🛒 Ingredients
- 1 kg pork for marinating
- 1/2 pineapple
- Guajillo and ancho chilies
- 4 garlic cloves
- White vinegar
- Achiote spices
- Corn tortillas
- Onion and cilantro for serving
👨🍳 Step-by-step instructions
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Prepare the marinade: blend soaked guajillo chilies, achiote, vinegar, garlic, cumin, clove, and orange.
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Marinate the pork loin in thin slices with the marinade for 4-8 hours in the refrigerator.
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In a very hot skillet or griddle, cook the marinated meat until it's well browned.
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Chop the cooked meat into small pieces along with some fresh caramelized pineapple.
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Heat the corn tortillas directly over the fire or on a dry griddle.
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Assemble the tacos: tortilla, shepherd-style meat, pineapple, finely chopped white onion, and fresh cilantro.
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Serve with green or red sauce, lemon slices, and radishes in vinegar.
💡 Chef's tip
The marinade needs toasted guajillo chilli and achiote as its base. The pineapple on top isn't decorative — it contains bromelain, an enzyme that tenderises the meat as it cooks.
📝 Our take
Tacos al pastor are Mexico City street food at its finest, with an improbable origin: Lebanese immigrants adapted the shawarma with achiote, dried chillies, and pineapple. The guajillo and achiote marinade needs time — at least four hours — to penetrate the meat properly. The pineapple isn't a garnish; it's biochemistry: the bromelain enzyme tenderises the fibres.
🍷 Wine & food pairing
Agua fresca de jamaica (hibiscus water) or an ice-cold Mexican lager with a wedge of lime. The chilli heat needs something fresh and slightly sweet to balance it.
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