Mexican Tacos Al Pastor Recipes

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:

• Slice the pork shoulder into about 1-centimeter (¼ in) slices, then transfer to a large dish or bowl. In a medium bowl, combine the achiote paste, chili powder, garlic powder, oregano, cumin, salt, pepper, vinegar, and pineapple juice, mashing and stirring until smooth with no lumps. Pour the marinade over the pork slices, then toss to make sure they are coated on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
• Place a slice or two of the pineapple on the baking sheet. Take a wooden skewer and push it directly in the middle of the pineapple. Remove the pork from the fridge and push the slices through the skewer, layering one after the other until there is a 1-inch (2 ½ cm) gap at the top. Push another pineapple slice on top.
• Bake for about 1½ hours, until the pork is slightly charred on the outside and deep red. Rest the meat for about 10 minutes, then carve off thin slices of pork and roasted pineapple.
• To assemble, place some pork on the tortillas, followed by a few pieces of pineapple, a sprinkling of onion, a pinch of cilantro, and a spoonful of salsa, and some diced avocado. Serve with lime wedges.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• The day before you plan to eat, place the pork in a large bowl and toss with the lime juice and salt. Heat a comal or nonstick skillet to medium-high heat. Add the onion wedge and garlic, placing the garlic near the edge, away from direct heat. Cook until soft and blackened in spots, turning occasionally, about 7 minutes. Peel the garlic and place both items in a blender jar. Crumble the achiote paste into the blender and add the vinegar, cumin seed, peanuts and bay leaf along with the cinnamon stick, cloves and allspice. Blend until smooth. Pour the marinade over the meat and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.
• The next day, prepare the garnishes: Chop the pineapple, slice the limes into wedges, prepare the salsa, and chop the cilantro and onion.
• Heat a large heavy skillet to high heat and add 1 teaspoon lard. When smoking, add one piece of marinated steak. The meat should sizzle and smoke, so make sure you have a working fan and vent on your stove. Cook until the meat starts to release its juices and lighten slightly in color, 2 to 3 minutes, then flip and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Both sides should have dark-brown charred spots; if they don't, raise the heat higher.
• Transfer to a cutting board and repeat with the remaining steaks, scraping the pan well to remove any burned bits between frying.
• Scrape out the pan once more and cook the pineapple until soft and charred in spots. Remove to a bowl.
• Warm the corn tortillas on a comal or nonstick skillet and place in a dishcloth to keep warm. Chop the meat into small pieces. Serve on a platter and let guests feed themselves, passing the tortillas and garnishes.

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.

Steps:

• Bring 2 cups water to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add guajillo and pasilla chiles. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until chiles soften, about 10 minutes; transfer to plate. Remove and discard stem and seeds. Meanwhile, coarsely chop one onion half; reserve remaining half. Strain pineapples; reserve juice and fruit separately.
• Transfer guajillo, pasilla and chipotle chiles, chopped onion half, reserved pineapple juice, vinegar, garlic and cumin to bowl of food processor. Puree until smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer chile mixture to saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring chile mixture to a boil; cook until paste loses raw onion taste, about 2 minutes. Season with Adobo; cool. In large container with lid, or in large ziptop bag, combine pork cubes, cooled chile marinade and reserved pineapple chunks; transfer to refrigerator. Marinate at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.
• Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Strain pork and pineapples, discarding marinade. Add pork and pineapples to skillet. Cook in batches until dark golden brown on all sides and cooked through, about 15 minutes; transfer to large serving plate.
• Meanwhile, finely slice remaining onion half. Transfer sliced onion to bowl with cilantro. Serve pork and pineapple mixture in warm tortillas. Garnish pork tacos with cilantro, onions and limes.