“It’s a shish kebab!” “It’s an upright rotisserie!” Nope, that would be a rotating spit, used for making the most celebrated street food in Mexico, Tacos al Pastor. We won’t be needing the spit, however, with this Homemade Tacos al Pastor recipe, both easy and scrumptious.
But hold your horses! Before we sink our teeth into these delish Homemade Tacos al Pastor, let’s have a little history lesson.
As it turns out, tacos in general are a millenary dish. Tacos al Pastor are a different story, though. We owe the roasting method to the thousands of Lebanese immigrants that chose Mexico as their new home at the turn of the 20th century. They brought their culinary heritage with them on that perilous trek across many oceans.
Tacos al Pastor evolved from the original Lebanese Shawarma (slow-roasted rotating skewers of marinated meat, most commonly lamb). Mexicans shifted to pork instead of lamb and opted to marinade the meat in a mixture of dried chiles and spices. Food historians argue that the pineapple chunks were a much later addition.
Either way, they are delicious and with this Homemade Tacos al Pastor recipe, you will be able to enjoy one of Mexico’s, and the world’s, favorite dishes!
Top your tacos with these very easy Salsa recipes: Habanero and Red Onion Salsa, Tomato and Chile de Árbol Salsa, Tomatillo Salsa Verde and Real Deal Guacamole! Tacos would never taste the same without salsa. Remember that you can always adjust the amount of chile you add to the salsa.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. Pork Shoulder, cut in steaks
- For the Adobo marinade:
- 6 Guajillo dried chiles (make sure they are soft and flexible)
- 2 Pasilla dried chiles (make sure they are soft and flexible)
- 1 – 2 canned Chipotles (adjust to taste, depending on your tolerance to pungency)
- 1/4 bar Annatto Paste
- 4 whole cloves (the spice)
- 1 TSP. dried oregano
- 1/4 TSP. dried thyme
- 4 large or 6 small garlic cloves
- 1 small onion
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 1 cup fresh or canned pineapple
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- To assemble the Tacos:
- Plently of soft (authentic) corn tortillas
- Chopped cilantro
- Chopped onion
- Pineapple chunks
- Quartered lemons
- Your favorite homemade salsa
Instructions
- Rinse the meat under running water. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Wash the dried chiles, open with a knife and remove seeds and veins. Soak them for half an hour in very hot water.
- Discard water and place chiles into blender and add the rest of the marinade ingredients and blend until smooth; season to taste. Pass through strainer.
- Place a layer of meat on a baking dish, rub the marinade on with a kitchen pastry brush. Repeat until all meat is stacked and covered with marinade. Cover with foil or cling plastic and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
- When you’re ready to grill/cook the meat take it out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for half an hour before cooking.
- Have the chopped onions, cilantro, sliced pineapple and quartered lemons ready in small bowls.
- Grill/cook the meat (if cooking on cast iron skillet add initially 1 TBSP of vegetable oil; the fat in the meat will take care of the rest) and once it’s thoroughly done and nicely browned cut into small strips. Warm up the tortillas, prepare your taco, add salsa and garnish with chopped onion and cilantro, pineapple and squeeze some lemon juice on prepared taco.
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