I think the 3 things I miss most about California are owning a car, having a grill, and the Mexican food. The later two are especially salient around Cinqo De Mayo which for me used to signal the start of the grilling season.
Like the Mexican food in NYC, Cinco De Mayo is a bit misguided here in the US. Most people think it’s the Mexican equivalent of July 4th, but it’s actually not even a federal holiday south of the border (Mexican Independence day on September 16th however is). I suspect its prominence in the US has a lot to do with the marketing engines of big tex-mex chains looking for a way to sell more burritos (ironically, this is a food item that doesn’t have the wide popularity in Mexico that it does here). Still, it is a good excuse to cook Mexican food especially something a bit more elaborate that takes about a day to make.
One of my favourite tacos, Tacos Al Pastor (“shepherd style”) likely originated from Lebanese immigrants who made their way to Mexico and brought with them Shawarma. Like any food that emigrates from one place to another, changes are made to include locally available ingredients and to suit local palettes. In this case, the meats were flavored with various chiles and then topped with a pineapple while roasting.
The pineapple, aside from adding some sweetness and acidity, also has an enzyme called bromelain that breaks down proteins making the meat very tender. Since we don’t all have shawarma spits at home, I’ve adapted this recipe to work in an oven or on a cooler grill. The pineapple goes into the marinade which gets layered into the roast and is then left to marinade for a short amount of time.
The meat is stunningly tender with a distinct earthy-smokey flavor coming from the dried chiles and a nice balance of sweetness, tartness and salt. I like my tacos simple (like they serve them at taquerias in Mexico) and load up a double layer of corn tortillas with meat then add a bit of minced sweet onion, cilantro and salsa verde on top.
Ingredients
- 1.8 kilograms pork shoulder
- 1/4 fresh pineapple (sliced into long 1/4" thick strips)
for marinade
- 2 dried ancho chiles
- 1 dried guajillo chile
- 3/4 cup fresh pineapple
- 1/2 onion
- 1 Chipotle chile (from can with adobo sauce)
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from Chipotle chilies)
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon achiote paste (or 1/2 teaspoon paprika)
for serving
- 1/2 vidalia onion minced
- cilantro minced
- 1 lime cut into wedges
- 1 batch salsa verde (see recipe below)
for salsa verde
- 4 large tomatillos (or 6 smaller ones husked and washed well with warm water)
- 1/2 onion sliced into wedges
- 4 jalapeno peppers (sliced in half lengthwise)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup cilantro (about 4 sprigs)
- 1/2 lime juiced
- salt to taste
Steps
- Put the pork in the freezer until its firm enough to cut (about 30 minutes).
- Remove the seeds and stems from the chilies and put them in a bowl. Boil some water and pour it onto the chilies and allow them to rehydrate (about 10 minutes). Put the chilies in a food processor along with all the other marinade ingredients and process until smooth. Add the marinade to a pot and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. This destroys some of the enzymes in fresh pineapple that can turn your meat into mush. Turn off the heat then let the marinade cool to room temperature.
- Take the roast out of the freezer and orient the roast how you'd have it sitting in the roasting pan (fat side up). The idea here is that you want to slice the meat into 1/2" thick slices that will stack on top of each other in the roasting pan. I don't slice all the way through which helps when you're trying to put the roast back together.
- Slather the marinade between each layer until every nook and cranny is covered. Tie the roast back together. Cover it and allow it to marinade for no more than an hour. Fresh pineapple has a powerful enzyme that breaks down proteins and while heating it destroys some of the enzymes, it's still a powerful meat tenderizer. If you're using canned pineapple let it marinate overnight as most of the enzyme is destroyed in the canning process.
- When the roast is ready to go in the oven, set the oven to 450 degrees F. Put the roast on a rack in a roasting pan and add water to the bottom of the pan (this is to keep the drippings from smoking). Roast for 30 minutes at this temperature then place the pineapple slices on top of the roast and turn down the heat to 300 degrees F. Roast until the meat is tender (about 3 hours).
- After removing the meat from the oven, cover it with foil and let it rest for about 20 minutes. When you're ready to serve, just cut the meat up into small cubes. I like to pan fry it at this point to give the pieces a bit more caramelization but it's up to you.
- To assemble the tacos just heat up a pile of tortilla's in the microwave covered with a damp paper towel for about 30 seconds. Using 2 tortilla's per taco, fill with meat, then top with minced onions, cilantro and salsa verde. Serve with a wedge of lime for squeezing.
- For Salsa Verde
- Move your oven rack to the top position and lay down a piece of foil. Score the bottoms of the tomatillos (so they don't explode) then place them on the foil. Place the jalepenos skin side up around the tomatillos along with the onions and garlic. Turn the broiler on and allow everything to get a nice bubbly char going on. Using tongs, flip things over and then char the other side. The smaller items like onion and garlic may need to come out first.
- Flake off any excess char (you want to keep some of it) then toss everything in a food processor along with the cilantro and salt and pepper. Process until smooth.
I read about you making this in your comment on TNS…glad it turned out well 🙂 Looks incredibly delicious, love the use of pineapple with the…pork butt, heh.
i would love this… really good job on this dish. i can almost taste the flavor by reading the recipe and staring at that picture.
I always thought Cinco de Mayo around here was just an excuse to push margaritas and too much tequila! Love your dish! Looks great!
I read about you making this in your comment on TNS…glad it turned out well 🙂 Looks incredibly delicious, love the use of pineapple with the…pork butt, heh.
Amazing and I love the flavors that are used. Definitely going to give this a shot.
Ah, how I miss Mexican food! You think you can’t get it outside California… try the Balkans! I dream of cilantro and swoon.
Also – I’ve tagged you for an award! It’s on my site, in the white bean salad post.
i would love this… really good job on this dish. i can almost taste the flavor by reading the recipe and staring at that picture.
I’d never heard of this before but this looks mouth watering. I will have to give this a try–pineapple + pork + mexican = happy michael
YUM! i loooove tacos.
I use Cinco de Mayo as an excuse to cook Mexican food! And these tacos look AMAZING!
I always thought Cinco de Mayo around here was just an excuse to push margaritas and too much tequila! Love your dish! Looks great!
Cinco de Mayo…I love it and yes is misguided but is probably the most used blender day in America. These tacos are just beautiful looking.
Drool! Can I just move it?!
Amazing and I love the flavors that are used. Definitely going to give this a shot.
Ah, how I miss Mexican food! You think you can’t get it outside California… try the Balkans! I dream of cilantro and swoon.
Also – I’ve tagged you for an award! It’s on my site, in the white bean salad post.
I’d never heard of this before but this looks mouth watering. I will have to give this a try–pineapple + pork + mexican = happy michael
YUM! i loooove tacos.
I use Cinco de Mayo as an excuse to cook Mexican food! And these tacos look AMAZING!
Cinco de Mayo…I love it and yes is misguided but is probably the most used blender day in America. These tacos are just beautiful looking.
Drool! Can I just move it?!
I just had tacos al pastor last week! YUM… I have to say that yours look better than the ones I had.
thanks for the great background on cinco de mayo and clearing things up for lots of people!
I just had tacos al pastor last week! YUM… I have to say that yours look better than the ones I had.
thanks for the great background on cinco de mayo and clearing things up for lots of people!
These sound really tasty!
These sound really tasty!
WOW!!!
Tacos al Pastor are the Holy Grail of cooking to me.
One of those magical flavors that you have in the most out of the way places (Taco Trucks in Cal roadside stands in Mexico) and there is scarce documentation for (at best). There are a TON of recipes on the web that are all copies of one…and it’s only fair at best.
I’ve been looking and cooking and tasting…and looking again. Then I found your site. It looks somewhat close to what I have cobbled together for my marinade tonight, after 3 years of research.
I may be closing in on the Grail- I will try your recipe, it looks to be by far the best thing I have seen on the web so far.
Tacos al Pastor are a specialty of roadside stands in Mexico City (the best) and they are not giving up their recipes any time soon.
Who the Hell are you – this is some quality research?! WOW!
WOW!!!
Tacos al Pastor are the Holy Grail of cooking to me.
One of those magical flavors that you have in the most out of the way places (Taco Trucks in Cal roadside stands in Mexico) and there is scarce documentation for (at best). There are a TON of recipes on the web that are all copies of one…and it’s only fair at best.
I’ve been looking and cooking and tasting…and looking again. Then I found your site. It looks somewhat close to what I have cobbled together for my marinade tonight, after 3 years of research.
I may be closing in on the Grail- I will try your recipe, it looks to be by far the best thing I have seen on the web so far.
Tacos al Pastor are a specialty of roadside stands in Mexico City (the best) and they are not giving up their recipes any time soon.
Who the Hell are you – this is some quality research?! WOW!
tacos al pastor smells delish when you see it in a restaurant in mexico city–it was nice to read more about it here.
tacos al pastor smells delish when you see it in a restaurant in mexico city–it was nice to read more about it here.
I’m bookmarking this one. Been wanting to make tacos al pastor for a long time — but, you know, well, laziness happens.
I’m bookmarking this one. Been wanting to make tacos al pastor for a long time — but, you know, well, laziness happens.
Good recipe–there are some variations. Guajillo seems to be a unanimous choice. I’ve seen ancho and arbol too elsewhere. Got to have garlic and pineapple.
Good recipe–there are some variations. Guajillo seems to be a unanimous choice. I’ve seen ancho and arbol too elsewhere. Got to have garlic and pineapple.
This looks delicious. I love food with pineapples. Will definetely try cooking this.
This looks delicious. I love food with pineapples. Will definetely try cooking this.
Have just put marinated pork butt in the oven. It smells terrific, the smokiness of the peppers and sweet-tart of the pineapple blend so perfectly my house has been transformed from 1950’s ranch to banana-leaf protected cabana. I hope I don’t mess it up because I’m planning to cart the left-overs to my sister’s for Memorial Day tacos. I’ve been eating these at Houston taquerias for years, but this is the first time I’ve made them. Sabor!
Have just put marinated pork butt in the oven. It smells terrific, the smokiness of the peppers and sweet-tart of the pineapple blend so perfectly my house has been transformed from 1950’s ranch to banana-leaf protected cabana. I hope I don’t mess it up because I’m planning to cart the left-overs to my sister’s for Memorial Day tacos. I’ve been eating these at Houston taquerias for years, but this is the first time I’ve made them. Sabor!
thanks! the salsa verde was awesome!
thanks! the salsa verde was awesome!
Stumbled across your blog and how happy I am that I did. Great recipes and wonderful photos.
I have my pork butt on the grill now for this very recipe. It looked too delicious to wait. I will probably blog it and definitely credit you. Thanks again for an amazing take on a classic.
Stumbled across your blog and how happy I am that I did. Great recipes and wonderful photos.
I have my pork butt on the grill now for this very recipe. It looked too delicious to wait. I will probably blog it and definitely credit you. Thanks again for an amazing take on a classic.
Hi!
I tried your Tacos Al Pastor recipe yesterday and it was awesome! I was so excited as I started blending all the ingredients for the the marinade together. The chilis smelled heavenly! I was a little scared to work with chilis, but the recipe was easy to stick to and I had no troubles. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Hi!
I tried your Tacos Al Pastor recipe yesterday and it was awesome! I was so excited as I started blending all the ingredients for the the marinade together. The chilis smelled heavenly! I was a little scared to work with chilis, but the recipe was easy to stick to and I had no troubles. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Are you in NYC? We should talk…I’ve come pretty close to replicating Al Pastor like taqueria san jose #1 in san francisco…let me know where you are!
Are you in NYC? We should talk…I’ve come pretty close to replicating Al Pastor like taqueria san jose #1 in san francisco…let me know where you are!
Looks Divine, I’m Hungry ….
how many people does yhis feed,,?? any one know ?
This should make about 30 tacos.
I want to match this one with my own canning salsa recipe. This will surely be a hit! Thanks.
I had tacos al pastor several times when I was in Mexico recently, and I was excited to see this recipe. The salsa is one of the best I’ve ever tasted, let alone made. I like the flavor of the al pastor, but it doesn’t have the pungency you get in a restaurant. The crunchy bits on the outside were amazing when I took it out of the oven, but it seemed like all that “washed off” when I covered the meat and let it rest. I think if I do it again, I’ll let it rest on the rack. Also, I was thinking of cutting off the outside a few times while cooking and basting it again with the sauce, to mimic the effect of cooking on a spit. What do you think?
That could be an interesting idea, though the meat you cut off may get
dry if you leave it in the oven and will get cold if you take it out
of the oven. One thing I do to get more crust is to chop up the meat
and then fry it in a pan with a little oil. This is also a great way
to reheat leftovers.
. Everything that touches the cucumbers must be sterilized. The jars, lids and all utensils used, must be sterilized. This may be accomplished by submerging in a boiling water bath for a minimum of 10 minutes.
Hi , I lived in the Philippines can’t find any Chilis Ancho , Guajillo here what can i used for subsitudes ? Thanks Paul
Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find good substitutes in Asia. I go back to the US a few times a year to pick up these supplies. The dry chilis will last quite a while in the freezer. You can also try and see if one of the online mexican groceries will ship to your location.
HI, I just Had Your Tacos AL pastor and were Delicious ,I must say i’m Mexican  And ive try ed many recipes while in mexico  and This is the Best So far Thank you very much
Wonderful!Â
Thanks
Straightforward recipe with delicious results! This will go in heavy rotation during the summer. Thanks.
I really like this article, but there should not be an apostrophe in the word “tacos.” Please fix. Thanks!
Do you think this would keep in a cooler for a day if I was going to warm the meat up in a skillet the next day?
As long as you have enough ice in there and you plan on thoroughly heating it, it should be okay, but I can’t provide any guarantees. Use your best judgement, and if it smells funny, is slimy, etc, don’t eat it.
I recently found your blog, and am really looking forward to trying all these great recipes!
A few weeks ago, I learned to make my own flour tortillas, and my wife and kids were amazed! So was I – I realized by daughter had never had a taco!!
We already make everything we can from scratch, but I’ve been without some of the great techniques you share to make the process easier – and the result tastier!
Thanks for sharing – keep up the good work!!!
If you’re referring to the name, no there shouldn’t.
Shuddup.
This is a recipe site. Not a grammar class.
Ill be trying these out tomorrow.
Looking forward to eating this tonight 😀
Any reason for the two different forms of pineapple in the marinade?
Nevermind. Might help if I read the instructions!
I just returned from a 2 week trip to Cozumel, Mexico and had the pleasure of eating a few Tacos Al Pastor at a little family owned taco place that is known for them… EL Pique. They were absolutely fantastic! Looking forward to making this recipe and seeing if this may duplicate what I enjoyed. Thanks for posting this recipe!
I just returned from a 2 week trip to Cozumel, Mexico and had the pleasure of eating a few Tacos Al Pastor at a little family owned taco place that is known for them… EL Pique. They were absolutely fantastic! Looking forward to making this recipe and seeing if this may duplicate what I enjoyed. Thanks for posting this recipe!
apostrophe doesn’t make it plural honey. So many people have lost this knowledge and write like idiots because of it.
GREAT PICS AND INSTRUCTION…..THE CHIPOTLE/ADOBOE IS A NO-NO FOR ME, JUST NOT THE FLAVOR TO BE USING…FOR ME. NEXT TIME I WILL ELIMINATE THE CHIPOTLE.
Look forward to making this dish, but is it 14 or quarter lbs “butt” ? perhaps it is between 1 and 4 lbs?? Hope someone can clarify 🙂
Sorry that’s confusing. It’s 1 x 4 pound roast.
I have made this three times now,really good. The house smells incredible while cooking it. . Thank you for the recipe.
Reread the OP’s post, lke1 said “there should not” be an apostrophe. I misread also. The blogger’s post must have been fixed!
I have an 8lb butt 🙂 instead of 4. It is showing 3 hours of cooking time but not a temperature. Should I drop the temp and cook longer? Can you give me a finished temperature?
Hi Joelle, I didn’t take an internal temperature reading when I wrote this so I’m not sure what it should be. The meat will be very tender though. Since collagen breaks down starting at 160 degrees F and the break-down accelerates through 180 F, you probably want the meat somewhere in that range. The thing is, in a 300 degree oven, the temperature of the outside of the meat will probably get way higher by the time the center is that temperature, so you may want to lower the temperature of the oven (250F) and go for a longer time (12+ hours). I’ve never actually done this with an 8 lb roast though so you’re going to have to use your best judgement as to when it’s tender.
Made this recipe a few months back and had to search around for it again. Delicious!
I’m making this a second time because my wife realized it is better than the al pastor tacos at our favorite taqueria in Houston. Thanks.
Did you marinade at room temperature or in the fridge? Do you think I could leave it marinating for 4 h if in the fridge even if using fresh pineapple?
You can cook the marinade which destroys the enzymes if you want to marinate the meat for longer.
Thanks. That makes sense, but seeing as I’d then not know the appropriate amount of time to cook it for I guess I don’t want to play too much the first time I try this.
This looks amazing. I may have to give this a shot this weekend.
Has anyone tried this in a crock pot?
Has anyone tried this in a crock pot?
Why would anyone need an excuse? It’s my everyday food.
Gueros, I swear.
Some people are easily impressed, especially when they’re not very bright.
Small problem… Pork “Butt”/ Picnic/ Shoulder… Everything is fine up until your cooking temperature. 250F for 4 hrs, then turn your heat up to caramelize/ char/ what have you. You have to HOLD your internal temperature around 160 for as long as possible to get the collagen as well as fat to MELT. Once the collagen heads too far north of 160F, it becomes gristle.
Hi Jeremy, thanks for the comment, but you have a couple things wrong. The goal with slow cooking any meat is to hydrolyze the connective tissues, particularly collagen. This process converts some of the collagen into gelatin. There are many types of collagen that hydrolyze at various temperatures, but in meat it typically requires a minimum temperature above 158-176 degrees (this temperature range is a floor, not a ceiling as you stated). Like many reactions it is a function of time and temperature. The higher the temperature, the faster this happens, the lower the temperature the longer it takes. This is how pressure cookers work, at a setting of 15PSI, they heat to 250 degrees, reducing the time it takes to hydrolyze the collagen in meat to roughly 1/3rd the normal cooking time.
The reason why you generally want to cook at as low a temperature as possible is because the coagulation of meat proteins forces water out, while the hydrolization of collagen creates a gel that keeps meat moist. It’s a balancing act as you need to get the temperature high enough to encourage hydrolization but low enough that you don’t drive all the water out of the meat. Lastly “gristle” is another word for the connective tissues you’re trying to break down. Gristle is only tough and inedible when cooked at a low temperature for a short enough period of time that the collagen does not have a chance to break down into gelatin.
Yes! First, the whole thing about cutting me meat into strips is critical but I’ve not wrapped and tied it so I can’t say how or if that would improve a crock-job. Also, while it wasn’t mentioned by Marc, I would slice the meat against the grain. It seems to help me cube the meat better at the end of cooking. You’re not making carnitas or a stew so don’t soak the meat in the pot. In fact, I would put 1/4 cup each of the marinade and water on the bottom of the crock and nothing else. Your crock seals in moisture (mostly) so having too much liquid in the crock can cause your meat to be too wet.
A normal crock heats at 200 low and 300 high, on average, so, consider those temps when you’re determining the cooking time for your shoulder. I say that because an overcooked, overjuiced shoulder becomes carnitas if you’re not careful 🙂 That said, Al Pastor style carnitas would probably be good as well.
Anyhow, as Marc responded previously, internal cooking temp is what is critical. I shoot for 175 and then remove and rest for the aforementioned 20 minutes out of the crock. I rest it unwrapped in a stainless bowl with a small rack or something at the bottom to let the juices drip away from the meat and then chop it into cubes.
To me, the last and most important step is to grill this meat up in a hot skillet or griddle. The chargrilling to me is what makes al pastor.. Its like getting a chargrilled pork bun bowl at the Vietnamese place only to find that the pork isn’t actually charred or grilled. The nice thing about the crock method is that the meat comes out super tender. So much so that even a strong bit of heat from the chargrill won’t result in tough, dry meat.
And, since I’ve already worn out my welcome, I will also recommend cabrito (goat) al pastor for people who want to try this amazing dish but who don’t eat pork. Adjust the cook time for goat.
Have you cooked this on a grill? If so what temp? How long? Direct/indirect? Thank you.
Hi Paul, I haven’t tried cooking this on a grill, but it’s traditionally made on a vertical spit, so if you have a rotisserie attachment for your grill you could try that. Otherwise I’d do it slow and low or the sugars in the marinade will make it burn.
Hmmm…is there a good way to substitute chile powders for the whole chiles? I’m spending the summer in Australia and am pretty unsure of where to find specific produce like guajillo chiles. There is, however, a great spice store right by my place.
Hi Jon, you could skip the soaking and add the chili powder straight into the marinade. That said most things sold as “chili powder” in the US are actually a blend of spices and seasonings, so you may want to try and see if you can fine ground chilies without the other things added.
Ahh good to know. Thanks, as always. Cooking up your chicken piccata for now, but I’ll give that a try this weekend!
Hi Marc!! Is there any way you can come cook these tacos at my house???
Hi Cessy, if you’re interested in having me come cook for you, have a look here http://marcmatsumoto.com/chef/ and send me an email.
I’ve been making my own brand of pork tacos meat for a few years, and decided to try all pastor as that’s really what I wanted to shoot for. This recipe details seemed pretty legit and I’ve got my first batch in the oven. This looks and smells great in the pan and I cannot wait to dig in. This will likely become a staple item this year. I’ll try making the salsa next time, but am just sticking with jarred salsa Verde this time. Peace.
I really love all your recipes. I would surely try to have my hands on this one because I love Tacos Al Pastor and have tried it at many places, but now I would try to make my own through our recipe. Really thanks!!
Thanks Christine! Al Pastor is one of my favorites too! I hope you enjoy it!
This recipe is awesome. Makes it easier to make your marinade the day before. Lots of stuff a d steps, then actually do the pork the next day, cut, rub, marinade and then roast. Large pork loin from Sam’s is great for double batch. .
Hi Sharon, I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this! Thanks for letting us know!