Do you love enjoying Tacos Al Pastor in your favorite Mexican Restaurant? Imagine serving same fire-pit style juicy charred Chicken Al Pastor tacos at home, made from scratch with lots of pineapples and chilies. Only 15 minutes prep and easy to find ingredients. I'm certain, this easy recipe will make your next taco night extra special!
This recipe is also summer approved because I'm sharing instructions (and tips) to grill chicken al pastor outdoor. (Oven roasted version is bonus for weeknights. Check directions for both)
Traditional Al Pastor, or Tacos Al Pastor, is prepared Greek Shawarma-style or Dönar Kabob style on an iron rod which revolves around fire-pit to roast the meat as it rotates. Resulting meat is juicy, and has smokey fire-roast flavor. Meat ( chicken or pork) is layered with rings of pineapple. Pineapple grills with meat, juice of grilling pineapple add sweetness to roasting meat. Overall, a lot of deliciousness goes into this humble shepherd-style chicken roast famous by name Al Pastor.
One thing to note is there is no Al Pastor without Pineapple. Every time I have had Al Pastor Tacos, pineapple is the star flavor. So, please don't skimp or skip pineapple from this recipe.
How to make Tacos Al Pastor At Home:
My goal was to share Al Pastor recipe which highlights Al Pastorfire-roast flavor, pineapple flavor but is easily prepared at home.
Al Pastor Marinade:
First step to delicious Al Pastor Tacos is Al Pastor marinade. The base marinade ingredients are garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, cilantro, and oregano. Two key ingredients which make this marinade special are: Guajillo Chilies and Pineapple. I toast and soak dried chilies in hot water. When chilies are soft, I puree these with pineapple, pineapple juice, garlic, lemon juice, oil, tomato paste, oregano and cilantro. The resulting marinade has bright citrus and pineapple forward flavor with very subtle heat of chilies. It tastes so good, I even use it as enchilada sauce.
Cooked vs Fresh Pineapple: One of the key ingredient in Al Pastor marinade is pineapple. I have tried this recipe with both fresh and canned pineapple. My vote goes to canned pineapple packed in pineapple juice. I like it because it gave me consistent flavor of pineapple every time I tried. (I use both juice and pineapple in marinade.)
I would only use fresh pineapple if and only pineapple is fully ripe and juicy. When using fresh, I recommend juicing few slices of pineapple or bring a can of pineapple juice to add punch of flavor in the marinade.
Note: Even though it is a chilies based marinade, it is not very high in heat.
Cooking Al Pastor:
To get that charred, fire-roasted Al Pastor flavor at home, grill or oven broiler is the way to go. This is why I love grilling Al Pastor like Greek Kabobs skewed on iron skewers. The open flame caramelize the sweetness of pineapple in marinade bringing close-to-original flavor in homemade easy el Pastor tacos recipe.
For juicy caramelized chicken kabobs, I brush chicken with more pineapple juice while grilling. This also mimics the fire-pit flavor of roasted pineapple dripping on chicken.
You can also skew additional pieces of pineapple along with chicken for more grille pineapple flavor. I love keeping meat-only skewers so that I can grill'em perfectly without worrying for fruit over-grilled or falling apart.
Tip: Cook pineapple separately on grill for serving or making salsa.
Serving Suggestion: You can also serve Al Pastor like a Mexican Platter with side of pineapple, salsa verde, and soft tortillas to make-your-own tacos for Tacos Tuesday or Sunday Grilled Dinner.
Al Pastor Tacos:
No wonder Tacos Al Pastor is second name for Al Pastor because THE best way to enjoy charred, juicy, sweet and spicy Al Pastor meat is to wrap it in soft tortillas with some zesty salsa, more pineapple and red onion. These simple ingredients bring out the flavor of gajjillo chili marinade, pineapple and make a delicious taco experience.
My favorite Al Pastor Tacos Toppings:
1. A zesty, citrus-y salsa such as Salsa Verde
2. Grilled or fresh pineapple, or lime-pineapple salsa.
3. Red Onion
4. Pickled Radish
5. Sour Cream
6. Lime wedges for extra splash
Simple, isn't it? Idea is to let Al Pastor meat shine on tacos. I can tell you, that is the key to serving good, delicious Tacos Al Pastor! I hope you will enjoy'em as much as we do.
From my grill to yours, another Mexican favorite, The Tacos Al Pastor recipe. (check!)
Have a wonderful day! - Savita
