Tacos al Pastor

Tacos al Pastor (stovetop home version)

A faithful home-kitchen take on Mexico City's iconic spit-roasted pork tacos: pork marinated in achiote and dried chillies, seared until the edges char, then served on warm corn tortillas with pineapple, onion, coriander and lime. The vertical trompo is replaced by a heavy skillet, which sacrifices the smoky spit flavour but keeps the marinade and the sweet-sour-savoury balance intact.

Prep

40 min

Cook

25 min

Total

65 min

Serves

6 (about 18 tacos)

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •900 g (2 lb) pork shoulder (boneless), cut into roughly 2 cm / ¾ in cubes; not too lean
• •60 g (¼ cup) achiote paste, block-style, e.g. Achiote El Yucateco
• •20 g (4 whole) dried guajillo chillies, stems and seeds removed
• •10 g (2 whole) dried ancho chillies, stems and seeds removed
• •10 g (1 whole) dried chipotle morita, stem removed, optional for extra smoke
• •120 ml (½ cup) pineapple juice, fresh if possible
• •60 ml (¼ cup) white vinegar
• •4 g (1 tsp) Mexican oregano
• •3 g (1 tsp) ground cumin
• •3 g (1 tsp) ground black pepper
• •6 g (1½ tsp) fine sea salt
• •3 g (3 cloves) garlic
• •250 g (½ lb) fresh pineapple, rind and core removed, cut into small cubes
• •1 whole white onion, finely diced for serving
• •15 g (1 cup) fresh coriander (cilantro), leaves and tender stems only
• •2 whole limes, cut into wedges for serving
• •18 whole small corn tortillas, around 12 cm / 4½ in; warmed
• •30 ml (2 Tbsp) neutral oil, for searing the pork

Steps

1. 1 Toast the dried chillies in a dry skillet over medium heat, 20–30 seconds per side until fragrant — do not let them blacken. Cover with hot water and soak for 15 minutes, then drain.
2. 2 Blend the soaked chillies with the achiote paste, pineapple juice, vinegar, garlic, oregano, cumin, pepper and salt until very smooth. Strain if you want a silkier marinade.
3. 3 Toss the pork cubes with the marinade in a non-reactive bowl or zip bag, massaging it in. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, ideally overnight (up to 24 h).
4. 4 Remove the pork from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Strain the meat, keeping the marinade. Pat the cubes dry — wet pork will steam, not char.
5. 5 Heat a large heavy skillet (cast iron is ideal) over high heat with the oil until just smoking. Spread the pork in a single layer in batches; do not crowd the pan. Sear 3–4 minutes per side until the edges are deeply browned and a little charred. Lower heat if the fond threatens to burn.
6. 6 Return all the pork to the pan, pour in the reserved marinade, and add the fresh pineapple cubes. Cook uncovered over medium-high heat for 5–7 minutes, stirring, until the sauce reduces to a glossy glaze clinging to the meat and the pineapple softens and caramelises at the edges. Internal temperature of the pork should reach 71 °C / 160 °F on an instant-read thermometer.
7. 7 Rest the pork off the heat for 5 minutes. While it rests, warm the tortillas directly over a gas flame or in a dry skillet until pliable and lightly blistered, then keep them wrapped in a clean tea towel.
8. 8 To serve, finely chop the pork and pineapple together on the cutting board so every portion gets a mix. Pile onto the warm tortillas and top with diced white onion, coriander and a squeeze of lime.