My husband and I ran across a cooking show on TV where they were making al pastor tacos. They looked delicious and so of course, I wanted some but without all of the hard work. So I created a recipe for “almost al pastor” tacos. The sweetness from the caramelized pineapple, spiciness from the chipotle peppers, and freshness of sweet onions and cilantro made for a really delicious combo!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork shoulder or pork loin (if you prefer a less fatty meat like we do)
- 1 20 oz can crushed pineapple in juice
- 1 7oz can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 3 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Visalia sweet onion, diced
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 8 flour (or corn) soft taco tortillas
- fresh salsa, for added garnish (optional)
- Grilled pineapple, cut into small chunks for added garnish (optional)
- Cut pork into 2 inch chunks, set aside.
- Add entire can of pineapple in juice, peppers in adobo sauce, garlic, and olive oil into a blender/food processor. Puree until smooth.
- Pour pineapple marinade over the chunks of pork, toss until well coated, then let marinade in the refrigerator overnight or for 8 hours.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F if using oven. Or use an outdoor grill to really draw out the flavors of the marinate.
- Thread pork onto skewers and place on a baking pan that is lined with a rack. You want the juice to drip off of the meat not cook in it. Place in middle rack and bake for 12 minutes.
- Mix onions and cilantro and set aside as taco topping.
- Move pan to top rack and set the oven to a high broil. Turn meat when it starts to brown (about 3 minutes each side). Keep an eye on the skewers as your oven may vary. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 7 minutes.
- Remove meat from skewers and slice into small pieces.
- Once you heat up your tortillas, you are ready to assemble the tacos. Add meat, onion and cilantro, and garnish with pineapple and/or salsa.
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