Tacos Al Pastor

A recipe that blends Mexican and Lebanese flavors & methods.

Prep Time: 45 Minutes

Cook Time: 3 Hours

Ingredients

• 1 ea Pork Shoulder 5lbs or more
• 1 ea Al Pastor Marinade See notes
• 1 ea Pineapple
• 1 ea Tortillas I like corn street sized for this recipe
• 1 ea White Onion Optional – Chopped
• 1 ea Cilantro Optional – Chopped
• 1 ea Lime Optional – Wedged
• 1 ea Monterrey Jack Cheese Optional – Freshly Shredded

Instructions

Gather your ingredients. I like to do this at least 24 hours, if not 48 hours prior to cooking.

Slice the pork into thin slices (about 1/4″ thick).

Place the pork in the marinade and refrigerate (24 – 48 hours).

Get the marinade and pineapple from the fridge and set your smoker (or oven) for 350, indirect. I used some cherry wood for this cook.

Get two thick slices from the pineapple and place one piece as the base of a skewer tower in a tinfoil pan.

Add each piece of meat, building the tower and cap with the second pineapple slice. I like to pour the excess marinade into the base of the pan.

Place into the smoker (or oven).

Cook until internal temperature is 145 (about 3 hours).

Remove and let rest for a few minutes.

Thinly slice the meat tower from top to bottom. An electric carving knife is great for this!

Taste test time!

Build your tacos and enjoy!

Notes From James

• For the marinade, use my recipe for Al Pastor Marinade.
• You can use this same method with chicken if you want!
• While I made tacos from the meat, it also tastes great in burritos, salads, and just by itself!
• I tried 3 different hot sauces on 3 tacos here.  All from Eel River Pepper Company.  Their Pig Sauce, Chocolate Habanero, and Apple Chocolate Ghost all paired amazingly well here.  That Chocolate Habanero really pairs well with anything, but the Pig Sauce and Apple Chocolate Ghost added some really nice sweet and tangy flavor to these tacos!
• Beautiful serving platter courtesy of Luke @ Hazel Burr Design.

For more recipes head to makecaloriesgreatagain.com