Test kitchen manager Juli Roberts celebrates summer with a barbecue featuring the bold flavors and bright colors of her mother’s native country.
My mother was born in Cuba, but fled the island country with her mom and her sister in 1959. She’s always shared her heritage with us through food and through connections with the large Cuban community in Queens, New York, where my brother and I grew up. When we were kids, my parents would take us to Cuban gatherings in Flushing Meadows Park, where we’d gorge on traditional foods.
Now that I’m married with kids of my own, I’m the one who hosts our multigenerational family gatherings, serving the same dishes we enjoyed in Flushing Meadows, like a refreshing pineapple and avocado salad and congri, the most soothingly delicious food you’ll ever eat, even though it’s simply beans and rice.
The centerpiece of the meal is a slow-cooked pork shoulder bathed in a garlicky, citrusy mojo, which could be called Cuba’s national sauce. The rest of the meal is served family-style. As the platters are passed around, there are a dozen different conversations going on, yet somehow everyone’s involved in all of them. It gets a little quieter only when the plates are full and we’re too busy eating to talk (at least not quite as much, anyway).
Menu Timeline
2 days ahead:
- Make the congri (do not add the cilantro) and refrigerate in a covered container.
- Make and freeze the ice cream.
1 day ahead:
- Prep the pork with the mojo. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
9 hours ahead:
- Remove the pork from the refrigerator and set up your grill.
8 hours ahead:
- Begin cooking the pork.
- Rim the cocktail glasses and put them in the freezer.
2 hours ahead:
- Cook the reserved mojo from the pork with the onion, olive oil, and lemon juice.
- Fry the plantains; set aside uncovered at room temperature.
1 hour ahead:
- Make the avocado-pineapple salad
- Make the boiled yuca
- When the pork is done, remove from the grill and tent with foil.
As guests arrive:
- Make the cocktails.
- Cut the pork cracklings into pieces and serve.
Just before dinner:
- Reheat the congri in a microwave. Stir in the cilantro and drizzle with olive oil.
- Reheat the plantains in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes.
Shopping List
The Hemingway Special recipe has been scaled up in the shopping list to make 10 servings
Fresh Produce
- 1 small pineapple (about 2-1/2 lb.)
- 2 medium grapefruits
- 2 medium oranges
- 8 large lemons (1/4 cup per lemon)
- 16 limes (2 Tbs. juice per lime)
- 4 very ripe, dark-brown plantains (2 lb.)
- 1 large Florida avocado or 2 medium Hass avocados
- 1 large red bell pepper
- 1 medium and 2 small red onions
- 1 medium white onion
- 6 bulbs (65 cloves) garlic
- 1 habanero chile
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro
- 1 small bunch fresh oregano
Meat & Dairy
- 1 6- to 8-lb. bone-in, skin-on pork shoulder
- 4 strips bacon
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 oz. cream cheese
Other Groceries
- 3 lb. frozen, peeled yuca
- 1 lb. dried black beans
- 3 cups long-grain white rice
- 1-1/4 cups turbinado (“raw”) sugar
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 6 oz. (about 1/2 cup) guava paste or guava jelly, preferably Goya brand
- 20 fl. oz. white rum, preferably Havana Club Añejo 3 años
- 10 fl. oz. maraschino liqueur
- Ice cream cones or “cigar” cookies (optional)
- 1 jar maraschino cherries
Pantry Staples
- 2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbs. dried oregano
- 2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 bay leaf
- Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
- Vegetable or canola oil
- Kosher salt
- Black peppercorns
