Braised Tacos Al Pastor
Al pastor tacos consist of an amazing blend of marinated, tender and aromatic pork with pineapple.
Servings 8
Calories 698kcal
Ingredients
For the al pastor pork:
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 dried guajillo chilies
- 2 dried ancho chilies
- ½ medium yellow onion, quartered
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 teaspoon chopped oregano
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup pineapple juice
- ¼ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2” slices
- Kosher salt, to taste
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1½ cups diced pineapple
For serving:
- 1 cup diced pineapple
- 1 cup diced white onion
- ⅓ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 36 small white corn tortillas
- Avocado-tomatillo salsa verde, optional, for serving
- Lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
For the al pastor pork:
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF (170ºC).
- Add the chilies a medium mixing bowl and top with hot water. Let sit until the chilies have softened, about 10 minutes. Remove the chilies and discard the water.
- Add the reconstituted chilies, onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, pineapple juice, orange juice and vinegar to a blender. Blend until the mixture is puréed.
- Season the pork on all sides with kosher salt. Heat a large (7.25-quart) Dutch oven over medium heat, add the oil and heat through. Add the pieces of pork, working in batches and brown on all sides about 6 minutes. Set aside.
- Add the chicken stock to the pot to deglaze the bottom. Return the browned pork to the Dutch oven and pour the mixture over the top. Add the pineapple.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Move the Dutch oven to the oven and cook until the mixture is fork tender, about 2½ hours, rotating the meat halfway through cooking.
- Remove the meat, from the braising liquid and let cool. Use two forks to shred the meat or chop the meat then return to the braising liquid.
For serving:
- In a small bowl stir together the pineapple, onion, cilantro and lime juice. Season the mixture with salt and set aside.
- Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat and put two tortillas on top of each other, then warm the tortillas on both sides. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Use tongs to place about ¼ cup of meat on each tortillas. Top with a spoonful of pineapple, onion cilantro mixture and Avocado-tomatillo salsa verde (optional).
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 698kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 60g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 137mg | Sodium: 209mg | Potassium: 1433mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 2767IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 143mg | Iron: 5mg
