Tacos al pastor with pineapple and salsa taquera recipe
Al pastor (marinated pork) tacos have been popular in Central Mexico since the 1950s, and now Daniel Ovadía and Salvador Orozco have upped the stakes with this recipe served at their restaurant Paragüero in Cuernavaca.
So what’s the secret behind making great tacos al pastor? ‘We make the marinade more aromatic than what you find at taquerias,’ Ovadía says. ‘We use cinnamon, oregano, fresh orange and pineapple juice, and the pork should always be marinated overnight to tenderise the meat.’
Before serving, top with fragrant coriander, diced onion, refreshingly sweet pineapple chunks and salsa taquera for a zesty kick.
This recipe is from Lonely Planet’s new book, From the Source Mexico, part of the new From the Source series exploring the world’s top gastronomic destinations from street food stalls to local bistros.
Ingredients
For the marinade- 100 ml fresh orange juice
- 100 ml fresh pineapple juice
- 15 g Guajillo chile
- 100 g achiote powder
- 5 g garlic, chopped
- 100 g onion, chopped
- 3 whole peppercorns
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 pinch oregano
- 10 ml white vinegar
- 30 g lard
- 1 kg pork leg, preferably with fat, cut to ½cm fillets
- 100 g jalapeño chile
- 40 g onion
- 5 g garlic
- 150 ml vegetable oil
- 150 ml water
- 1 pinch salt and pepper, to taste
- 100 g avocado
- 1 quarter pineapple, chopped
- 1 half onion, diced
- 1 bunch of coriander
- 20 small ‘taquero-style’corn tortillas
Details
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Recipe Type: Main
- Difficulty: Medium
- Preparation Time: 40 mins
- Cooking Time: 20 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
For the pork
- Devein the chile, removing the seeds. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and add the chile, boiling for 10 minutes.
- Remove the chile from the saucepan and blend with all the marinade ingredients, except the lard and pork.
- In a pot, combine the lard and marinade mixture and cook over a medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring constantly. Strain when done and set aside.
- Submerge ½cm (¼in)-thick pork fillets in the marinade and let sit overnight.
For the salsa
- Boil the chile, onion, garlic and ¼ of the oil in water for 10 minutes and let cool.
- Blend the mixture with salt, pepper, remaining oil and avocado until smooth.
To assemble the tacos
- In a griddle or a grill over medium heat, cook the pork until the meat is well done and slightly charred on both sides.
- Chop the pineapple into small chunks, dice the onion and chop the coriander.
- Lay thinly sliced cuts of the pork onto warmed tortillas and top with onion, coriander, pineapple, and serve with salsa.
Reproduced with permission from From the Source Mexico © 2017 Lonely Planet. Tacos al Pastor image © Lonely Planet - Lindsay Lauckner Gundlock.
More Mexican recipes you might enjoy:
Tacos al pastor with pineapple and salsa taquera