This also allows you to scale down the recipe for an average family. To get the nice caramelized pieces, switch on the broiler and cook, flipping the meat occasionally, until browned on each side. Spear slices of the meat, position them on some sliced pineapple set on a rimmed baking sheet, and cook at a low heat until the pork is around 140 degrees. You might not have a trompo, but you can easily track down some metal or wooden skewers. The trick is to imagine turning the vertical spit on its side. The high heat of that method also scorches the chilies in the marinade, leaving burnt aromas in every bite. You miss the interaction among the various layers, how they almost fuse together into a single entity. The result can be a fine and delicious thing, but it's not al pastor. To get around this, most recipes advise you to marinate pork slices and then toss them directly on a grill or saute pan. But even if I managed to persuade my wife to get one, most are loaded with 20 to 40 pounds of meat, which isn't exactly practical. Well, I don't know about you, but I don't have a trompo in my kitchen (even though I really want one). Then the meat is sliced off in thin sheets, so you get a mix of crispy shards and juicy insides. As the meat cooks, the fat drips down the cone of meat, slowly caramelizing on the surface. Traditionally, sliced pork is coated in a flavorful chili mixture and then stacked on a large vertical spit, called a trompo, which spins in front of a heat source. Taquerias cook al pastor differently from other meats. You can create al pastor at home that is nearly identical to the best. They tell you it can't be done the right way at home, and that you need to make some serious compromises, which ultimately change the very nature of the dish.īut after testing for over a year, I found out that that's not true. Sadly, most recipes for homemade al pastor lie.
#Best way to cook al pastor meat how to
I had to figure out how to make this at home. Other taco fillings felt like child's play compared with the alluring combination of fat, heat and sweetness lurking in each bite of the red-tinged meat. After I first experienced the beguiling mix of pork, chilies and pineapple on a street corner in Mexico City and later in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood, I couldn't get it out of my head. Restaurants visited: 1 (a taco truck while waiting for the al pastor tacos to be finished in the Tribune test kitchen)Īl pastor makes me do crazy things. Reporter Nick Kindelsperger is eating tacos every day in May in an attempt to complete six challenges posed by his co-workers.Ĭatch up with every day he's eaten tacos so far.
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