Name: Cuban Grilled Pork
Yield: Serves 10 to 12
Ingredients: 4 cups (1 quart) seville orange juice or 2 2/3 cups lime juice and 1 1/3 cup orange juice; 1 tablespoon ground cumin; 2 tablespoons dried oregano; 2 heads garlic, roughly chopped; 3 tablespoons salt; 1 tablespoon black pepper; 2 onions, cut into rings; 6 to 8 pounds boneless pork shoulder butt (blade roast); Salt

Why it works: Cumin and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 983 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Cuban Grilled Pork

Serves 10 to 12

Ingredients

4 cups (1 quart) seville orange juice or 2 2/3 cups lime juice and 1 1/3 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 heads garlic, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
2 onions, cut into rings
6 to 8 pounds boneless pork shoulder butt (blade roast)
Salt

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

382Calories

31 gProtein

15 gFat

33 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 9 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pork	100g cooked	242
Orange	1 medium (131g)	62
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By epicurious. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Cumin + oreganotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together983 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Cumin + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,082 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Oregano + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,756 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Oregano + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,449 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cumin, oregano, garlic, pepper, onion, pork):

Limefits better
Avocadofits better
Lemonfits better
Orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cumin, oregano, garlic, pepper, onion, pork. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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