Friday, June 22, 2007

Tacos al pastor


Updated October 30, 2008:
This recipe has attracted a lot of readers to this blog. I was surprised to see the numbers!! Thanks to all who read it, and please feel free to post a comment.
Since i posted this recipe, i started making big batches of the sauce and freezing it for weeks with no problems.

Tacos al pastor (also known as Tacos de Trompo)
These tacos are traditionally cooked in a kebab-like vertical rotisserie with a pineapple on top. You can also make quesadillas (with soft flour tortillas) and add some of the meat and make what is known as a “Gringa”.
Enough for 15-20 tacos (enough for 3 or 4 people)

let me know if you try this! its super easy and SUPER good!

Sauce:
5 Pasilla chiles
5 Guajillo chiles
4-6 cloves of garlic
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt

15-20 soft corn tortillas
1 kg pork meat (boneless, cut into 1/2 in. pcs)

Garnish + serve
Pineapple (fresh or canned)
Finely chopped onion
Coarsely shopped cilantro
Limes

1- Gather ingredients (notice the chiles are dried, and can be found in any Mexican grocery shop)
2- Clean the chiles: remove stem, cut open and remove seeds and veins.
3- Boil chiles + vinegar + a bit of water (about 1/2 c) until soft (about 15 mins). WARNING: eyes will water, and you’ll get the sniffles with the chile/vinegar fumes, so work in a well ventilated kitchen.
4- Blend chiles (with liquid), garlic, cumin and salt
5- Strain chile blend and cook again for about 5 minutes (it will bubble and jump and if you get it on your skin, it burns!)
6- Let the mix cool and marinate pork meat for at least 4 hours (6-8 is best). Use a plastic bag or a glass container, the chile will stain plastic!
7- Add a bit of oil to the skillet and cook the meat (marinade and all). The juices will reduce, and the flavor will concentrate. Do not cover, but I do recommend you use one of those mesh covers for oil splatters, because this stuff jumps!
8- Remove the meat from the skillet and keep warm. In the same skillet, sautee the pineapple until it caramelizes a bit.
9- Warm tortillas in a skillet (or comal). Serve tacos with onion, pineapple and cilantro on top. (photo is sasn-cilantro because I don’t like it). Add salsa* (optional) and lime juice right before eating.

*”Salsa Taquera” is good to use, also available at Mexican food stores. (please don’t use any of that chunky el paso salsa for this!!)

5 comments:

Abril said...

Que rico! Tendre que probar la receta, aunque aqui en Minneapolis se supone qeu hay buenos tacos.

Bev said...

Now thats what I'm talkin about!
Yum-Yum No one cooks better than the Molina girls! I will try this
Love You

adobo1 said...

TACOS AL PASTOR
The cooking method is the most important to prepare the real tacos al pastor.
With ADOBO OVEN. A revolutionary oven that allows its user to cook the meat of the “pastor tacos” while displaying the process inside any restaurant. This allows the restaurant patrons to experience the feeling of eating in a real Mexican “taquería”.

We realized that Mexican restaurants in the US lack the original “trompo de pastor” (traditional display pastor ovens), and we quickly learned that the reason for this is because traditional pastor ovens do not conform to the regulations imposed by the Health Department. A closer look at the issue revealed that with a conventional pastor oven, the rack of meat is slowly cooked from the outside, leaving a percentage of the meat in the inside at risk for bacteria reproduction.

ADOBO OVEN prevents this vulnerability by cooking the meat in a revolutionary way. Along with the burners on the outside, it also has an inside heating mechanism that cooks the meat from its core, thus allowing the whole rack of meat to reach the adequate temperature. ADOBO OVEN meets all of the requirements of the US Health Department and its revolutionary technology assures that the meat will always be safe and healthy.

Clients will enjoy the show of watching the “taquero” prepare tacos by cutting thin slices from the rack of pastor meat and placing them in a small corn tortilla along with onion, cilantro and the traditional small chunk of pineapple.
I can give you the recipe for the tacos al pastor.
For more information visit us at www.adobooven.com

Best regards,

Juan Antonio Rodriguez
Adobo Oven.
210-827-1757

Solana said...

I live in portugal and ALSO really miss mexican food! I cant get these fresh chiles here but i do have them dried do you think i can make them all the same? Any suggestions? Gracias gnammy!

Rooroo C said...

I use the dry chile Solana i think that's what she meant. I also huge batches and freeze them I have 3 little ones running around and it's hard to get anything done so it's easy peasy cooking if I cut a few steps out.