al Pastor Revisited

I am still on a mission to make tacos al pastor fit for a “roach coach”. I am closer to mastering this fine pork preparation than ever. I have cooked and eaten pastor every week since my first pastor blog and my piles of meat have come a long way. I still want to work on this recipe but I am temporarily losing steam considering the amount of Pastor that I have consumed in the last 3 or 4 weeks. This is what I have come up with so far:

ADOBO SAUCE
5 dried Gaujillo Peppers
5 dried Pasilla Peppers
8 cloves Garlic
3 Bay Leaves
5 Cloves
½ tsp cumin
I tsp Mexican oregano
1cup white vinegar
1cup crushed pineapple (unsweetened)
Salt to taste

Heat the coarsely chopped dried peppers, bay leaves, cloves, and Mexican oregano in vinegar on the stovetop until the peppers are hydrated and soft, about 15 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and puree in a food processor until smooth. Transfer the mixture back to the stovetop and simmer until a thick pasty texture is formed.

Slice a pork shoulder into thin slices, about 3/8 inch thick. I had to postpone my pastor making one week and froze the pork shoulder, which worked out great because it is much easier to get uniformly thin slices when the meat is still partially frozen. Do not trim off the fat! There is a reason why we are using such a fatty piece of meat. Coat each slice of pork with a thin layer of sauce and stack the slices on top of each other. One reason why I cannot make entirely authentic al Pastor is because I don’t happen to own a vertical rotisserie which is used to cook sliced pastor stacked on a vertical spit. Instead I marinate the pork slices stacked on top of each other for 4-12 hours. Then I fry the slices in a hot pan with oil until the pork is well browned and crispy. Finally, Chop up all of the cooked pastor pieces into more taco-appropriate pieces. Serve with chopped cilantro and onion, lime, and El Pato hot sauce. If you want to be really authentic, don’t forget the paper plate.