taco al pastor

Isabel Orozco-Moore’s home-grilled tacos al pastor marinate supplied thin pork-shoulder slices in a chile, pineapple and achiote-paste mixture. The same pineapple is divided between the marinade and grilled topping; the finished meat and pineapple fill ready warm corn tortillas.

The supplied rinsed, stemmed and seeded guajillo and ancho chiles go into a medium pot with enough water to cover. After coming to the boil, the pot leaves the heat and is covered for ten minutes. A slotted spoon transfers the softened chiles to a blender with one cup of that same soaking liquid, one cup of the supplied diced pineapple, achiote paste, the halved white onion, garlic, chipotle in adobo, kosher salt, dried Mexican oregano, ground cumin and distilled white vinegar. The marinade blends for three to five minutes until smooth.

The supplied thin pork-shoulder slices are tossed with the marinade in the selected large glass bowl until coated, then covered and refrigerated for four to twenty-four hours. The selected grill is preheated for direct high heat at 450–500°F. Excess marinade is shaken from the meat, which grills for three to four minutes per side and rests on a large plate for five minutes.

While the meat rests, the remaining pineapple rounds are brushed on every side with the listed vegetable oil. They grill until heated through and marked, then transfer to a cutting board and are diced. The grilled pork is chopped into small bite-sized pieces against the grain.

The meat goes into ready warm corn tortillas with the diced grilled pineapple, supplied diced white onion, chopped cilantro, a squeeze of fresh lime juice and prepared salsa verde. Orozco-Moore describes tacos al pastor in Mexico and uses the grill for this selected home preparation.