Tacos al Pastor

Name: Tacos al Pastor
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Mexico
Ingredients: 1kg pork shoulder, thinly sliced; 3 guajillo chillies, dried; 2 ancho chillies, dried; 2 tbsp achiote paste; 3 garlic cloves; 1 tsp each dried oregano, ground cumin, ground cinnamon; 3 tbsp white wine vinegar; 200g fresh pineapple, sliced; 24 small corn tortillas; 1 white onion, finely diced; 1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped; 2 limes, cut into wedges

Mexico

Al pastor is a Mexican adaptation of shawarma brought by Lebanese immigrants to Mexico City in the early 20th century — the vertical spit technique is identical.

Mexico City's iconic street taco — pork marinated in dried chillies and achiote, cooked with caramelised pineapple. The flavour of Mexico in a corn tortilla.

Photo: adamclyde

Prep

30 mins

Cook

25 mins

Difficulty

Medium

Calories

400 kcal

Serves

Calories are an estimate based on ingredients used

Ingredients

1kgpork shoulder, thinly sliced

3guajillo chillies, dried

2ancho chillies, dried

2 tbspachiote paste

3garlic cloves

1 tsp eachdried oregano, ground cumin, ground cinnamon

3 tbspwhite wine vinegar

200gfresh pineapple, sliced

24small corn tortillas

1white onion, finely diced

1 bunchfresh coriander, chopped

2limes, cut into wedges

Method

Toast dried chillies briefly in a dry pan. Remove stems and seeds, soak in boiling water 15 minutes.

Blend chillies with achiote paste, garlic, spices, vinegar and salt until smooth.

Coat pork slices in marinade. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.

Cook pork in batches on a very hot cast-iron griddle, pressing down, until charred at edges. Chop roughly.

Caramelise pineapple slices on the griddle.

Warm tortillas. Load with pork, diced pineapple, onion and coriander. Serve with lime.

Chef's Tip

Get the griddle ripping hot. You want char and caramelisation, not steaming. Cook in small batches so the meat sears rather than stews.

Couldn't load comments right now — please refresh.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tacos al Pastor

Ingredients

Method

Leave a Comment

You may also like