Sour Orange Garlic Marinade and Dressing (Cuban Mojo Criollo)

Mojo Criollo is a traditional Cuban sauce that can be used as a marinade for meats and fish, vegetables, and as a dressing for slaw. It is highly versatile and quite delicious and flavourful! Mojo simply means "sauce" and is pronouced like "MOH-hoh", not "moe-joe" (we're not in an Austin Powers movie here) and criollo, pronounced "kree-OH-yoh", is a term that means "of Spanish descent" (i.e. Spain) and is usually applied to things (or people!) from Central or South America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean.

Recipes for Cuban mojo criollo vary depending on who you ask, but in general you will find agreement on a few basic ingredients: sour orange juice, fresh garlic, and salt. Optional herbs and spices include (but are not limited to) oregano, paprika, cumin, and black pepper. Mojo criollo can also be made with or without olive oil. If you are using it for a dressing, of course you will want the olive oil. But for marinating meat, you don't really need it.

Never heard of a sour orange? They are also known as bitter oranges, marmalade oranges, Seville oranges, or bigarade oranges and, as the name implies, they are quite sour and bitter tasting. They're not sweet at all and aren't suitable for eating raw the way you do navel or other sweet oranges.

1 cup sour orange juice, freshly squeezed (aka bitter, Seville, marmalade, or bigarade oranges. May be labeled "naranja agria" at Hispanic markets)
2 Tbsp. garlic, minced or pressed (about 6 large cloves)
1 tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. dried oregano
¼ tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
¼-½ cup olive oil
spices to taste: cumin, paprika, granulated onion, granulated garlic (optional)

If you can't find sour oranges, you can substitute ½ cup lime juice and ½ cup regular (sweet) orange juice. Or, you can use ½ cup orange juice, ¼ cup grapefruit juice, and 1 Tbsp lime juice.

If making mojo WITH oil, place juice, peeled garlic (not minced or pressed), oregano, salt, black pepper, and other optional spices you are using into blender or food processor and pulse until garlic is pulverized and you have a sauce with a creamy consistency.

If making mojo WITHOUT the oil, I recommend mincing/pressing the garlic and simply stirring it, along with the other seasonings, into the citrus juice.

Use immediately as a marinade or dressing. Store in fridge a few days only. Freeze unused portions for use later. I recommend freezing it WITHOUT the oil and adding it after thawing.

Makes about 2 cups.

Cook's Notes: if you are planning to use this RAW (like for coleslaw dressing) I recommend adjusting the amount of garlic to suit your taste. I am a garlic fiend and enjoy the spicy hot, very garlicky flavour of this recipe as written, but since I know everyone isn't like me, I would suggest adding garlic 1 clove at a time until it reaches a flavour that you enjoy :-) For marinade and veggie roasting purposes, keep the garlic as written.