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The cook at Dona Rosa in Pasadena really needs to watch his back. Apparently he hasn’t seen Robert Rodriguez’s Once Upon a Time in Mexico in which Johnny Depp, who plays CIA Agent Sheldon Jeffrey Sands, shoots a cook for making a perfectly slow-roasted pork dish.

Agent Sands’ rationale: “It just happens to be my favorite, and I order it with a tequila and lime in every dive I go to in this country. It’s so good that when I’m finished, I’ll pay my check, walk straight into the kitchen and shoot the cook. Because that’s what I do. I restore the balance to this country.”

God forbid anyone attempt to restore the balance in Pasadena. I need my new favorite Puerco Pibil cook to remain safely out of harm’s way. I’d also like the Puerco Pibil special on the menu anytime I happen to appear in Pasadena. It would be nice, too, if they prepared a freshly made jug of limon y menta agua fresca, as they did this weekend.

From what I gather, having studied a few Puerco Pibil recipes now, the cook uses a large pork butt and the juice of a half dozen lemons, a splash of good tequila, a little white vinegar, and a little orange juice. In a coffee grinder, he grinds together an achiote (annatto) paste of cumin, allspice, cloves, black pepper, salt, garlic and habanero peppers.

The dry spices are then mixed with the lemon and tequila mixture. The pork butt is then patted down and coated with the paste and left to marinate in the refrigerator.

After several hours of marinating the pork is placed in a roast pan that has been covered with banana leaves. The seasoned meat is then slow roasted for at least 4 hours at 325 degrees. The real magic is in the seasoning and roasting, hence, the degrees of variation and Agent Sands’ exhaustive testing.

Rodriguez’s version of this recipe is apparently documented on the “Once Upon A Time” DVD in the “Ten Minute Cooking School” supplement. I have only read legend of the segment on the Web, but now that I know exactly where to go to find the perfect dish of Puerco Pibil, I’m not sure I need to see it.

If you happen to have any family, friends or acquaintances who may be prone to violence, let’s keep this little secret between us. I promise to do the same with your Puerco Pibil picks.

Dona Rosa Bakery & Taqueria
577 S. Arroyo Parkway
Pasadena, CA 91105
Phone: 626-449-2999

Call to make sure that Puerco Pibil is on the daily menu if you go. It’s a special dish in more ways than one.