Noche Buena

Every year on the night of Christmas Eve, we Cubans celebrate Noche Buena. One of the things we do is share a meal, with the center piece being an entire pig cooked in what is called a "caja china." Back in the day, when we would go to a chinese market we would get a large wooden box and use that to cook our pork in. It takes hours of slow cooking to do this. Modern caja chinas are made of medal and modernized. It still takes hours of slow cooking. The best part is the moment it is done grab while still hot and eating the chicharron (crispy cooked pork skin). Even though I was born in America, a majority of my family is from and is Cuban. South Florida is mostly Cuban, and is lovingly nicknamed North Cuba.

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