce which is sweet peppers. No tomatillos in her recipe but you certainly could include it, as many in fact do!

  7. Diane says

    December 10, 2010 at 9:17 pm

    Oh Yum, Yum, double Yum! Christina. I doubt I could even find sazon, adobo, or sofrito in Carson City, Nevada but if we ever come out there would make it for me????? 🙂

    How fun to upload videos on your blog now. Looking forward to more!

    Much love you my friend!
    Diane

    • Christina says

      December 11, 2010 at 11:52 am

      Diane,

      If you came to visit me in New York I would make you anything you wanted. In fact, I would even break the cardinal rule of Italian cooking and make pasta that was NOT al dente just for Robert! 🙂

      Love and blessings in abundance!

  8. Elba says

    December 11, 2010 at 11:14 am

    Hi Christina,
    Thank you again for posting my videos on your blog, I was so honored and touched. I see that you have lots of nice comments already. I linked your blog site to all my subscribers and friends on my You Tube channel and asked them to make sure they read the story about your grand mother.

    Feel free to share the gift of cooking with your Facebook and Twitter friends also.

    To God Be The Glory,

    Elba

    • Christina says

      December 11, 2010 at 11:50 am

      Oh, Elba,

      The honor was mine to be able to post your cooking videos on my blog. They are simply wonderful. And, an added blessing is the joy of finding out that you are not just a good cook but a dear sister in the Lord! Talk about unexpected! More and more I see that it is God who directs our steps, not us!

      Early next week I will post on arroz con gandules and also a desert! I will ask my friends, on that post, to subscribe to your You Tube Channel and also your blog!

      Lord bless you today! And I couldn’t agree more…To God be the glory!

  9. Teresa says

    December 12, 2010 at 11:03 pm

    If I can find all the ingredients Christina I am going to try (this could be amusing) to make this! Love Elba! I am going to have fun watching all your videos now….and these recipes are making me hungry. God bless!

    • Christina says

      December 13, 2010 at 7:57 am

      Teresa, let me know if you do make it. I know that you a knack for cooking and so it won’t take long for you get to the swing of it! Even if you are a blanquita! LOL!! Much love to you my dear friend!

Trackbacks

  1. A Puerto Rican Christmas: How to make arroz con gandules plus a testimony! « Heavenly Springs says:
    December 12, 2010 at 9:43 pm

    […] first, I have to share a testimony with you! Last week I posted two videos from a cooking channel called Elbacooks4u. I sent Elba, the host of the channel, an email to tell […]

Categories

Grab a Button!




Recent Posts

  • Yes, you are unworthy!
  • Margaret Clarkson on Human Weakness and the Power of God
  • Crisis, Christ, and Confidence Episode 5: Coronavirus – A Call for the Church to Rise
  • O For A Faith That Will Not Shrink
  • Crisis, Christ, and Confidence Episode 4: Coronavirus, the King of Conspiracies?

Recent Comments

  • Laura A Matesi on My Puerto Rican Grandmother
  • Rose Ali on Resources & Links
  • Liz Blanco on Resources & Links
  • Christina on Resources & Links
  • Liz Blanco on Resources & Links

Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.