Chef John's Yucatan-Style Grilled Pork

This is by far the BEST PORK I have ever had in my life not named "Bacon" Just AMAZING FLAVOR!!!! I think I have a man-crush on Chef John!!!!

I live here in Yucatán owner of my own dinner and this recipe is almost exactly as mine ! Only difference we do is in change of the orange juice we use sour orange!

This was different and really good on the grill. We had with rice and a salad tonight. Tomorrow I will shred the left overs for tacos. I did add a tablespoon of sugar because my juices tasted too sour for me. But I think a little more would have been fine. I will go with 2 tablespoons in the future, depending on the sweetness of my juices. Otherwise, I made it according to directions. A cilantro sprinkling was a great idea. I didn't go with the cabbage, but will try it next time. Thanks for a unique flavor, Chef John!

Absolutely delicious! Tangy, spicy, juicy, awesome! Kept with the recipe except for cayenne and substituted 2 tsp adobo sauce and onions (from a can of chilies in adobo) since I didn't have any dried chipotle peppers. The only problem I had was getting it to cook through since i rarely bbq pork. I overcooked it and it was still amazing! Will perfect and make a part of my regular dinner arsenal!

Followed recipe very closely except used frozen OJ and about 2x the annatto. I made this for three people and cooked it on a river rafting trip. The pork marinaded longer 8-36 hours (cooked it twice) and it was great both times. Grilled it on a gas grill once and a grill pan on the stove top the other. Both were excellent.

Definitely making again.

I used tumeric rather than annatto but otherwise followed the ingredient list. I was using a new BBQ grill that didn't leave very good markings, so don't judge this photo of mine too harshly. This recipe is a keeper! Thanks once again, Chef John!

This was amazing and incredibly simple. I made no changes other than ommitting the anneto because I couldn't find any. It was so good that I remade the marinade and tried it with chicken the following night and it too was fantastic. Bravo, sir.

Made humble pork chops delicious! Didn't have annatto, will need to track this down next time, maybe that will make the recipe EVEN better 'though I don't know how... YUM!

Excellent, huge hit with the family. Leftovers good for tacos!

I followed the recipe except I added more cayanne by accident. I got my ground annetto from amazon.com. This recipe was really good. You should try this soon. I may try this with a large top round steak for fajitas.

It needed to marinade longer than the 4 hours but i was short on time. Very good! Just watch the cooking time as not to over cook it. I did cut back on the cayenne pepper a bit as i dont like thinks that are too spicey, but i think next time i may make it unmodified and marinade overnight. I would make it again for sure!

Is the best pork meat I’ever ate and is my favorite recipe to invite friends at home and surprise them!

We loved this one. The flavors rocked! The Grilling instructions were helpful too. I served it with mango salsa and made tacos with it. It was delicious and husband was impressed with my grilling too. I will make this again.

Yummy as is. I made tacos with the leftover meat. They were delicious too.

It was fantastic. My husband loved it. I didn’t have pork tenderloin, so I substituted boneless chicken thighs

Made pork tacos, was amazing. I saved out a half pint of marinade and cooked it down with some brown sugar and glazed the meat on the grill. Then after slicing we stirred the rest of the glaze into the meat.

Did not change a thing!! Wonderful. Served with finally sliced cabbage, mango pineapple salsa, and couscous with a kick. Fabulous meal!

I used this recipe for the flavor profile. I did an ingredient search for pork and oranges, having leftover pork roast and oranges to use up. I made the marinade, poured it over the pork roast in a skillet, and warmed the roast up slowly, covered. Served it atop a veggie-forward pasta primavera. Yum!

Okay--I'll be back to edit later but just want to say that so far, the marinade tastes delicious. I can't wait to try this! Didn't have Annatto on hand but will be finding some for the future.

This recipe was wonderful! Sliced the meat very thin for use as pork tacos and topped individually with Grilled Pineapple Salsa and Pico de Gallo (both recipes from this site). The only changes made was substituting annatto with smoked paprika and reduced the cayenne by half. Flavors of the pork really came through and reminded us of being back in Mexico. Topped with pineapple salsa made us think of the Al Pastor we used to get. Thank you for this easy and delicious recipe, Chef John!

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This is an excellent recipe. I had to search high and low for annotto powder, but I finally found the seeds at a spice specialty shop, and the owner graciously ground it into a powder. Well worth it, since the flavor was unique. Reminded me of the excellent pork dishes I’ve had in Cabo and Puerto Vallarta.

I made this for my son’s class when he was given achiote / annatto as his spice. I made the recipe as is except I didn’t have chipotle and used paprika. I added a bit more annatto powder, since that was the intent of the project. I also made the recipe (without cooking) and then had to freeze it (as the date changed for when we had to bring it in to school) and the pork still came out really tender. Hope the kids enjoy it as much as I do!

Chef John; I wish you could have seen my husband’s face when he took his first bite of this tonight! He (we) loved it! An absolutely unique but flavorful marinade. Like others, I could not find annato anywhere so had to use turmeric instead. I also used orange juice concentrate but besides those two changes, followed as is. Marinated for 6 hours and result was a wonderful citrus pork! Served with mashed potatoes and Grilled Romaine Hearts from this site! Delish!! Next time, I plan to garnish the pork with the pickled onions as you recommend! Another winner!! Thank you!

I didn't have a grill handy so cubed my pork and marinated it for a day then threw it in a skillet on high for a couple of minutes. It was great! It probably isn't as good as putting it on the grill but still great. If you are pickling the onions, vinegar and tequila isn't a bad option.

Fabulous! Made this as written. It was tender, juicy, and yummy. Looking forward to having it in tacos tomorrow. Don’t skip the pickled onions.

Great flavour and super easy. I dried mine out a little by bbq'ing at too high a temp. Take your time. Also, I had extra marinade so boiled it down in a pot to serve with the pork as an extra zing of flavour.

Loved this marinade! I thought I had chipotle powder but I didn't so I had to sub with regular chili powder, but it was still fabulous! Also, I halved the recipe and used pork chops because that's what I had on hand. I grilled them for 4 minutes per side and they were perfect! Totally making this again.

I made the marinade as advertised. It was fantastic. I did not have any pork tenderloins so I used chicken breasts instead. They worked perfect. Thank you.

This was past simple and past delicious! I didn’t have oranges so I used orange, and it was good. I plan to make it again in the near future!

I made this with the following substitutions: 2 TB SF Orange Marmalade instead of OJ & used coffee grounds instead of chipotle. I also added 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika. It is Very important that U have a Hot grill to prevent toughness! Follow his instructions! Served w Rice that I cooked with Can of Coconut milk , corn & a TB or two of grated onion & Adobo. Also Cole slaw to which I added Fresh Chopped Cilantro. This was a great meal that hit all the right notes. Just wish I had Peach Ice Cream or Mango sherbert for dessert!

Super flavorful recipe!! We ended up using pork chops and cooking this on the stove (seared the meat and then simmered in the marinade). Definitely going to try this on the grill, might save the marinade and boil it to make a sauce on the side. Great recipe and easy too! Would work well with chicken or fish too!

i went to my local farmers market and got a whole bunch of different citrus for this reciepe and loved it! the pickled onions are a total win to go on top!!

This was good; my guests said they liked it. I just felt it was fairly average.

I’m not a big pork fan unless it’s bacon. This was fantastic! I followed the instructions and wouldn’t change anything.

We don't like spicy food so I cut out the chipotle and cayenne pepper. I did not have any annotto powder. It was too cold to Grill so I cut the recipe amounts in half and put my pork in the crock pot. Came out really well. Next time I'll leave out the cumin as well but will try this recipe again.

This is the BEST grilled pork recipe I have ever made! My parents were my test audience for it and they raved about it. I added the juice from 1 grapefruit to add more “zip” to the marinate. Additionally, I reserved the marinate and boiled it to a slightly thickened consistency and used it as a sauce for the top of the sliced pork... super delicious add!

It has become a go to recipe for grilling. I substituted paprika for annato powder. I do not use cayenne pepper or chipotle chile powder. I also use bottled orange, lime and lemon juices and it still tastes 'south of the border.' Remember to marinate for 4 - 6 hours.