Rookie Pan
← All recipes
Mexico, Americas · Tacos with Guacamole

Tacos al Pastor

The Mexico City classic: pork marinated red with guajillo chilies and achiote, charred over high heat and topped with caramelised pineapple.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time45 min
Marinating the meat+ 4 h
DifficultyHard

Method

  1. Remove the stems and seeds from the chilies and open them flat. Heat a dry pan over medium heat and toast the chilies, pressing them down with a spatula and turning, for in total. Take them out as soon as they smell fragrant and blister in spots; if they smoke, they turn bitter.

    Add in this stepDried guajillo chilies 2Dried ancho chilies 1

    medium heat

  2. Put the toasted chilies in a bowl, cover with just-boiled water and soak for , until soft and easy to tear.

  3. Drain the chilies and blend with the pineapple juice, vinegar, garlic, achiote, cumin, oregano, cloves and salt until completely smooth. Coat the sliced pork evenly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. Freezing the pork for 30 minutes makes thin slicing much easier.

    Add in this stepPineapple juice 80 mlApple cider vinegar 1 tbspGarlic cloves 2Achiote paste or ground annatto 1 tspGround cumin ¼ tspDried oregano ½ tspWhole cloves 1Salt ¾ tspPork shoulder (sliced 5 mm thin) 300 g

  4. Heat the oil in a cast-iron or heavy pan over high heat until it just starts to smoke. Lay the pork in a single layer and leave it for 2–3 minutes until the edges char, then flip. You cook up to 300 g at a time, so this amount takes 1 batch(es), in total. Chop the cooked pork into 1 cm pieces.

    Add in this stepCooking oil 1½ tbsp

    high heat

  5. In the same pan, cook the pineapple over medium-high heat for , turning once, until browned and caramelised in the pork fat. Dice it small and mix with the chopped pork.

    Add in this stepFresh pineapple (1 cm slices) 120 g

    medium-high heat

  6. Warm the tortillas in a dry pan over medium-high heat for 30 seconds per side, until speckled brown and pliable. This takes in total; keep them wrapped in a cloth.

    Add in this stepCorn tortillas 6

    medium-high heat

  7. Fill the tortillas with pork and pineapple, top with onion and coriander, and squeeze lime over. Add your favourite salsa.

    Add in this stepWhite onion (finely chopped) 50 gFresh coriander (chopped) 10 gLime (in wedges) 1

Cook's tip

If you cannot find achiote, 1 tsp paprika gives a similar colour. Never overcrowd the pan: too much meat at once steams instead of searing, so always cook in batches.

Cooking it at camp

Marinate the pork at home and carry it in the cooler, then sear it in a cast-iron pan or on a grate over charcoal. Grill the pineapple slices directly over the coals for extra smoky flavour.