Tacos al Pastor (“shepherd style”) (or in British, The Pastor’s Taco) is fusion at it’s best. It is thought to come from Lebanese immigrants in Mexico (similar to the shawarma). Mostly it’s just delicious! This happens to be one of my favorite things to order at a Mexican restaurant. You know you are at a truly authentic Mexican restaurant if you can find this on the menu.
For the home version, we had previously been relying on a Southern Living recipe that is quick and easy and comes from a local chef in Austin. However, it always seemed to be lacking something. The flavor was fine, but not amazing. And the meat lacked a lot of the crispiness that you get in the traditional version. It makes me think that when a chef gives their recipes to a magazine….they tend to leave something out.
So our quest continued to find a good Tacos al Pastor recipe that we could make at home. UNTIL we got the latest magazine from America’s Test Kitchen!
The star of the show is the Boston Butt (which is pork shoulder). Other key ingredients include guajillo chilies and pineapple. Everything else is pretty standard (tomatoes, onion, garlic, lime, various and sundry spices).
You start by making the sauce. First step is to roast the chilies in a dry pot for a few minutes until they are warmed through. Then you add the tomatoes, garlic, some water, bay leaves, and other spices. This simmers for about 20 minutes until cooked down.
We pureed it in a blender, and then ran it through a strainer to get rid of all the lumps and seeds.
You are left with a smooth and silky sauce! The pork is cut into large chunks and then nestled in with the sauce. Now the pork cooks in the sauce low and slow for almost 2 hours until tender.
Now comes the part that I think was lacking in the Southern Living version. We grilled the pork on a cast-iron grill for a few minutes on each side until it got nice and crispy.
Next up is grilled pineapple. The pineapple really gives these tacos a freshness that pairs nicely with all the spices. And it’s so pretty! We chickened out on buying a whole pineapple and cutting it up ourselves. Turns out, the grocery store will sell you a pineapple core that has already had the skin and leaves removed.
The meat and pineapple get diced into smaller chunks, and then they go back in the pot for a final coating of sauce.
Now comes the fun part: assembling the taco. We chose corn tortillas (again, no self respecting taco is served on flour) and garnished with white onion and cilantro. You could also add a fresh tomatillo salsa and/or queso fresco. The sweet pineapple and the flavorful chilies really make this taco stand out. The pork is tender and juicy and has a little bit of crispiness from the grill. While we may still continue the quest for great Tacos Al Pastor, for the time being we have a reigning champ!
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