Mexico Night #2 - pork al pastor

So while we were in Sayulita, we had the best tacos ever at a little stand in the center of town -- just an open-air kitchen, a table of salsas and condiments, and 4 plastic tables in the street out front. Oh yeah, and did I mention the wood-grilled rotisserie of pork and pineapple? Yeah. That was good.



Thinking about what to bring for Sunday Dinner this week, there really was no other choice but to attempt Pork Al Pastor. The basic idea is to marinate thin slices of pork in a vinegar-chile-spice mixture, then grill it and serve in corn tacos with a little onion and cilantro on top.

I browsed Google and Chowhound for recipes, and found many duplicates of this recipe. There's also one from Bobby Flay, but it looked a little complicated. Here's my take on Al Pastor, based on the Bautista recipe. I bought the ingredients at our local mexicatessen. Preparation of the marinade takes about 45 minutes. Marinate at least 5 hours.

- 10 dried pasilla chiles
- 10 dried guajillo chiles
Soak in boiling water a few minutes, then pull off the stems and remove the seeds; set aside in a bowl. Wash your hands carefully -- they will be very hot.

Add to a blender or food processor:
- 3-4 tsp minced garlic (I cheated by using the stuff in a jar)
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- a generous pinch of sea salt
- peppers, one handful at a time
- 1 cup white vinegar
- I didn't include sweetness in my recipe, but in retrospect would recommend adding a little sugar or pineapple juice to the marinade. Let me know what works ...
Blend until smooth, then spoon into a saucepan and warm over low heat until the chiles are fragrant. Let cool.

Meanwhile, rinse and pat dry:
- 2# of thinly sliced pork. I went to a carniceria and asked what cut was good for al pastor; they gave me a 2.5 pound piece of lean, boneless meat, and sliced it into 1-cm thick filets. I imagine if you're trying to dress up this recipe, tenderloin would be quite tasty.
- skewer some pineapple and set aside.

Once the marinade is cool, slather each piece of pork with a spoonful, and layer in a wide dish. Top the slices with skewers of pineapple. Set aside for a while.

Grill the pork and pineapple (or cook in a 12" skillet). Once cooked, chop into pieces and combine with some leftover marinade (to taste). Saute in a skillet until mixture is hot and fragrant.

Before serving, chop half a white onion and a handful of cilantro. Slice up a couple of limes in wedges. Heat some soft corn tortillas. Serve by putting a spoonful of pork and a pinch of onion and cilantro in a taco; top with a squeeze of lime and maybe some salsa. Your tacos should look this good:

(Photo taken from Flickr by Jeffrey Beall)