Mexican Tacos Al Pastor
Tacos al Pastor is a popular Mexican street food. Mexican liked Shawarma made by Lebanese immigrants so much that they created their local take of it. For both dishes, thin marinated meat slices are stapled on a vertical rotisserie, slowly roasted, thinly cut, then served in local bread. The 'shepherd style' tacos are marinated in a traditional chili-adobo-paste and topped with pineapple. Ready for Taco Tuesday?
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1.25 lb thin pork [1] chops or tenderloin cut into 1/4-inch slices
- salt & pepper
- 1/8 cup vinegar (white wine or apple cider)
- oil
- 1/2 onion quartered
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp sugar
Frying
- 4 slices pineapple [2] (canned or fresh)
Culinary Spice Kit
- Annatto, ancho chili, pasilla chili, cumin, allspice, oregano, cloves
Suggested Sides & Toppings
- 12 tortillas [3] or taco shells
- 2 avocados sliced
- 1 cup cilantro or parsley chopped
- 2-4 limes or lemons cut into wedges
- guacamole see notes
- salsa verde see notes
- pineapple sauce see notes
Instructions
Marinade
- Rub meat with salt & pepper to taste.
- Onion paste: In a BLENDER, blend vinegar & 1 tbsp oil (marinade basics) with onion and garlic into a smooth paste.
- In a CONTAINER, mix onion paste and tomato paste with Tacos al Pastor spices, sugar, and a pinch of salt.
- Rub the onion-tomato-spice paste into the meat until evenly coated.
- Cover and let it marinate in the fridge for 2 to 24 hours.
Fry
- In a PAN, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat.
- Fry the pineapple slices until browned.
- Take them out. Set aside to cool.
- Cut meat and pineapple into thin strips of about 1/4-inches.
- In the same PAN, add 1 tbsp oil, heat up to high heat.
- Fry meat 1 to 2 minutes until just done.
Serve
- Serve meat, pineapple, tortillas, and your preferred toppings on separate plates.
- Enjoy!
Notes
[1] Substitute pork with chicken breast cut lengthwise.
[2] Substitute pineapple with mango or passion fruit.
[3] Substitute tortillas with any bread of your liking.
▪ Without a BLENDER or FOOD PROCESSOR, grate the garlic and onion.
* Find a guacamole recipe with jalapeno powder and more sauce recipes here.
