Recipe: Cuban Mojo for Koo

Hi Koo:-) I found these recipes for Mojo for you. One is from Taste of Cuba.com, and the other is from icuban.com. I am not Cuban, nor have I tried Gina's recipe but I would think that these recipes are close to the bottled Mojo that you can find in grocery stores, in some areas of the country. I have seen Goya brand in the grocery stores here, and I'm pretty sure that it had oregano in it. The first recipe listed below, doesn't call for any. If I were to use that recipe, I would definitely add some. Hopefully, though, Gina will see your post and then give you a "tried and true" recipe for it. Hope this helps you.

First some discussion about Mojo:
Jorge Castillo: There are many variations of mojo sauce. It is the signature marinade of Cuba and it finds its way into many different dishes.

Ra l Musibay: Many mojo sauces do not include oil. When you are roasting a pig, the oil is not necessary -- there's plenty of fat in the pig!

Glenn Lindgren: However, for chicken, fish, beef, and so on, a mojo sauce with oil will help prevent the meat from drying out in the marinade.

Ra l Musibay: Cubans also call mojo by its diminutive -- "mojito." This can be confusing to some, because there is a drink of the same name.

Jorge Castillo: With oil or without, the key element is sour orange, the almost bitter Seville orange that grows throughout Cuba. Many Cubans have their own sour orange trees in South Florida - some from seeds smuggled out of Cuba.

Cuban Mojo sauce recipe from icuban.com

courtesy of Cocina Cubana Club Pascual Perez and chef Sonia Martinez


The authentic mojo is made with juice from sour oranges. It still has that little orangy taste, but its very acid and tart. You can come close by mixing equal amounts of freshly squeezed orange juice with lime juice (*). If you live in areas with large concentration of Latinos you will probably find bottled Mojo (Goya brand makes one) or their produce department might have the slightly bumpy, thick skinned sour oranges.

This recipe makes one cup.


1/3 cup olive oil

6 to 8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or minced

2/3 cup sour orange juice or lime juice
(or equal portions orange juice and lime juice)

1/2 tsp ground cumin

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste



Heat the olive oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant and lightly toasted. Don't let it brown or it will be acrid tasting, just about 30 seconds should do it.



Add the sour orange juice, cumin and salt and pepper. STAND BACK; the sauce may sputter. Bring to a rolling boil. Taste and correct seasoning, if needed

.

Cool before serving. Mojo is best when served within a couple of hours of making, but it will keep for several days, well capped in a jar or bottle, in the refrigerator.



Use with Cuban sandwiches, boiled yucca, grilled seafood and meats, fried green plantain chips, etc.



I have seen recipes for mojo using cilantro in it, but that is not traditional to Cuban Cuisine.

(*) I prefer to add more lime juice than orange, as I like it very tart.

Cuban Food Recipe: Mojo Sauce
(Cuban Marinade)

Ingredients:
Garlic Cloves
Salt
Black peppercorns (whole)
Oregano
Sour orange juice
(In a pinch, use two parts orange to one part lemon and one part lime)

The key to making mojo is in the proportions. The nice thing is that you can make exactly the amount you need.
For a pig, we use four or five large HEADS of garlic! That's approximately 70 to 80 cloves.

Use a mortar and pestle.

For every ten cloves of garlic, add 1/2 teaspoon salt, six black peppercorns, and some oregano. Mash them all together into a paste. Scoop the paste out into a separate bowl. Continue this process until all of the garlic (all five heads) is mashed.

Stir in sour orange juice. (Five heads of garlic should be added to about 1 quart of sour orange juice to make a mojo for a whole pig.) Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or longer. Use immediately to season the pig or refrigerate for later use.

To make a smaller amount, reduce the amounts, but keep the proportions.

For example, to make 1 cup of mojo, use about 1 head of garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt, 12 black peppercorns, and 1 cup sour orange juice.