Grilled Spicy Pork Tacos (Al Pastor)

Recently, I posted a new recipe on homemade tortillas and I ended up using them to make delicious pork tacos al pastor.  This is usually a staple in any authentic Mexican restaurant.  It features marinated pork that's paired with pineapple.  I know that the combination may sound a little unusual at first but once you taste it, you realize that it's a great combination of flavours.  It also doesn't hurt that pineapple happens to be my favourite fruit!

This recipe has a few steps involved but the overall result is really mouthwatering.  I think this is a great summer recipe because it makes use of the grill in order to finalize the pork and the pineapple.  The taco is traditionally served with some chopped onion, cilantro and a squeeze of lime but my boyfriend likes adding a bit of coleslaw for that crunch factor.  Either way is delicious!

I was happy to find these in my grocery store, guajillo peppers impart a nice flavour with little heat.

I toasted the peppers in a dutch oven prior to hydrating them with liquid.

I combined the liquid and other ingredients and simmered it until the peppers were softened.

My grocery store didn't have a boneless blade roast so I removed the bone myself.

A sharp boning knife was really helpful.

The meat was then sliced into 1/2-inch slabs.

The guajillo peppers get transfered into a blender in order to be pureed.

Be careful to place a dish towel over the lid to prevent messes and burns.

I strained the mixture to remove any unwanted skin and seeds.

The pork was braised until tender.

Then the pork was grilled for that great smoky taste.

I sliced up the pork into bite-sized pieces.

Then it was mixed in with the remaining sauce.

I also added chopped grilled pineapple as a garnish over the pork.

Spicy Pork Tacos (Al Pastor)

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

10 large dried guajillo chiles, wiped clean

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/4 pounds plum tomatoes, cored and quartered

8 garlic cloves, peeled

4 bay leaves

Salt and pepper

3/4 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

3 pounds boneless pork butt roast

1 lime, cut into 8 wedges

1/2 pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rings

Vegetable oil

18 tortillas, warmed

1 small onion, chopped fine

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

Toast guajillos in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until softened and fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes.  Transfer to large plate and, when cool enough to handle, remove stems.

Bring toasted guajillos, water, tomatoes, garlic, bay leaves, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, sugar, cumin, and cloves to simmer in now-empty Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until guajillos are softened and tomatoes mash easily, about 20 minutes.

While sauce simmers, trim excess fat from exterior of pork, leaving 1/4-inch-thick fat cap.  Slice pork against grain into 1/2-inch-thick slabs.  

Transfer guajillo-tomato mixture to blender and process until smooth, about 1 minute.  Strain puree through fine-mesh strainer, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible.  Return puree to pot, submerge pork slices in liquid, and bring to simmer over medium heat.  Partially cover, reduce heat, and gently simmer until pork is tender but still holds together, 90 to 105 minutes (I removed it after about an hour), flipping and rearranging pork halfway through cooking.  (Pork can be left in sauce, cooled to room temperature, and refrigerated covered, for up to 2 days.)

Transfer pork to large plate, season both sides with salt, and cover tightly with aluminum foil.  Whisk sauce to combine.  Transfer 1/2 cup to bowl for grilling.  Squeeze 2 lime wedges into sauce in pot and add spent wedges; season with salt to taste.

For a Gas Grill:

Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes.  Turn all burners to medium.

Clean and oil cooking grate.  Brush 1 side of pork with 1/4 cup reserved sauce.  Place pork on 1 side of grill, sauce side down, and cook until well browned and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes.  Brush pork with remaining 1/4 cup reserved sauce, flip, and continue to cook until second side is well browned and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes longer.  Transfer to cutting board.  Meanwhile, brush both sides of pineapple rings with vegetable oil and season with salt to taste.  Place on other half of grill and cook until pineapple is softened and caramelized, 5 to 7 minutes per side; transfer pineapple to cutting board.

Coarsely chop grilled pineapple and transfer to serving bowl.  Using tongs or carving fork to steady hot pork, slice each piece crosswise into 1/8-inch pieces.  Bring remaining 1/2 cup sauce in pot to simmer, add sliced pork, remove pot from heat, and toss to coat pork well.  Season with salt to taste.

Spoon small amount of pork into each warm tortilla and serve, passing chopped pineapple, remaining 6 lime wedges, onion, and cilantro separately.

Source: slightly adapted from Cook's Illustrated