Mexico · Meat Dishes · Spicy
Tacos al Pastor
Tacos al pastor are thin slices of pork in a chile-and-achiote adobo, cooked beside caramelised pineapple and tucked into small corn tortillas. A trompo gives the original its moving flame and shaved edges; at home, a very hot skillet and patient batches get close where it counts. The meat needs acid, a little sweetness and real char, not a pile of wet sauce.
525 min 610 kcal 4 serves Advanced🌶️Spicy🇲🇽Mexico
Ingredients
ServingsMetric
- 900 gpork shoulder
- 35 gdried guajillo chiles
- 15 gdried ancho chiles
- 35 gachiote paste
- 120 mlpineapple juice
- 60 mlwhite vinegar
- 5 clovesgarlic
- 1 tbspMexican oregano
- 1 tspground cumin
- ¼ tspground cloves
- ½ tspground cinnamon
- 2 tbspvegetable oil
- 2 tspsalt
- 1 pineapple
- 16 corn tortillas
- 1 white onion
- 30 gfresh cilantro
- 250 mlsalsa verde
Method
- Prepare the chiles. Stem and seed the guajillo and ancho chiles, then press them in a dry skillet over medium heat for 20 seconds per side, just until they smell fruity. Cover them with boiling water for 10 minutes; burnt chile makes the adobo harsh.
- Blend the adobo. Drain the softened chiles and blend them with achiote paste, pineapple juice, vinegar, garlic, oregano, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, 1 tablespoon oil and salt until smooth. The paste should coat a spoon like thick tomato sauce; add 30 ml chile water only if the blender needs help.
- Marinate the pork. Slice pork shoulder across the grain no thicker than 5 mm, rub every slice with adobo and refrigerate covered for 480 minutes. Thin slicing matters more than a fake vertical spit because it lets the adobo in and creates browned edges.
- Char the pineapple. Peel and core the pineapple, cut half into 1 cm pieces and reserve the rest. Heat cast iron over high, add 1 teaspoon oil and cook the pineapple for 8 minutes until it has dark golden patches.
- Sear the pork in batches. Wipe the skillet, heat the remaining oil and cook the pork in a single layer for 3 minutes, turn it and cook 2 minutes more, until the thickest pieces reach 65°C. Do not crowd the pan; rest the pork for 2 minutes.
- Chop the filling. Cut the pork small, toss it with the charred pineapple and its red juices, then return it to the hot skillet for 2 minutes until the edges crackle. That is the useful home substitute for meat shaved from a trompo.
- Warm and assemble the tacos. Heat tortillas on a dry comal for 30 seconds per side, then hold them in a towel. Fill with pork and pineapple, onion, cilantro and salsa verde, and serve while hot.
FAQ
Yes. A trompo gives taquería pastor its shaved surface, but thin pork cooked in small cast-iron batches develops a tender centre and charred edge. Keep the pan hot and do not crowd it.
Rate this
Rate this recipe
Keep browsing
More dishes from the Mexican archive — picked by overlap with what you're cooking now.
Join the conversation
Comments
No comments yet — be the first!