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1
Combine the sour orange juice, garlic paste, dried oregano, ground cumin, and olive oil to produce the mojo. Whisk until the oil is incorporated. The mojo should smell sharply citric with a background of raw garlic — neither element should dominate.
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2
Inject the mojo into the thickest muscles of the shoulder, leg, and loin, distributing it as evenly as possible throughout. Rub the remaining mojo over the entire exterior and into the cavity. Refrigerate overnight. The mojo must penetrate the deep muscle: the exterior rub alone does not reach these tissues.
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3
Remove the pig from the refrigerator 2 hours before cooking. Rub the exterior skin with coarse sea salt and olive oil. Leave uncovered at room temperature for the full 2 hours: the salt draws surface moisture from the skin and the resting period allows it to dry visibly. The skin surface should feel dry and slightly taut to the touch before the pig goes on the spit.
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4
Mount the pig on the spit over a wood fire. Maintain constant rotation — approximately one full rotation every 2 minutes — throughout the cook. The wood fire is not optional: the smoke aromatic produced by the burning wood permeates the skin across the duration of the cook and is part of the dish's flavour signature. Gas or electric heat does not replicate this.
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5
Roast for 6–12 hours, maintaining even, moderate heat. Do not accelerate the cook with high heat: the rendered internal fat must baste the meat from the inside across the full duration. Rushing produces crisp skin over dry, overcooked interior meat. The skin will gradually deepen to a uniform golden amber and begin to sound hollow when tapped — this is the intermediate crackling stage, not yet the finish.
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6
This is where the dish lives or dies. Probe the thickest part of the shoulder: the internal temperature must reach 90 °C (195 °F). At this point, complete collagen conversion has occurred and the interior meat will be falling-tender. Simultaneously, the skin must be golden, brittle, and sound fully hollow under a knock of the knuckle. Both conditions — interior temperature and exterior crackling — must be met before the pig is removed from the spit.
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7
Remove the pig from the spit. Immediately strike the crackling skin with a wooden mallet — this is the chicharrón skin strike — shattering it into manageable pieces. The skin must be struck while it is at its maximum brittleness, directly off the fire. It will not shatter cleanly if left to cool.
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8
Rest the pig for 30 minutes before carving. During this period, the rendered fat redistributes through the meat. Carving immediately causes the fat juices to run out. After 30 minutes, the meat should hold its shape under the knife while remaining visibly moist and yielding.