Oven-roasted tacos al pastor
Whether it's Taco Tuesday or any dinner parties, having Tacos Al Pastor always sounds like a good idea.
Tools
Ingredients
Serving
4
whole ancho chiles, seeds and stems removed
4
whole pasilla or guajillo chiles, seeds and stems removed
345 g
low-sodium chicken stock
25 g
vegetable oil, divided
2 tsp
dried Mexican oregano
2 tsp
dried ground cumin seed
2 tbsp
achiote powder or paste
2
chipotle chiles packed in adobo sauce, plus 4 tsp sauce from can
100 g
distilled white vinegar
6
cloves garlic
30 g
kosher salt
4 tsp
sugar
1,3-1,8 kg
boneless pork shoulder
1
pineapple, peeled and cut in half
3
plum tomatoes, chopped and jellylike middle discarded
1/4
red onion, small diced
fresh coriander
Step by step
Prepare marinade: cook ancho and pasilla or guajillo chiles in large saucepan over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until puffed, pliable, lightly browned in spots and very aromatic, about 4 minutes. Add 230g chicken stock, bring to immediate boil, then pour contents of pan into a small bowl. Cover loosely and set aside.
Wipe out saucepan, add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and heat on medium-high until oil is shimmering. Add cumin, oregano and achiote, stirring frequently, until aromatic but not browned, about 30 seconds. Add chipotle chiles and adobo sauce and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds longer. Add vinegar, salt and sugar, then remove from heat.
Scrape contents of saucepan into a blender. Add garlic and chiles with their soaking liquid. Blend on high speed until completely smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down sides as necessary. Set sauce aside to cool.
Marinate pork: cut any netting or kitchen twine off the pork roast. Coat with half the marinade, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 36. Store remaining marinade in a bowl in the refrigerator.
Cook pork: Preheat oven to 150°C. Place pork on a cutting board and scrape off marinade using a rubber spatula. Discard marinade.
Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to a Dutch oven or wide pot with lid and heat on medium-high on the stove. Sear pork shoulder well on all sides to caramelize. Form as much of a crust as possible without burning.
Add 115g chicken stock to the bottom of the pan. If roast has a fat cap, make sure it is facing up. Cover pan with a lid and roast in the oven 4 to 5 hours, until center of the roast is 80°C. Remove pork from oven and rest for 15 minutes.
Cook pineapple: increase oven temperature to 175°C. Lay pineapple halves on a rimmed sheet pan coated with foil. Use a pastry brush to baste pineapple in the drippings from the pork roast pan. Place pineapple in oven and roast until completely tender, about 50 minutes.
Shred pork: attach Flat Beater to Stand Mixer. Place roast pork in mixer bowl and attach splash guard. Set Stand Mixer to speed 2 and shred meat.
Pour remaining pan drippings into a clear glass measuring cup or clear glass bowl. As it cools, the fat and juice of the meat will separate with the fat on the top. Use a turkey baster or ladle to transfer fat to a separate container. Pour remaining juice back over the shredded meat to keep it moist and flavorful.
Make salsa: remove pineapple from oven, remove core section, and cut into small chunks. Place cut pineapple in the refrigerator to cool.
Combine pineapple with chopped plum tomatoes and diced red onion.
Add reserved marinade to salsa, one spoonful at a time, tasting as you go. Mix well.
Serve pork as tacos with corn or flour tortillas or over rice with added coriander. Garnish with salsa and fresh coriander.