Street Tacos al Pastor for #SundaySupper

September 16th is Día de Independencia in Mexico (Mexico’s Independence Day) and to celebrate the group of bloggers from #SundaySupper decided to feature Mexican dishes.  As someone who has another blog entirely dedicated to my favorite Mexican food — Tacos — I was excited to try making something I have always wanted to attempt.

Tacos al Pastor is my go to taco when I am out doing taco reviews on GasStationTacos.com.  It’s my test to see if the taqueria is sub par, average or amazing. If you have never enjoyed an al pastor taco, you are in for a treat provided you find a place (or recipe) that is at least average and hopefully amazing.

I’ve had amazing a few times.  The most memorable is from this gas station in Dallas, Texas:

They make it on a vertical spit something most home cooks don’t own, myself included. Sadly this recipe isn’t a match for some of the amazing pastor tacos in my history, but that doesn’t mean you should stop reading or ignore this recipe.  It just means the recipe here is above average and is a solid choice for homemade al pastor.  Granted I’ll probably try some other things next time, like increasing or modifying the chiles used as I prefer a bit more spice.

My wife really liked this recipe and thought the tacos were really good. Note this was her first time having al pastor tacos, because she will not eat at the gas stations or taco trucks I like to frequent.  Her loss.

So here is my virgin attempt at al pastor.

You will need to find a Mexican market as you’ll need a coupe things you probably won’t find at the typical grocery store.  Achiote paste and dried guajillos chiles are two things I had to find after striking out here in LA at Whole Foods.

Tacos al Pastor
Serves 4

16 corn tortillas
1/2 cup oil
2 lbs pork butt, trimmed of some of the outer fat and cut into 1″ “steaks”
1/2 pineapple
1 red onion, diced
1 bunch cilantro, diced
4 limes, cut into quarters
salt

Anchiote Marinade
2 oranges, juice only
1/2 cup anchiote paste
10 dry guajillos chiles
1 onion
4 garlic cloves
1 cup white vinegar
1 cinnamon stick
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the marinade by soaking the dried gualjillos chiles in hot water for about 10 minutes.  Add the softened chiles to a blender with the rest of the ingredients and blend until fully combined.  Pour the marinade over the pork butt, cut into 1″ thick “steaks” and refrigerate for about 3 hours.

Heat your grill and add the pork.  Cook the pork for about 20 minutes turning halfway through and pounding the pork with some grill tongs. You want to soften the pork and thin it while it is cooking.  For the last 5 minutes of grilling add some rounds of pineapple.

While waiting for everything to grill, soften the tortillas by heating some oil in a saute pan on the stove.  Quickly add the tortillas for just a second on each side and place on papper towel patting them to remove any excess oil.

Remove the pork and pineapple.  Chop the pork and cut the pineapple into small pieces mixing all of it together.  In a separate bowl mix the red onion, cilantro, squeeze of lime and salt.

Prepare 3 to 4 tacos per plate and place some pork and pineapple mixture onto each tortilla and top with the onion and cilantro mixture.

Serve with some hot sauce and fresh limes.

For more ways to celebrate Mexico’s Independence Day checkout the other #SundaySupper recipes this week:

Join us around the family table this week for our #SundaySupper Mexican Fiesta – it’s a party that you won’t want to miss. We hope to inspire you with these mouthwatering recipes from our talented contributors. We will be sharing them all day long and would love for you to share your favorite Mexican and Mexican-inspired recipes during our #SundaySupper live chat at 7pm (Eastern).

Sopas (Soups), Ensaladas (Salads), and Entremeses (Starters)

• Chicken Tortilla Soup – The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
• Mexican Paint Soup – Crispy Bits & Burnt Ends
• Jalapeño Popper Dip – Chocolate Moosey
• Vegan Tortilla Soup – Galactosemia in PDX
• Texas Caviar – Ruffles and Truffles
• Cheese-Stuffed Jalapeños w/ a Tequila Sunrise – Mama’s Blissful Bites
• Mexican 7 Layer Dip & Chips – The Daily Dish Recipes
• Stoplight Salsa Reisipe – Family Foodie
• Tortilla Soup with Roasted Vegetables – Diabetic Foodie

La Comida (the food)

• Fiesta en tu Boca Enchiladas (Chicken & White Bean Enchiladas w/ Salsa Verde) – The Hand That Rocks the Ladle
• Gluten-Free Chicken Spinach Artichoke Enchiladas for #SundaySupper – Cooking Underwriter
• Mexican Fiesta for #SundaySupper: Chipotle Chicken & 3 Bean Quesadillas w/ Wasabi Guacamole and Mango Salsa – Chattering Kitchen
• Carnitas – My Catholic Kitchen
• Tamale Pie – Noshing with the Nolands
• Eggs Motuleños – The Meltaways
• Grilled Fish Tacos with Black Bean and Corn Salsa – Small Wallet Big Appetite
• Carne Asada – Magnolia Days
• Carnitas Avocado Pizza with Chipotle Avocado Mayonnaise Drizzle – Damn Delicious
• Frijoles Charros (Cowboy Beans) – La Cocina de Leslie
• Puerco Pibil – girlichef
• BLT Quesadillas with Avocado Mayo – Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Chile Rellenos with Roasted Tomato Sauce – Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
• Tamales with Green Chili Sauce – Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts
• Beef and Vegetable Enchiladas – Hezzi D’s Books and Cooks
• Chicken Con Queso – Momma’s Meals
• Baked Flautas – Home Cooking Memories
• Chunky Aztec Chocolate Granola – What Smells So Good?
• Street Tacos Al Pastor – Sustainable Dad
• Shrimp Tacos – Pippi’s in the Kitchen Again
• Chile Relleno with Ranchero Sauce – The Little Ferraro Kitchen
• Zippy Chipotle Shrimp & Mango Tostadas – Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• Pork Tacos – Tora’s Real Food
• Stuffed Sopapillas – Juanita’s Cocina
• Chicken Fajitas – Cravings of a Lunatic
• Blue Crab Tacos – Pescetarian Journal
• Huevos Rancheros – Comfy Cuisine

Postres (desserts)

• Chocolate Cinnamon Flan – Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Caramel Apple Enchiladas for a Mexican Fiesta #SundaySupper – In the Kitchen with KP
• Chilli Chocolate Truffles – Happy Baking Days
• Horchata Ice Cream & Churro Brownies – Kwistin’s Favorites
• Strawberry Empanadas – In the Kitchen with Audrey and Maureen
• Plantain Fritters – From Fast Food to Fresh Food
• Fried Cinnamon Sugar Tortillas – The Watering Mouth

Bebidas (beverages)

• Beer Margaritas – That Skinny Chick can bake
• Hatch Chile Margarita – Shockingly Delicious
• Skinny & Spicy Watermelon Margaritas – I Run for Wine
• Refreshing Kiwi Lime Margarita – Mama Mommy Mom
• Wine Pairings for a Mexican Fiesta #SundaySupper – ENOFYLZ

Please be sure you join us on Twitter throughout the day during #SundaySupper. We’ll be meeting up at 7:00 pm (Eastern) for our weekly #SundaySupper live chat where we’ll talk about our favorite recipes for a Mexican Fiesta! All you have to do is follow the#SundaySupper hashtag, or you can follow us through TweetChat! We’d also love to feature your Mexican Fiesta recipes on our #SundaySupper Pinterest board and share them with all of our followers! And feel free to leave links to your favorite Mexican or Mexican-inspired recipes in the comment section of this post – I’d love to see them!