Easy Al Pastor Chicken Tacos Recipes

Steps:

• Make the marinade: Soak the dried chiles in warm water until softened, about 15 minutes; drain. Discard the stems and seeds. Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the chiles, onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender and add the pineapple juice, orange juice, apple juice, beer, vinegar, oregano, paprika, annatto, cloves, 2 tablespoons salt and 1 tablespoon pepper; puree until smooth.
• Make the tacos: Place the pork in a large roasting pan and pour the marinade on top; cover with foil and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Transfer the pork to the oven and roast, covered, 3 hours. Remove the pork from the braising liquid and transfer to a cutting board; let rest at least 10 minutes. Reserve the braising liquid. Cut the pork into 1/4-inch pieces and return to the braising liquid, tossing to coat.
• Assemble the tacos: Arrange the pork on the tortillas and top with the pineapple-serrano salsa and tomatillo salsa. Top with cotija, chicharrónes, cilantro and radishes. Serve with lime wedges.
• Soak 20 dried guajillo chiles in warm water at least 30 minutes; drain. Remove the stems and seeds. Transfer the chiles to a blender and add 4 cups water, 5 garlic cloves, 1 diced onion, 2 teaspoons each chicken stock and kosher salt, 1 teaspoon each pepper and dried oregano and 1/2 teaspoon cumin; puree. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Dip a tortilla in the chile mixture, then add to the skillet and cook until lightly browned, 1 minute per side. Remove and sprinkle with cotija cheese. Repeat to make about 30 tortillas.
• Heat a grill to medium high. Peel 2 pineapples and cut into 1/4-inch-thick planks; grill until marked, about 3 minutes per side. Finely chop the pineapple, removing the core. Soak 2 to 3 thinly sliced serrano chiles in ice water, 10 minutes, then drain. Combine the pineapple, serranos, 2 diced small red onions, 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl; toss. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Steps:

• Make the marinade: Break off the stem ends of the cascabel and ancho (or guajillo) chiles and shake out and discard the seeds. Place chiles in a saucepan and pour over cold water to just cover. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then turn off the heat and let the chiles soak, 15 minutes.
• In a blender, combine tomatoes, onion, oil, citrus juices, stemmed chile de árbol, garlic, clove, achiote seeds, cumin, oregano and salt. Add the soaked chiles and a few tablespoons of the soaking water and purée until smooth. Add more of the soaking water if needed to make a thin paste. Set aside about 1/2 cup of the marinade for cooking.
• Sprinkle the meat with salt. Place in a container, add remaining marinade, and mix until well coated. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. (The recipe can be made up to this point up to 1 day in advance.) Bring to room temperature before cooking.
• Combine the pineapple and sugar in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Stir often until the sugar is melted and the pineapple is caramelized, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 225 degrees. Prepare a tortilla basket or slightly damp clean dish towel. On a griddle or in a heavy skillet, warm the tortillas on both sides until hot and blistered, stacking them in the basket or wrapped in the towel. Transfer to the oven until ready to serve.
• Place a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Drain off all excess liquid from the meat and blot between layers of paper towels. Add the oil to the hot skillet, swirl to heat through, then add 2 tablespoons marinade. Let sizzle for a moment, then add the meat, spreading it out in a single layer. (If your skillet is smaller than 12 inches, cook in batches to avoid crowding the pan.) Let meat cook undisturbed over high heat until browned on the bottom, then sauté over high heat, stirring often, until cooked through but still moist, about 5 minutes. After 3 minutes, taste and stir in more reserved marinade as needed. When cooked, transfer to a serving bowl.
• Place everything on the table, including the toppings, and serve at once.

Steps:

• Cook tomato on a ridged grill pan over medium-high heat until slightly blackened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool until easily handled. Peel off skin and remove seeds.
• Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add guajillo and ancho chile peppers; cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Drain.
• Combine tomato flesh, softened chile peppers, 2 slices pineapple, orange juice, quartered onion, vinegar, chipotle peppers, salt, garlic, cloves, cumin seeds, and oregano in a blender; blend until smooth.
• Arrange pork slices in a glass or ceramic baking dish. Pour blended mixture over pork, ensuring all sides are evenly coated. Cover baking dish with plastic wrap.
• Marinate pork in the refrigerator, 4 hours to overnight.
• Cook remaining pineapple slices on a ridged grill pan over medium-high heat until slightly blackened and soft, about 5 minutes per side. Chop into small pieces.
• Wipe out grill pan and preheat over medium-high heat. Cook marinated pork in the hot pan, turning once, until browned, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Chop pork coarsely into small pieces against the grain. Serve with pineapple, chopped onion, and cilantro.

Steps:

• Coarsely shred pork, reserving juices. In a small bowl, crush half the pineapple with a fork., In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add whole pineapple chunks; cook until lightly browned, 2-3 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove from pan., Add enchilada sauce and crushed pineapple to same skillet; stir in pork and reserved juices. Cook over medium-high heat until liquid is evaporated, 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally., Serve in tortillas with pineapple chunks, onion and cilantro. If desired, top with queso fresco and salsa, and serve with lime wedges.

Steps:

• For the chicken al pastor: Put the orange juice, vinegar, chile powder, honey, cumin, oregano, garlic, chipotles, onion and 1 teaspoon salt in a blender. Pulse several times until chunky. Add the oil and pulse to make a smooth marinade. Pour the marinade into a large resealable plastic bag and add the chicken. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours.
• Remove all but the bottom oven rack and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut the top off the pineapple and reserve. Cut off the peel from the pineapple. Cut a 1-inch slice off the top of the peeled pineapple, chop and reserve for garnish. Slice the remaining pineapple in half. Put the bottom of the pineapple on a rimmed baking sheet and insert a long skewer, pointy side up.
• Drain the chicken from the marinade and pat dry. Season with salt and drizzle with a little vegetable oil.
• Thread the chicken on top of the pineapple, then top with the top half of the pineapple. Transfer to the bottom oven rack and roast until the chicken is tender and caramelized on the edges and the internal temperature measures 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 1 1/2 hours. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let rest 15 minutes.
• For the spicy cabbage slaw: While the chicken roasts, make the slaw. Whisk together the orange juice, lime juice, honey and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Stir in the jalapenos and brine. Whisk in the oil in a slow stream to make a smooth dressing. Add the cabbage, cilantro and red onion and toss well. Refrigerate until the chicken is done.
• For the tacos: Heat the taco shells according to the package directions.
• Put the reserved pineapple top on the chicken and pineapple stack, pushing it through the skewer. This will allow you to hold the stack steady while you cut the chicken and pineapple.
• Use a sharp knife to make thin vertical slices.
• Serve the sliced chicken and slaw in the taco shells with toppings of your choice. Finish with a squeeze of lime.

Steps:

• Combine achiote paste, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, vinegar, and majo juice into a bowl or bag. If you don't have achiote paste, combine 1.5T paprika, 1T vinegar, 3/4t oregano, 1 minced garlic, 1/4t cumin. Mix and replace achiote paste above.
• Cut pork shoulder into 1 inch slices.
• Combine bacon, pork and marinade above to a bowl or bag and let it rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
• With a pan underneath, skewer the 2 largest pork steak with two different bamboo skewers and then lay 2 pieces of bacon over top of each. There will be a fair amount of bacon over each side of the steak. It's important to make sure you skewer in the center as this is your base.
• Add the next largest pork steak and wrap the excess bacon from the previous layer on top.
• Lay 2 more pieces of bacon perpendicular to the last layer, skewer a pork steak, wrap and repeat until all the pork is skewered. Excess bacon? Wrap around of the outside of each. If unstable, support with additional bamboo skewers. You should have 2 equally sized pork footballs of love wrapped and layered with bacon.
• Cook at 350F until internal temperature is 155F Occasionally baste with marinade.
• While the pork is cooking (it will start smelling amazing very quickly), dice onion, chop cilantro, cut mangos into 1/2 inch cubes, shred cheese.
• Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
• Shave pork off spit.
• Add pork, mango, cheese, sour cream, salsa verde, cheese to a warm tortilla and top with cilatro and a squeeze of fresh lime. Serve and wait for the complements to come inches.

Steps:

• For the marinade: Seed the chiles, and chop finely.
• Mash them together with the garlic, cloves, and cumin; add vinegar (avoid touching the chiles and vinegar with your bare hands if possible to prevent burning the skin).
• Boil the ingredients in heavy saucepan until it thickens into a heavy paste, stirring frequently to avoid burning.
• Let cool.
• Cut the pork meat in thin steaks or slices (normally the slices rest on top of each other while marinating and cooking).
• Apply the paste to the meat putting one slice on top of the other (At an authentic taqueria, this would form a unit topped with pineapple for added flavor and moisture, and placed into the rotisserie and rotated constantly).
• Cover and place in the fridge at least 6 hours (or overnight).
• If using a rotisserie, cook the meat until well done.
• If not using a rotisserie, drain the marinade and cut the pork in small pieces.
• Put in a frying pan with a little oil and cook the meat with small pieces of pineapple making sure the pork is well-cooked, using care not to burn.
• While the meat is cooking, heat the tortillas.
• Finely chop the onion and cilantro together.
• Cut the limes in quarters.
• Serve the cooked meat wrapped in the hot tortillas, and garnished with the chopped cilantro, onion, pineapple, and the lime quarters.