Easy Prep Ahead Recipe - Grilled Pork Shoulder with Citrusy Juice Marinade

The marinade is similar to Creole seasoning, but not quite as pungent. The pork become very tender thanks to the help of ponkan orange (mandarin orange) juice. The best part about this recipe is that you can prep ahead of time, perhaps the night before or even couple days early. Works great if you're planning to have a barbecue feast. Simply pop out the meat 30 minutes before the actual grilling time, which can definitely save you a lot of hassles when the party starts.

Grilled pork shoulder with Citrusy juice marinade - 

Ingredients (about 4 medium large pieces)?

• 500 grams pork shoulder (try to get 4 medium large pieces)
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• Some olive oil

Marinade:

• 4 tablespoons orange juice (I used ponkan orange)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3/4 cup loosely packed chopped cilantro (including the stem part)

How?

Try to marinate the pork overnight, or up to two days. 

Use a large Ziploc bag, add in the pork along with all the ingredients under the "marinade" section. For the chopped cilantro, try to use all the chopped stem section first, since the leafy part can be saved for garnish when serving.

Seal the Ziploc then massage the marinade into the meat by pressing and rotating the bag. Into the fridge during the marinating time. Remember to massage the meat once a while, at least couple times throughout the process.

When it's about time to grill the meat, remove the bag from the fridge and let it sit under room temperature for about 15 to 30 minutes.

Prepare a grill pan and turn to medium high heat. Wait till the pan turns hot. There is no need to brush any oil since we already added olive oil to the marinade.

Once the grill pan is hot enough, transfer the pork shoulder over and leave it untouched for the first couple minutes. Moving it too fast might result in the meat sticking onto the pan, or you won't get nice grill marks in the end. However, peeking is ok, just lift up the edge of the pork and see if the meat has gotten that browned marks. 

Once the meat gets a nice browning color, flip and continue to sear the other side. The meat should be just about fully cooked through with grill marks present on both sides.

Plate the meat and garnish with some chopped cilantro leaves. Also drizzle some more olive oil over if preferred.

I'd like to serve it with some hot sauce on the side, perhaps Tabasco since for its extra tang. If you don't mind too much cilantro, perhaps considering serving this grilled pork shoulder with cilantro and lime basmati rice. 

Extended reading:

• Grilled squid with cilantro and parsley pesto sauce