Where Tacos al Pastor Comes From
Tacos al pastor are one of the clearest examples of how food changes when people move. In the early twentieth century, Lebanese immigrants brought spit-roasted shawarma to Mexico. Over the years Mexican cooks swapped lamb for pork, added a marinade of dried chillies and achiote, and served the meat in small corn tortillas. In Mexico City you will see the result on almost every busy street corner: a tall spit of marinated pork, known as a trompo, topped with a pineapple.
Most home kitchens do not have a vertical spit, but you can get very close by marinating thin slices of pork and searing them hard in a hot pan or on a grill, so the edges caramelise and char. The marinade is the heart of the dish, and it is best made the day before.
Serves: 4 (about 12 tacos) | Prep: 25 minutes, plus 4–24 hours marinating | Cook: 20 minutes
Ingredients
Marinade
- 3 dried guajillo chillies, stemmed and seeded
- 2 dried ancho chillies, stemmed and seeded
- 50 g (about 2 oz, 3 tbsp) achiote paste
- 120 ml (½ cup) pineapple juice
- 60 ml (¼ cup) white vinegar
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp dried oregano, preferably Mexican
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 2 cloves or a pinch of ground cloves
- 1½ tsp salt
Tacos
- 1 kg (2.2 lb) boneless pork shoulder, sliced 5 mm (¼ in) thick
- ¼ fresh pineapple, peeled and cut into 1 cm (½ in) slices
- 12 small corn tortillas
- 1 small white onion, finely diced
- A handful of fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
- 2 limes, cut into wedges
- Salsa verde or your favourite salsa
Method
- Toast the dried chillies in a dry pan for 20–30 seconds per side until fragrant, taking care not to burn them. Soak them in hot water for 15 minutes, then drain.
- Blend the chillies with the achiote paste, pineapple juice, vinegar, garlic, oregano, cumin, cloves and salt until very smooth.
- Coat the pork slices thoroughly in the marinade, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
- Heat a heavy cast-iron pan or grill until very hot. Char the pineapple slices for 2–3 minutes per side, then chop them into small pieces.
- Cook the pork in batches with a little oil, giving each slice room in the pan. Sear for 2–3 minutes per side until cooked through and charred at the edges.
- Rest the pork for a few minutes, then chop it into small pieces. Return it all to the pan for a final minute to crisp up.
- Warm the tortillas on a dry pan or directly over a gas flame until soft and lightly spotted.
- Fill each tortilla with pork, then top with pineapple, onion and coriander. Serve with lime and salsa.
Tips for Success
- Partially freeze the pork for 30 minutes before slicing to make thin, even cuts much easier.
- Do not crowd the pan. Overloaded pans steam the meat instead of searing it.
- Stack two tortillas per taco, as street vendors do, if your tortillas are thin.
- For a closer match to the spit-roasted texture, stack the marinated slices tightly in a loaf tin, roast at 180°C (350°F) for about an hour, then slice thinly and crisp the slices in a hot pan.
Variations
Chicken thighs take this marinade very well and cook more quickly. For a vegetarian version, try thick slices of oyster mushroom or pressed firm tofu, marinated for an hour and seared until crisp.
If you cannot find achiote paste, mix 1 tablespoon of sweet paprika with a pinch of turmeric and a little extra vinegar. The colour and flavour will be slightly different, but still very good.
How to Serve
Serve the tacos on a platter with bowls of toppings so people can build their own. Sides such as frijoles charros, grilled spring onions, sliced radishes and cucumber with chilli and lime round out a taco night nicely.
Agua fresca, especially hibiscus or tamarind, or a cold Mexican lager are traditional drinks to go with them.
Leftover marinated pork keeps well in the fridge for up to two days. Reheat it in a very hot pan so it crisps again, and use it in quesadillas, rice bowls or a breakfast hash with fried eggs.
