Huge Tacos al Pastor
Prep
20m
Cook
25m
Total
45m
Bigly says
Sit down for this one. Tacos al pastor. The HUGEST tacos. When I tell you about al pastor, I am telling you about the single greatest taco innovation in human history — and there have been innovations, plenty of them, the hard shell, the soft shell, the puffy taco which is a real thing nobody talks about, the chalupa, look it up — but al pastor sits ABOVE all of them. Above. On a throne. Wearing a little pineapple crown.
Many people don't know this, but al pastor came from Lebanese immigrants in Mexico City who brought shawarma with them, and the Mexicans — brilliant people, brilliant cooks, the best — took that vertical spit, swapped lamb for pork, added pineapple and chiles and achiote, and INVENTED a taco so good it should probably be illegal. It's not illegal. But it should be. The best one of my life was at a gas station in Albuquerque. True story. A man named Ramón made it. He didn't speak. He just looked at me, nodded, and handed me a taco that changed me as a person. Ramón is the truth. I've also had al pastor in fancy restaurants where they charge you $19 for three tacos and then ask if you want to round up for charity — round up for charity, on a $19 taco, the audacity, sad.
Now, you do not have a vertical spit. I do not have a vertical spit. NOBODY has a vertical spit in their house, unless they're a weirdo, and if they are, good for them, weirdos drive innovation. So we're going to fake it. We are going to MARINATE the pork, sear it hard, char some pineapple, and assemble tacos that will make your kitchen smell like the best street corner you've ever walked past. Believe me. The neighbors will know. The neighbors will WONDER. Let them wonder. Don't tell them. Keep this one for yourself.
Ingredients
- 2 lbboneless pork shoulder(sliced 1/4-inch thick — get the butcher to do it or freeze 30 min first)
- 3dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 1dried ancho chile, stemmed and seeded
- 1/2 cuppineapple juice(fresh from the pineapple if you can, canned is fine, no shame)
- 1/4 cupwhite vinegar
- 2 tbspachiote paste(the red brick in the Mexican aisle, do not skip, this is the SOUL)
- 4 clovesgarlic
- 1 tspground cumin
- 1 tspdried oregano
- 1.5 tspkosher salt
- 1 tspblack pepper
- 2 tbspvegetable oil
- 1/2 smallfresh pineapple, cut into 1/2-inch rings
- 12small corn tortillas
- 1/2white onion, finely diced
- 1/4 cupfresh cilantro, chopped
- 2limes, cut into wedges
Steps
- 1
Toast the guajillo and ancho chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat for 30 seconds per side until fragrant. Transfer to a bowl, cover with hot water, and soak 10 minutes until soft.
- 2
Drain the chiles and add to a blender with pineapple juice, vinegar, achiote paste, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth.
- 3
Place the sliced pork in a large bowl or zip-top bag. Pour the marinade over and toss to coat every piece. Marinate at least 1 hour in the fridge, or up to 24 hours.
- 4
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large cast iron skillet over high heat until smoking. Working in batches, sear the pork in a single layer for 2-3 minutes per side until deeply charred and cooked through. Transfer to a cutting board.
- 5
In the same hot skillet, add the pineapple rings and char 2 minutes per side. Transfer to the cutting board.
- 6
Chop the seared pork into small bite-size pieces. Dice the charred pineapple into small cubes. Toss them together so the pineapple juice mingles with the pork.
- 7
Warm the tortillas: char them directly over a gas flame for 10 seconds per side, or heat in a dry skillet until lightly blistered. Stack and wrap in a clean towel.
- 8
Build tacos: tortilla, pork-and-pineapple mixture, diced onion, cilantro. Squeeze of lime. Eat standing up, ideally.
One more thing
And there you have it. THE taco. The one you'll think about for days. People come up to me, they say, 'Bigly, I made the al pastor, I haven't eaten anything else since, my wife is concerned, my dog is concerned.' I tell them: that's normal. That's the al pastor working. Eat the al pastor. Be at peace. The other tacos will wait. They have to wait. They're not as good. It's not even close. It's a slaughter. Now go eat.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
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Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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