Leg of Pork
Whether Cuban, Chinese or Italian style, leg of pork is always tender enough to cut with a fork.
* Spark Woodfire Cooking: Porchetta is stuffed with garlic, fennel, salt and pepper, rubbed with olive oil and cooked for at least four hours in a Sicilian wood rotisserie. The slow cooking keeps the meat soft and ensures a nice crisp skin. Served with roasted onions and red-jacket potatoes, and drizzled with drippings. (Herb- and pepper-crusted pork leg, $13.95.) Spark Woodfire Cooking, 11801 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, (818) 623-8883.
* Versailles: This popular Cuban restaurant chain’s famous leg of pork, flavored with lemon, garlic and onions, is roasted for hours, creating really juicy, delicious meat. It’s served sliced with rice, beans and plantains. (Leg of pork, $6.95.) Versailles, 17410 Ventura Blvd., Encino, (818) 906-0756; 1415 S. La Cienega Blvd., L.A., (310) 289-0392; 10319 Venice Blvd. L.A., (310) 558-3168; 1000 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Manhattan Beach, (310) 937-6829.
* Taiwan Gourmet: In order to get the pork as lean and crisp as possible, it’s steamed, fried for five minutes, covered with soy and oyster sauces, rock sugar and Chinese herbs, and roasted in the oven. The sugars create a perfect glaze, making the crisp skin slightly sweet. The leg is presented in its entirety on a bed of spinach, then sliced and served at the table. (Tun bo pork leg shank, $13.95.) Taiwan Gourmet, 16883 Huntington Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach, (714) 848-4940.
* Las Palmas: The roasted pork will make you a regular at this completely authentic Cuban restaurant. Here they cover the pork in mojo criollo (a mixture of herbs and garlic) and then roast it in the oven for eight hours. The meat and crisp skin are accompanied by moros y cristianos (black beans and rice cooked together), yuca, and a garlic and lemon sauce. (Roasted pork, $9.25.) Las Palmas, 11671 Victory Blvd., North Hollywood, (818) 985-5955.
* Xiomara/Oye!: At this eclectic Pasadena eatery, the leg of pork is shredded and served as a hash. The pork has been marinated in mojo criollo and sour orange juice, and roasted with a sofrito of vegetables before being shredded and laid on a bed of fried yuca, surrounded by a black-bean sauce. (Seared pork hash with yuca frita con mojo y platanos maduros, $19.) Xiomara/Oye!, 69 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, (626)796-2520.
* Porto’s Bakery: Don’t be deterred by the long lines--there’s a reason for them. This Cuban bakery offers a wonderful roast pork sandwich on Porto’s own delicious Cuban bread. The leg of pork is marinated overnight with bitter orange juice, herbs, garlic and vinegar, then roasted for six hours, and finally browned in olive oil. When the sandwich is made, it’s pressed and grilled, making the bread nice and toasty. (Roasted pork sandwich, $2.85.) Porto’s Bakery, 315 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, (818) 956-5996.