pernil

noun

per·​nil per-ˈnēl 

plural pernils

: a Latin American dish consisting of a pork shoulder or leg that has been seasoned with a marinade (as of garlic, oregano, salt and pepper, and adobo or sofrito) and slow-roasted until tender inside with a crispy outer skin

Pernil is about as traditional as you can get in Puerto Rico. It's a pork shoulder marinated overnight in adobo, then slow roasted …

—Von Diaz

She'd start the day by cooking her pernil, a large pork shoulder that was slow-roasted until the skin became thin and crispy …

—Illyana Maisonet

… pernil, or Cuban-style slow-roasted pork, that's utterly unctuous with fat and garlic.

—Paul Stephen

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Spanish,"thigh and buttock of an animal, especially a hog," "(in parts of Latin America) shoulder of a hog," from pierna "leg" (going back to Latin perna "leg, upper leg, thigh and buttock of a hog") + -il, suffix of appurtenance, going back to Latin -īlis — more at pearl entry 1

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined above