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Tacos al Pastor
Chile and achiote marinated pork with charred pineapple, onion, and cilantro on warm corn tortillas.
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Tacos al Pastor, in 5 ideas
- Achiote is the red color and earthy flavor. Find the paste at any Latin market. No real substitute.
- Char matters more than the cut. Thin slices, very hot pan, crispy edges.
- Warm tortillas or the taco falls apart. Literally and spiritually. Direct flame or dry pan.
- Pineapple goes on the taco. Not on the side. The sweet acid against the pork is the point.
- Double up thin tortillas. Two per taco keeps the juicy ones intact.
What you need
Ingredients
- 2 lbs pork shoulder, sliced thin
- 4 dried guajillo chiles
- 4 dried ancho chiles
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice
- 2 tbsp achiote paste
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp Mexican oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 12 corn tortillas
- 1 cup chopped pineapple
- 1/2 cup chopped white onion
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- Lime wedges
How to make it
Directions
- Toast the dried chiles in a dry pan over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Soak in hot water for 20 minutes until soft.
- Drain the chiles and blend with the garlic, vinegar, pineapple juice, achiote paste, cumin, oregano, and salt until completely smooth.
- Coat the pork in the marinade, cover, and refrigerate at least 4 hours, overnight if you can.
- Cook the pork hot and fast: grill, broiler, or a ripping hot cast iron pan, in batches so it sears instead of steams. Cook until charred at the edges and cooked through. Chop into small pieces.
- Warm the tortillas directly over a gas flame or in a dry hot pan until pliable with a few charred spots.
- Build each taco: pork, chopped pineapple, onion, cilantro, a squeeze of lime. Two tortillas per taco if they are thin.
Slice the pork thin before marinating. More surface area means more marinade flavor and faster charring. Partially freeze the shoulder for 30 minutes and it slices like a dream.