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Tacos al Pastor

Course Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, Snack
Cuisine Mexican, Tex/Mex
Keyword Tacos, Tacos al Pastor
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Marinate overnight 8 hours
Servings 18 people
Author David of Sunset & Sewanee

Equipment

  • chef knife
  • Blender
  • comal or iron pan
  • cutting board
  • storage container with lid or plastic wrap for marinating
  • Tongs
  • heavy fry pan for cooking

Ingredients

Red Adobo Sauce

  • 2 large/whole ancho chili with seeds and stems removed-dry roasted
  • 3-4 whole arbol chili, with seeds and stems removed-dry roasted
  • 4 whole cascabel, chili with seeds and stems removed-dry roasted
  • 1 whole guajillo, chili with seeds and stems removed-dry roasted
  • 2 whole morita, chili with seeds and stems removed-dry roasted
  • 1 whole pasilla, chili with seeds and stemmed removed-dry roasted
  • 1 whole white onion, diced
  • 4 whole tomato, roma or vine ripened, roughly chopped
  • 6 large clove garlic, roughly chopped
  • cup bitter orange juice
  • ¼ cup oil, avocado or any neutral oil
  • 2 tbsp achiote paste, homemade or store bought
  • ¼ tsp oregano-preferably Mexican, stems removed and chopped
  • ¼ tsp cumin, roasted whole or ground
  • tsp cinnamon or canela
  • tsp clove, ground
  • 1 tbsp salt

Pork

  • 1 5lbs pork shoulder, boneless sliced thin
  • 1 cup Red Adobo Sauce
  • 1 whole onions, sliced very thin (optional)

Pineapple Garnish

  • 1 whole pineapple, fresh, skinned cored and peeled cut into bite sized chunks
  • 2 tbsp butter, unsalted good quality
  • tsp salt

Suggested Extra Garnish (any or all)

  • ½ cup Houston style Green Sauce recipe in this blog
  • ½ cup Mexican style Chili Verde recipe in this blog
  • ½ cup Red Adobo Sauce (recipe above) recipe in this blog
  • ½ cup finely minced onion and cilantro
  • ½ cup Molcajete Guacamole recipe in this blog
  • ½ cup Chile Morita Salsa
  • ½ cup Queso Fresco, crumbled (Otherwise known as Farmer's Cheese or Fresh Cheese available in most grocery stores)
  • ½ cup Chicharrón en Salsa Roja 
  • ½ cup Mexican style pickle red onions recipe in this blog
  • ½ cup thinly sliced radish

Instructions

To make red adobo sauce

  • Dry roast the chilies (doing only one type) of chili at a time, in a pan over high heat until just fragrant-not burned. Repeat the process until all of the chilies have been roasted.
  • Add the roasted chilies to the container of a blender. Then add onion, chopped tomato, garlic, bitter orange juice, oil, achiote paste, oregano, ground cumin, ground cinnamon, ground clove and salt. Process starting on low and gradually increase the speed until a thick, well blended sauce forms. Remove from the blender and store in the refrigerator until needed.

Slicing and marinating the pork shoulder/butt

  • It's easiest to use a boneless pork shoulder/butt, but if necessary, cut around the bone and slice the pork very thin. Remove any excess fat and discard.
  • Gather the pork in a container for marinating. Add enough red adobo sauce to completely cover the sliced pork. Using your hands with a disposable kitchen glove, mix the red adobo sauce thoroughly with the sliced pork. Cover with a tight fitting lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.

Cooking the pineapple

  • Remove the skin and core a fresh pineapple. Slice the pineapple in half, then half again, and half the quarters. Slice the remaining pieces into bite sized chunks. If you are using canned diced pineapple, you are ready to cook as is.
  • Heat butter in a pan over medium high heat. Once the butter has melted, add the pineapple chunks and cook them until nicely charred. Reserve and keep warm.

Cooking the pork

  • Heat a heavy pan over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes. Add a tablespoon or more of oil as needed to the fry pan. Once the oil is hot and shimmering, but not smoking, add a few slices of the marinated pork. Don't overcrowd the pan. Cook on one side until just charred. Remove the cooked pork from the skillet and reserve in a dish until all the pork has been cooked off. Keep warm and reserve.

To assemble the tacos

  • Cut limes and/or dice onion and cilantro for topping. Crumble the Queso Fresco if need be. Assemble all of the extra garnish as you desire.
  • Warm the tortillas. Add enough pork to the tortillas to make a small taco without over-filling. Add crumbled Queso Fresco, minced onion/cilantro and charred pineapple and serve with your favorite garnish.