Chilean roast pernil — marinated pork leg, slow oven and crackling skin

1 ✓

Score the skin and pierce the meat

Pat the leg dry with paper towels; do not rinse it, because the water splashes bacteria around the kitchen. With a very sharp knife or a utility knife with a new blade, score the skin in a diamond pattern every 2 cm, cutting through the skin and into the fat without reaching the meat: that way the fat renders in the oven, the adobo reaches the meat and the skin cuts into clean pieces at the end. On the parts without skin, push the tip of the knife in 10 to 12 times, about 3 cm deep: in such a thick piece, those pockets carry the adobo toward the center.

2 ✓

Make the adobo

Crush the garlic cloves with a teaspoon of the salt in a mortar, or chop them very finely and press them with the flat of the knife, until you have a paste: the salt works as an abrasive and releases the garlic's aroma. In a bowl, mix the paste with the rest of the salt, the pepper, the cumin, the oregano rubbed between your palms, the paprika and the merkén. Add the white wine, vinegar and oil and stir into a thick sauce. The wine and vinegar bring acidity and aroma; the salt is what seasons the meat from within while it rests.

3 ✓

Rub and marinate for 12 to 24 hours

Rub the adobo all over the meat, push it with your fingers into the pockets and the cuts, and leave only a thin layer on the skin: too much liquid stops it from crackling at the end. Set the leg skin side up in a deep dish that fits in your fridge, pour any leftover adobo around it, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate, on the bottom shelf, for 12 to 24 hours; once or twice, spoon the liquid that collects in the dish over the meat (not the skin). If you can, remove the wrap for the last 4 to 6 hours: the skin dries out and puffs up better later.

4 ✓

Set up the pan on a bed of onion

Take the leg out of the fridge 1 hour before roasting (never more than 2 hours) and heat the oven to 165 °C (330 °F) with the rack in the lower part. Spread the onion slices in a large, deep roasting pan, pour in the water and the marinating liquid, and set the leg on top, skin side up: the onion lifts it off the bottom and flavors the juices. Cover the pan with two layers of foil, tightly sealed at the edges. The trapped steam cooks the leg in a moist environment for hours, so the meat turns tender without drying out.

5 ✓

Roast covered at 165 °C

Roast for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes per kilo: 4 and a half to 5 and a half hours for 4.5 kg. Every hour, lift a corner of the foil carefully, because very hot steam comes out, baste the meat with the pan juices using a ladle and seal it again. If the bottom dries out, add half a glass of hot water: those juices must not burn, because later they moisten the sliced meat.

6 ✓

Check the temperature with a thermometer

From the 4-hour mark, measure the thickest part of the leg with a kitchen thermometer, without touching the bone. This recipe aims for 85-90 °C (185-195 °F): at that temperature, after hours in the oven, much of the collagen in the leg has turned into gelatin, the meat pulls apart with a fork and the bone moves when you twist it. If it reads lower, seal the foil again and check every 30 minutes; a very thick piece can need up to an hour more. The safe minimum is much lower, but at that point the leg stays firm and slices rather than falling apart.

7 ✓

Uncover and crackle the skin at 220 °C

Take out the pan, remove the foil and turn the oven up to 220 °C (430 °F). While it heats, ladle most of the pan juices into a pot and set them aside, and pat the skin dry with paper towels: if the juices stay in the pan, their steam softens the skin. Roast uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes, until the skin is golden, blistered and sounds crisp when you tap it with a spoon. Keep an eye on it from 15 minutes, because the paprika burns quickly and turns bitter; if one area browns first, cover it with a piece of foil.

8 ✓

Rest for 20 to 30 minutes

Move the leg to a large board and let it rest for 20 to 30 minutes uncovered, because foil would trap steam and soften the skin. During that time the temperature evens out and the juices settle back into the meat, so they do not end up on the board when you cut it. Meanwhile, skim the fat off the reserved juices with a spoon, heat them and taste for salt.

9 ✓

Carve and serve

First remove the skin with a serrated knife and cut it into pieces. Slice the meat thinly against the grain, or pull it apart around the bone with two forks, and moisten it with a little of the hot juices. For sandwiches, split marraqueta rolls, fill them with meat and juices and add pebre, avocado mashed with salt or sliced tomato. On the plate, serve the meat with pieces of crackling, papas mayo and ensalada chilena.