Al pastor tacos are a popular Mexican dish cooked on a spit and served with pineapple, cilantro, onions, and salsa. The dish originated from Lebanese immigrants in Mexico and is made with marinated pork. It should not be confused with adobada tacos.
Al pastor is a popular style of tacos most commonly found in Mexico City and Cuernavaca, although they can also be found in other parts of Mexico. In the United States, al pastor tacos are much harder to find, although they are becoming more common in US cities with large Mexican populations. The way these tacos are cooked and served is unique in that the meat is cooked on a spit and then shaved or cut from it at the point of serving. Spit cooking of taco meat is not commonly found outside of Mexico, and the counter-intuitiveness of placing pineapple on top of a taco makes it the more elusive taco, causing many to confuse it with similar but distinct dishes.
The cooking method using a skewer is similar to the way gyro or shawarma is prepared. The All Shepherds style is believed to have been developed due to the influence of Lebanese immigrants in Mexico. Over time, the method of preparing the meat transformed from something similar to Lebanese shawarma into the style that can be found today in taco restaurants throughout central Mexico.
Unlike Shawarma beef, which is normally lamb, Al Pastor beef is pork marinated in a mixture composed of vinegar, a variety of chilies, and other herbs and spices. The pork is left to marinate anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days, then folded over the upright spit and cooked over a gas flame. There is a set recipe for creating the marinade for this meat, and many restaurants keep their recipe as an important secret.
Tacos al pastor is normally served with a thin slice of pineapple, along with cilantro, onions, and salsa. Whole pineapple normally rests on top of the meat while it is cooking on the spit and is then released the release of bromelain, an enzyme pineapple contains that tenderizes the meat by breaking down its proteins. When the dish is served, a slice of pineapple is cut up and placed on the taco, where it provides a sweet and tangy addition to the flavor profile.
This dish should not be confused with adobada, which means “marinated” in Spanish. The meat in adobada tacos is often marinated in a similar recipe to that used for the meat. Adobada tacos are usually made with pork, but the meat is not cooked on a spit nor are the tacos topped with pineapple slices. These last two traits identify authentic tacos al pastor.
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