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Cuban

Cuban mojo

Vegetarian

Mojo criollo

Garlic mashed with salt, cumin and oregano, doused in sour orange juice and sizzled with warm olive oil — Cuba's marinade for roast pork and sauce for boiled yuca.

Cuban mojo is a Cuban sauce, ready in about 28 minutes and made with garlic and orange juice. It serves 10 and is rated beginner to cook.

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Prep
10 min
Cook
3 min
Rest
15 min
Total
28 min
Serves
10
Level
Beginner
Calories
111

Ingredients

10 servings (about 30 ml each)

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Pound the garlic (opens in a new tab) with the salt, cumin, oregano (opens in a new tab) and pepper (opens in a new tab) to a coarse paste in a mortar.

    Spices being ground in a mortar and pestle
    How it looks · Photo: https://kaboompics.com/ on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Stir in the orange and lime juices (opens in a new tab) (and the onion (opens in a new tab), if using) in a heatproof bowl or jar.

    • 1 min

  3. Step 3

    Heat the oil in a small pan until hot but not smoking, then pour it over the garlic (opens in a new tab) mixture — it will sizzle, mellowing the raw garlic. Stir and leave to cool for 15 minutes.

    Food safety: Pour the hot oil slowly and stand back; the juice will spit.

  4. Step 4

    Use as a sauce, or as a marinade for pork (several hours to overnight in the fridge).

    • 1 min

    Food safety: Discard marinade that has been in contact with raw meat, or boil it for at least a minute before serving it as a sauce.

    Meat coated in a spiced marinade in a bowl
    How it looks · Photo: Ip Photographer on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Cuba · Commonly attributedRelated to the mojos of the Canary Islands; sour-orange mojo is also central in Puerto Rico and the Cuban-American kitchen in Florida.Also popular in United States, Puerto RicoMore food from Cuba
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Sauces · Condiments, chutneys & relishes
Cooking method
Raw, Marinated / cured
Taste
garlicky, citrusy, sour, herby
Diet
Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Keto-style · Low-carb
All labelsVegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · Paleo-style · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Keto-style · Low-carb
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead · Budget-friendly
Cook more with
Garlic · Orange juice · Ground cumin · Dried oregano · Lime juice
Techniques
Marinating · Curing

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

111 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 32 g · recipe makes 10

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 1%
  • Carbohydrate 12%
  • Fat 87%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy111 kcal347 kcal
Protein0.4 g1.3 g
Carbohydrate3.4 g10.6 g
Net carbohydrate3.2 g9.8 g
Sugars1.2 g3.8 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre0.2 g0.7 g
Fat11 g34.5 g
Saturated fat1.5 g4.8 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium235 mg733 mg
Salt equivalent0.6 g1.8 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
55 mg
Calcium
14 mg
Iron
0.4 mg
Magnesium
4 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
2 µg
Vitamin C
9 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
5 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: onion.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • For a traditional sour-orange flavour without Seville oranges, use 2 parts orange juice to 1 part lime juice, as here.

Common mistakes

  • Using smoking-hot oil, which fries the garlic bitter instead of just mellowing it.

Serve with

  • Lechón asado (roast pork) and Cuban sandwiches
  • Boiled yuca (yuca con mojo)
  • Tostones and grilled chicken

Food safety

  • Raw garlic or herbs kept under oil can support botulism if left at room temperature. Refrigerate and use within the stated time; never store at room temperature.

Storage

  • Refrigerate in a covered jar up to 1 week.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Goes with

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2

Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

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