Tacos al Pastor (at home!)

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Chatty Kathy

I was able to find a recipe from Rick Bayless, Frontera Grill, and when you get a great recipe like this one, don’t mess with it! I’ve tried to make tacos mimicking the tacos al pastor from Mexico before, but without that upright spit to grill it all on, it is very difficult to achieve. We found this to be the closest thing I could do at home.

Serve it with Mexican Pickled Vegetables, Pickled Red Onions and it is a real hit.

Pickled Vegetables

Pickled Red Onions

INGREDIENTS

A 3 1/2ounce packageachiote paste
3canned chipotle chile en adobo, plus 4 tablespoons of the canning sauce
1/4cup vegetable or olive oil, plus a little more for the onion and pineapple
1 1/2pounds thin-sliced pork shoulder (1/4-inch-thick slices are ideal—the kind Mexican butchers sell for making tacos al pastor)
1medium red onion, sliced 1/4- inch thick
Salt
1/4of a medium pineapple, sliced 1/4-inch-thick rounds
20 warm corn tortillas
About 1 1/2cups raw tomatillo salsa

If you have a great butcher, have him slice the meat super fine – you’ll be thankful!

INSTRUCTIONS

In a blender, combine the achiote paste, chiles, canning sauce, oil and 3/4 cup water. Blend until smooth. Use 1/3 of the marinade to smear over both sides of each piece of meat (refrigerate the rest of the marinade to use on other meat or fish). Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Marinate for at least an hour, but I did this overnight. The flavour gets right through the meat.

Light a charcoal fire and let the coals burn until covered with gray ash but still very hot; bank the coals to one side and set the grill grate in place. Or, heat one side of a gas grill to high. Brush both sides of the onions slices with oil and sprinkle with salt. Lay in a single layer on the hot side of the grill. When richly browned, usually just about a minute, flip and brown the other side; move to the cool side of the grill to finish softening to grilled-onion sweetness. Oil and grill the pineapple in the same way. Finally, in batches, grill the meat: it’ll take about a minute per side as well. As the meat is done, transfer it to a cutting board and chop it up (between 1/4- and 1/2-inch pieces). Scoop into a skillet and set over the grill to keep the meat warm. Chop the onion and pineapple into small pieces as well, add them to the skillet and toss everything together. Taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon. Serve with the tortillas and salsa for your guests to make soft tacos.

Tacos al Pastor

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Chatty Kathy

When in Mexico, one of our favorite street foods is Tacos al Pastor. We can’t equal the flavour at home without an upright spit to grill it, but this is a close second!

A plate of pork, seasoned with Tacos al Pastor flavours and just waiting for fresh corn tortillas!

1-4 lbs pork “butt” or blade roast (just make sure it is a cheaper cut, well marbled)
1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped
2 ancho chiles
2 guajillo chiles
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce
1 Tbsp adobo sauce
5 clove garlic, peeled
A few sprigs of oregano (or 1 tbsp dried oregano)
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp salt
1 large onion, sliced
Slices of pineapple
4 – 6 carrots, peeled and kept whole

1. Put the ancho and guajillo chiles in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and allow the chiles to steep until they are rehydrated, about 30 minutes. Discard the seeds and stems and toss the chiles in a food processor along with the remaining ingredients, except onion.

2. Slice the roast into 3/4inch thick slices, but not all the way through.

3. I usually put on plastic gloves for this part – the marinade REALLY stains …Slather the marinade between each layer until all the meat is covered. Stack the onion and pineapple slices in between the slices of meat. Tie the roast back together. Cover it and allow it to marinade for at least 3 hours or overnight.

4. Preheat oven to 245 °C (475 °F). Put the roast on a row of carrots in the bottom of a roasting pan and add water to the bottom of the pan (this is to keep the drippings from smoking). You can use a meat rack if you want, but those carrots will be incredibly delicious if you use them for a roasting rack! Roast for 30 minutes at this temperature then turn down the heat to 160 °C (300 °F). Roast until the meat is very tender (about 3 hours).

5. After removing the meat from the oven, cover it with foil and let it rest for at least 20 minutes.

6. Pull or shred meat apart

Out of the oven, and ready to rest for 30 minutes or so before shredding.

Serve with:

fresh corn tortillas
minced white onion
roughly chopped cilantro

More to love about Mexico City 08 Feb 2015

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Chatty Kathy

We have finally hit on the perfect hotel – it works with Grant’s budgetary restrictions and my level of comfort. To top it all off, it is in the perfect Roma Norte/Condessa area. Full of fabulous restaurants and art everywhere you look. Such beautiful neighbourhoods to walk through, all from Hotel Milan on Avenida Obregan. We’ll be back here for sure.

Obregan is a pretty big street, but as you will often find in Mexico, the centre divider is like a walking park – full of statues, fountains, and ongoing art projects.

In any direction, within a few blocks, you will find a park. Again – statues, art installations and fountains. This one provided a rainbow today.

Mexicans love their dogs, and this dog park even has snack stands to buy dog treats. You wouldn’t believe them lined up patiently to get their treat. You also wouldn’t believe the number of well behaved dogs in the park without a single problem. Oh – and one pig, but I wasn’t fast enough to get a photo of the little porker.

in this district, you can find anything including a plethora of hair stylists. We took a chance and armed with minimal spanish (and a photo from Shae) I decided to get rid of a bunch of hair, and a lot of grey …. turned out pretty darn fine.

When in el DF we usually make good use of the subway – fast, efficient and super cheap.

Wandering down towards the main zocalo we spotted a group of indigenous women setting up the knitting they had brought in from their village. Sloan bought a sweater from these exact women a couple of years ago.

Also near the zocalo a group of nuns are famous for their massive paella.

Only in Mexico will you be treated to a fish taco joint that has such a selection of salsas and toppings for your tacos.

And – the tacos. Absolutely delicious.

This Sinaloan style ceviche served on a tostado was equally fabulous.

We had lamb consomme (which really just means soup here) along with our lamb tacos for breakfast. Grant’s bowl had some body part we truly couldn’t identify – but the soup was outstanding! (No, neither of us gnawed on it)

I think this is one of the best photos I have managed to get of the cathedral at the zocalo in Mexico City – no protests going on, no ice hockey set up, no crowds.

No matter what your sweet tooth is craving, you will find it on the streets of the city.

Rather have some savoury snacks? Here you go.

Whatever you do, shop in the mercados – the best and most amazingly fresh fruit and vegetables are found here. (or trucks on the side of the road)

We are going to miss the plentiful and fresh avocadoes.

Still in the mercado? Pick up anything from the rotisserie master – pork shanks and chicken grilled to perfection.

On pretty much any street it is easy to find Tacos Al Pastor, grilled pork with pineapple and onions, alongside the rotisserie chicken. Don’t be afraid to try any of this – you definitely won’t be sorry.

Con Sabor y Tixtla – just another fabulous restaurant that presents their salsas and grilled tortilla chips to start your meal.

Con Sabor y Tixtla. If a restaurant looks this inviting, you just know the Guerrero style food is going to be as much of a treat.

The organic, upscale craze has hit the wealthier regions of Mexico City also – this incredible market has the best of everything.

Did I mention the best of everything? These Portugese tarts are a mouth watering combination of the flakiest pastry I have ever had and the creamiest custard like filling. Carmelize the top and it is worth dreaming about.

Jugo Verde – can be bought almost anywhere, and slightly different everywhere. Fruit and juice combo loaded with refreshing goodness.

Okay, not in Mexico City – this was in Eronga – but how can you not be entertained knowing these guys might be behind or in front of your vehicle. Truly, we have seen a live goat loaded into a trunk in a very busy section of Mexico City though ….

That taxi will be arriving for us before 4:00 a.m. (yes, I do mean in the morning) and it will be Hasta La Vista Mexico … but certainly Hasta luego – we will be back. With all that Mexico has to offer we have barely scratched the surface. Having spent our few hours back in el DF eating and looking at all our favourite spots we are ready to go home. Well, I am. As much as I love the travel, I look so forward to what we have waiting at home even more.

Hope you have enjoyed our sights, and certainly the flavours of Mexico.

Mucho amore

chattykathychatsandcooks

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Tag Archives: Tacos al Pastor

Tacos al Pastor

More to love about Mexico City 08 Feb 2015