Mexican Tacos Al Pastor

SpiceBreeze

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?

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Cuisine Mexican

Servings

Ingredients

1.25 lb thin pork chops or tenderloin cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 can pineapple slices or a fresh fruit
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 medium onion quartered
2 cloves garlic
1/8 cup white vinegar
1 tsp sugar
oil
salt & pepper

Suggested Sides & Toppings

12 tortillas, sandwich, or flatbread
1 cup cilantro or parsley chopped
2-4 limes for juice
2 avocados

Culinary Spice Kit

Annatto, ancho chili, pasilla chili, cumin, allspice, oregano, cloves

Instructions

Marinate

In a BLENDER, mix onion, garlic, vinegar, and 1 tbsp oil into a smooth paste.
Rub meat with salt & pepper to taste.
In a CONTAINER, mix onion paste with Tacos al Pastor spices, sugar, a pinch of salt, and tomato paste.
Rub the onion spice paste into the meat until evenly coated.
Cover and let marinate in the fridge for 2 -24 hours.

Fry #1

In a PAN, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat.
Fry 4 pineapple slices until browned.
Take out. Set aside.
In the same PAN, fry the meat slices on both sides for 1 minute.
Take out and let cool.
Cut the meat slices into thin strips and the pineapple slices into bite-size pieces.

Fry #2

In a PAN, heat 2 tbsp oil over high heat.
Fry meat strips for 30-60 seconds until just done.

Serve

Serve meat strips, pineapple, and tortillas separately. Optionally, add avocado slices, guacamole*, salsa verde*, or a pineapple sauce*.
Enjoy!

Notes

▪ Substitute pork with chicken breast cut lengthwise.

▪ Substitute pineapple with mango or passion fruit.

▪ Without a BLENDER, grate the garlic and onion.

* Find a guacamole recipe with jalapeno powder and more sauce recipes here.