Tacos al pastor

Name: Tacos al pastor
Cook time: 112 min
Total time: 112 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Mexicana
Ingredients: 1 u Onion; 4 cloves Garlic; 2 teaspoons Salt; 0.5 teaspoons Black pepper; 2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil; 1 bunch Coriander; 2 u Lime; 0.5 teaspoons Ground Cumin; 1 teaspoon Oregano; 1 kg Pork Shoulder; 2 u Cloves; 1 u Ancho Chillies; 2 tablespoons White Vinegar; 16 u corn tortillas; 100 ml Orange Juice; 50 g Achiote Paste; 5 u Dried Chillies; 400 g Pineapple

Medium

Incomplete allergen information: some ingredients have not been reviewed yet. Always check the labels before cooking.

Author: Equipo Cocinoa
Preparation time: 112 min
Servings: 4

Summary

Mexico City's favourite tacos: pork marinated in dried chillies and achiote, roasted until the edges caramelise and served in corn tortillas with pineapple, onion and coriander. A home oven version, no spit needed.

Ingredients

4 servings

Add to Bring!

1 u Onion (white, finely chopped)
4 cloves Garlic
2 teaspoons Salt
0.5 teaspoons Black pepper
2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 bunch Coriander (fresh, chopped)
2 u Lime (quartered)
0.5 teaspoons Ground Cumin
1 teaspoon Oregano (dried, Mexican if you can find it)
1 kg Pork Shoulder (boneless, cut into 5 mm slices)
2 u Cloves
1 u Ancho Chillies (stemmed and seeded) (optional)
2 tablespoons White Vinegar
16 u corn tortillas (small, about 12 cm across)
100 ml Orange Juice
50 g Achiote Paste
5 u Dried Chillies (guajillo, stemmed and seeded)
400 g Pineapple (fresh, peeled and cored)

Instructions

Toast the chillies in a dry frying pan over medium heat for a few seconds on each side, just until fragrant and pliable; if they burn, they turn bitter. Cover with very hot water and leave to soak until soft.
18 min
Drain the chillies, keeping a little of the water, and blend them with the achiote paste, orange juice, vinegar, garlic, cumin, oregano, cloves, pepper and salt, adding 3 or 4 tablespoons of the soaking water, into a thick, smooth adobo. Strain it if there are bits of skin.
5 min
Coat the pork slices well with the adobo, cover and refrigerate to marinate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Cut a 1 cm slice of pineapple and set the rest aside. Stack the pork slices tightly in a loaf tin lined with baking paper, lay the pineapple slice on top, cover with foil and roast for 45 minutes. Uncover and roast for 20 minutes more, until the top is browned.
65 min
Rest the meat for 10 minutes, turn it out and shave it into very thin slices from top to bottom, as they do from the trompo. Meanwhile, dice the rest of the pineapple and fry it in a pan with a few drops of oil until caramelised.
10 min
Heat the remaining oil on a griddle or in a large frying pan over high heat and sear the slices of meat in batches, with their juices, until the edges are charred and crisp.
6 min
Warm the tortillas on a comal or in a dry frying pan for about 30 seconds a side, and keep them wrapped in a tea towel so they do not dry out.
5 min
Build the tacos, using two tortillas together if they are thin: meat, a few pieces of pineapple, onion and coriander. Serve with the lime wedges and your favourite salsa.
3 min

Notes

Tacos al pastor descend from the shawarma that Lebanese immigrants brought to Puebla in the early 20th century: first came tacos árabes, made with lamb and wheat bread, and in the capital they evolved into pork, chilli adobo and corn tortillas. In taquerias the meat is cooked on a vertical spit (trompo); at home, stacking the slices in a loaf tin and finishing them on a griddle gives a very similar result. Without an oven, simply sear the marinated slices in batches on a very hot griddle. The pork must be cooked through (about 70 °C in the centre), and any leftover marinade that has touched raw meat should be thrown away. Serve with a green or red salsa of your choice. The raw marinated meat freezes for up to 3 months.