I'll be honest: I had no idea what this stuff was before I decided to try and make a couple of Cuban dishes for my recipe stash. I've begun eating more Cuban food lately and I think it's delicious, but the only thing I've ever really prepared myself is tostones (AKA God's gift to mankind).

So, when I was reeeeeeally craving some Cuban pulled pork, I did my research. I found out that this sauce is often used as a marinade or as a drizzle on Cubano sandwiches. It's often the thing that makes our brains go, "oh yes, this is a Cuban dish!" Since I was going to all the trouble of making the pulled pork for the week, why not go all out and create my own spin on a classic sauce from the country, too?

This particular version uses grapefruit juice, whereas most use orange juice. I also used Meyer lemons instead of regular lemons, using their sweeter nature to undercut the more-bitter taste of grapefruit. I think this turned out quite well. It may not taste like the Mojo sauce you're used to (if you've had it before or are a regular to the flavor) but this stuff still kicks but and I'd honestly used it on all sorts of things!

Mojo Sauce

Prep time: 2 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Total time: 12 minutes

Yield: About 2/3 cup

Directions

Ingredients

Heat the olive oil in a pan on the stove over medium heat. Add minced garlic and allow it to toast until fragrant, but don't char it.
Once you begin smelling the garlic, add the grapefruit juice, Meyer lemon juice and seasonings. Whisk together so the flavors are well-incorporated.
Lower the heat so that the sauce is just simmering and allow to cook this way for about 3 minutes, to marry the flavors. Continue whisking every minute or so. Remove from the heat and allow the sauce to cool before using or storing in the fridge for up to a week. The ingredients will settle, but are easily re-mixed with a fork or whisk!

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup grapefruit juice

Juice of 1 large Meyer lemon

8 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp ground white pepper