Cuban Mojo Marinated Pork Ribs are an amazing summer dish that combines tropical citrus flavors with savory cuban-inspired spices, and refreshing hints of mint, cilantro, and parsley to finish! The quick chimichurri drizzle adds an herbal garlicky kick to this grilled recipe!
Don't forget to check out our other delicious rib recipes!!! Our Cayenne Sugar Ribs and the ever-popular 'Slap yo' Mama' Asian Ribs!
Table of Contents
Best Mojo Chimichurri Ribs Recipe:
I can't explain how much I love grilling ribs. I think my Cayenne Sugar Ribs can start to explain my obsession.
I still get asked if grilling ribs is as easy as I make it sound online and my answer is always YES.
Part of the trick is the quality of meat that you choose...
What type of rib meat to use?
I always gravitate towards Smithfield Extra Tender Pork St Louis Style Ribs from Walmart.
These pork ribs are always tender, always juicy, and always grill up perfectly.
Championship Pitmasters use Smithfield Fresh Pork in their competitions and on their backyard grill; because they know when the quality of the meat matters most which is why they use Smithfield Fresh Pork.
These cuban mojo marinated pork ribs are perfect for entertaining on the backyard grill and easy enough for a weeknight treat.
Actually no matter which recipe you choose Smithfield Fresh Pork is perfect any night on the grill, whether a great weeknight meal or getting together to barbecue with family and friends.
Mojo Chimichurri Rib Ingredients:
- 1 package Smithfield Extra Tender Pork St Louis Style Ribs
- For the Cuban Mojo Marinade:
orange juice
lime juice
olive oil
cilantro, chopped (update: we are recommended culantro instead)
mint leaves, chopped optional
minced garlic
dried chopped oregano
ground cumin - For the Chimichurri Drizzle:
cilantro leaves
parsley leaves
olive oil
garlic
white wine vinegar
lime juice
red pepper flakes for spice, optional
How long to marinate ribs?
The best scenario would be if you had the time to marinate your ribs in this delicious marinade overnight.
However, I get that that is not feasible for a lot of us.
So my answer for you is..... as long as your schedule allows, up to 8-12 hours.
The longer you marinate your ribs, the more flavorful and tender they will be!
How to make Mojo Chimichurri Ribs:
Combine all Cuban Mojo Marinade ingredients together, open your Smithfield Fresh Pork package and smother the ribs in the marinade overnight in the fridge.
Remove from fridge and place on a grill over medium heat. Grill for 1.5-2 hours or until the ribs are cooked until completely cooked. Flipping the ribs every once in a while (about every 30 minutes) will help them cook evenly.
While the ribs are cooking, combine all chimichurri ingredients together in a food processor and pulse until desired consistency. Once the ribs are off the grill, drizzle the chimichurri sauce over the ribs and enjoy!
An easy Cuban mojo marinade is made by combining fresh orange juice and lime juice, cilantro and mint leaves, red pepper flakes and ground cumin.
The Smithfield Pork Ribs are marinated overnight in the Cuban mojo marinade and then the ribs are grilled on the grill over medium heat for 1.5-2 hours.
While the ribs are sizzling on the grill, the chimichurri sauce is made by combining fresh parsley and cilantro, garlic, olive oil, and more lime juice.
Once the ribs are done, they are removed from the heat and allowed to cool before being drizzled with chimichurri and devoured.
How easy is that y'all?!?
How to store leftover mojo ribs:
You can store your leftover chimichurri sauce and your mojo ribs in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
To heat your ribs either place your ribs in a microwave-safe dish and microwave on 'high' power until warm, or preheat your oven to 250*F and baked your leftover ribs in the oven for 5-7 minutes, until warmed.
Once warmed, drizzle any leftover chimichurri sauce over your ribs and enjoy!
I partnered with Smithfield®, a brand I personally recommend to friends and family for this post. Thank you for continuing to support me, BHHY, and the brands that help make this site possible.
Cuban Mojo Marinated Pork Ribs + Chimichurri
Cuban Mojo Marinated Pork Ribs are an amazing summer dish that combines tropical citrus flavors with savory cuban-inspired spices, and refreshing hints of mint, cilantro, and parsley to finish! The quick chimichurri drizzle adds an herbal garlicky kick to this grilled recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 package Smithfield Extra Tender Pork St Louis Style Ribs
Cuban Mojo Marinade
- 1 cup orange juice
- ½ cup lime juice
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
- ⅓ cup mint leaves, chopped
- 2 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon dried chopped oregano
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
Chimichurri Drizzle
- 1 cup cilantro leaves
- 1 cup parsley leaves
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoon lime juice
- red pepper flakes for spice, optional
Instructions
- Combine all Cuban Mojo Marinade ingredients together, open your Smithfield Fresh Pork package and smother the ribs in the marinade overnight in the fridge.
- Remove from fridge and place on a grill over medium heat. Grill for 1.5-2 hours or until the ribs are cooked until completely cooked. Flipping the ribs every once in a while (about every 30 minutes) will help them cook evenly.
- While the ribs are cooking, combine all chimichurri ingredients together in a food processor and pulse until desired consistency. Once the ribs are off the grill, drizzle the chimichurri sauce over the ribs and enjoy!
Notes
The longer you marinate your ribs, the more flavorful and tender they will be! If you can't marinate your ribs overnight, then try for at least 3-4 hours!
If you make my Cuban Mojo Marinated Ribs recipe, let me know in the comments! Enjoy enjoy enjoy!
Also- be sure to follow me on instagram and hashtag #BlessHerHeartYall or tag @BlessHerHeartYall – I love seeing and hearing the delicious things you make!
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This post was first published on June 6, 2018 and last updated on November 5, 2021.
This recipe looks great. I am sure it’s delicious. I understand mash ups of American influences. However I just cringe. Cilantro is used in Cuban cooking. Not such how lint ended up in a mono. Culantro is also used and you can find that mostly in Puerto Rican cooking, especially in sofrito. Chimichurri is an Argentine “steak sauce” lime and cilantro are never used. It’s also chopped then liquid is added such as red wine vinegar and olive oil. Argentina has a large Italian and Spanish influence on its dishes.
I am willing to try this recipe out. I just wish food bloggers would take a deeper dive into food history and preparation of ingredients then adding their flare to a recipe. Looking forward to the recipe!
South Floridian lady, chef and Italian/argentine.
I'm Cuban, my parents brought me to the US when I was 4 and I grew up ONLY eating Cuban foods. With that said, I can assure you that we don't ever cook with Cilantro, we don't use it at all! Culantro, yes but I'll let you Google that. The other thing is the mint. Unless you're making a Mojito, you'll never see it in a Cuban kitchen. And lastly, Cubans are the BIGGEST wimps when it comes to spicy foods! You'll NEVER see a traditional Cuban touching red pepper or anything hotter than black pepper and only a little or else half the table will complain that it's too spicy! The rest is pretty authentic, I would have mentioned to use Bitter orange if you could find them locally to make it truly authentic.
And how could I forget the Chimichurri! It was probably a Freudian slip because I LOVE the stuff. However, it's South American and certainly NOT Cuban. I don't mean to nit pick but these mish-mashes of Latin American recipes really annoy me. It's culturally insensitive from my point of view. It would be the equivalent of me mashing up a recipe of something from the US with Canadian, a little Irish and some sprinkling of Australian and calling it "United States something". Wait, poor choice of country because we are in a big melting pot so that something would be as American as Apple Pie, but you get the picture! 🙂
Thanks for the feedback Rene! We have updated the recipe accordingly for those who want a more authentic flavor
Now that just looks so delicious with the sauce on top. My family will go mad for these so I'll be making these this weekend.
oh my, these sound sooooo incredible! The flavors sound amazing, and I am all about anything with chimichurri on it!
Agreed Danielle! Anything with chimichurri on it is the best!
I have been looking for a decent pork marinade for a long time! I need to try this! Thanks!
Oh you will love it!
These marinated pork ribs looks amazing! Love the sound of your marinade and dressing too. Def pinning for later!
Thanks for the love!