Purple Cow Vineyards

Purple Cow Cuban Style Roast Pork

This is my Mom's recipe for Cuban Style roast pork, which over time I have tweaked to take advantange of more modern seasonings. The secret here is the long (36 hours preferred) marinade time, so you cant rush it!

Ingredients:

• One third cup orange juice
• One sixth cup lime or lemon juice
• One sixth cup olive oil
• One fourth cup vinegar
• 8 cloves garlic, minced/chopped fine
• One teaspoon salt
• Worcestershire sauce
• Two teaspoons basil
• One teaspoon black pepper
• Oregano to sprinkle over pork
• Cumin to sprinkle over pork
• One quarter chopped onion
• One 10 lb pork shoulder with rind -do not cut this off!

Marinade:

• Bring together all the liquids (orange and lemon/lime juice, vinegar and olive oil) in a small saucepan.
• Add one half of the chopped garlic, pepper, salt, basil and all the chopped onion.
• Add Worcestershire sauce until the sauce becomes a light brown -almost hazel- color. Usually, three/four tablespoons does it.
• Bring the marinade to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes until the onions are soft.
• Set aside and let cool
• Unwrap the pork and rinse quickly under running cold water
• Place port with fat (rind) side up and with a good knife, make 1.5" wide cuts in the rind (top only) until you just get to the meat underneath. Do not cut further into the meat.
• Place the pork in a strong plastic bag (I use two plastic cooking bags) and pour the marinade over it. Seal the bags well and place in the fridge for 36 hours, turning every four to six hours so the marinade can work its magic.

Cooking:

• Remove pork from marinade bag. Dispose of all the marinade except for one-quarter cup
• Place the pork in the roasting pan.
• Take the other half of the chopped garlic you did not use in the marinade and rub it all over the pork into every nook and crannies you can find,  including the cuts you made in the pork rind.
• Liberally sprinkle Oregano and Cumin over the pork, including rind and exposed meat areas.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Yes, I know most pork recipes call for 350 but that is too hot for our Cuban style pork.....350 will burn the rind....
• When oven in ready, place pork in oven uncovered. Plan on 45 minutes roasting time per pound.
• Halfway through the roasting time, pour the unused, reserved marinade over the pork and re-season with a sprinkle of Cumin and Oregano.

If you want to get really 'native Cuban', serve this pork with white rice and black beans -but that's another recipe altogether!

Purple Cow Tempranillo is the wine of choice for this robust, hearty, flavorful meat.

Thanks for your visit, enjoy and come back soon!

Jose I 'Galo' Galíndez
Purple Cow Vineyards

Tasting Room Hours and Location

We want to get the word out to our loyal customers.  There are some changes going on in our business plan that may result in Purple Cow establishing it's own permanent tasting room. Most likely the hours would be limited to Saturday and Sunday afternoons.  We'll post updates as soon as we know them.  In the meantime, if you plan to visit the Apolloni tasting room, please feel free to stop by our place.  It's only 200 yards further.  Even if we don't have signs up, we're always happy to pour some wine for you.

Feb 10: Pacific NW Wine Club

Jon and Galo helped celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Pacific Northwest Wine Club by pouring the 2005 Chardonnay, 2005 Pinot Noir, and 2004 Tempranillo.  It was a huge success, lots of fun, many sales, the usual indicators of a good event.  Our thanks to Dan and the rest of the PNWC organization.

Tempranillo history

Tempranillo (tem-prah-nee-yo) is the classic grape of Spain. The word ‘tempranillo’ loosely translates to ‘the early one’ because it tends to mature earlier that other red varietals and has become the premier grape of Spain’s principal wine-making regions, Rioja and Rivera del Duero.

Although less than 100 miles apart, Rioja and the Ribera del Duero - which translates to ‘Banks of the Duero’, one of Spain’s largest rivers - could not be further apart in winemaking style. Wines of the Rioja region typically blend Tempranillo with up to 25% Grenache (Garnacha) or Cabernet Sauvignon, and their blends and cooperage generally produce very robust, tannic wines with little fruit on the nose or palate.

The Ribera del Duero region has been developing in the last 20 years - a baby as far as wines are concerned. Tempranillos from the Ribera del Duero region are blended with no more than 10% of other varietals, typically Garnacha and more recently, Syrah. The wines of Ribera Del Duero show slightly softer, more refined tannin structures and much more fruit-forward nose and taste overtones, a balance that I much prefer versus the more powerful but harsher Riojas.

2005 Marechal Foch notes

This grape variety was named after Field Marshall Foch of WW I. The grape is officially known as Kuhlmann 1882 and is a cross of Goldriesleing and an American Vitis Rupestris vine.

These estate grapes were harvested in mid-September and allowed five days of cold soak followed by fermentation in  a puncheon barrel.  Only 14 cases were produced.  4 bottles are left after the Thanksgiving weekend Open House.

Marechal Foch has an intense deep ruby to purple color, offering an earthy nose and a good balance between acid and tannin.  Jammy, fruit forward with a smooth and yet slightly spicy finish, it’s a delightful alternative to Pinot and perfect for converting a white wine drinker to reds.  Suggested retail: $22.

2005 Muscat Notes

Our 2005 Muscat is our first vintage.  The grapes are estate grown.  It was a  Blue Ribbon winner at the Washington County Fair.  It tempts you with an intense peach, honey, floral nose and then surprises you with a dry, bright, crisp, almost flinty taste and structure.  We're sorry to say the  2005 is sold out, but the 2006 Muscat will be available for Memorial Day weekend release.

Free Tasting at Vino100 on 2/2/07

Galo and Jon poured wine at the Portland Vino100 from 5pm-8pm on Feb 2nd, 2007. It was such a success that they went back and did it again on the 3rd. Many thanks to Megan and Paige for their hospitality.