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Tacos al pastor

Published: September 28, 2021 at 2:01 PM

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Serves 6-8

Easy

Total time: 1 hr

+ marinating

A star rating of 5 out of 5.1 ratingRate

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This dish was developed by Lebanese immigrants in Mexico who combined the cooking style of shawarma with Mexican ingredients such as achiote and chillies. It’s usually cooked on a spit but this is a simplified version, which is very easy to make at home

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Try tacos al pastor, then check out our pork tacos, steak tacos, birria tacos, chicken tacos and more tacos recipes. Serve them alongside our homemade tomato salsa, guacamole and classic nachos as part of a Mexican-style spread.

Tacos al pastor recipe

Ingredients

Nutrition

• 1.5kg boneless pork shoulder

  skin and large pieces of fat removed, meat cut into ½cm-thick slices

• 1 pineapple

  cut into 1cm slices

• 1 large red onion

  cut into thick slices

• a handful of leaves coriander

MARINADE

• 50g achiote paste

  see notes below

• 50ml fresh orange juice

• 4 guajillo chillies

  stems removed, see notes below

• 1 chipotle chilli

  stem removed

• 4 cloves garlic

• 1 heaped tsp dried oregano

• 1 heaped tsp ground cumin

• ¼ tsp ground cloves

• 100ml pineapple juice

• 60ml white wine vinegar

• 2 tsp fine sea salt

• 2 tsp caster sugar

TO SERVE

• corn tortillas and lime wedges

Nutrition: per serving

• kcal412
• fat23.1g
• saturates7g
• carbs15.5g
• sugars12.6g
• fibre2.3g
• protein34.4g
• salt1.9g

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Method

• step 1

  For the marinade, crumble the achiote into the orange juice and leave for 5 minutes.

• step 2

  In a dry pan over a medium heat, fry the chillies for 3-4 minutes or until charred, then add to a food processor with the achiote and orange juice, and the remaining marinade ingredients. Whizz to combine, then pour all over the meat. Cover and chill overnight or for at least 4 hours.

• step 3

  Prepare the BBQ for direct cooking by spreading the coals in an even layer. Brush the pineapple and onion with a little oil, and cook for a few minutes, turning once, until charred. Dice, season and mix with the coriander.

• step 4

  Grill the pork for 4-5 minutes on each side, turning, until the outside is charred but the meat on the inside is cooked through. (Alternatively, heat the grill to high and grill for 5 minutes each side, or until charred and cooked through.) Rest for 5 minutes under foil, then chop into small pieces, serving with the onion and pineapple, tortillas and lime wedges for squeezing over.

Achiote paste is made from annatto seeds and has an earthy, peppery flavour. Guajillo chilli is dried mirasol chilli – it has aromatic sweetness with mild heat. Buy them from Mexican grocers or on amazon.co.uk.

Try our Mexican recipes to create a feast...

Make it a Mexican fiesta with our pick of the best tequilas, click here to try...

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