Have you ever had a conversation that went like this:
Person 1: What do you want for dinner?
Person 2: I don’t care what do you want?
Person 1: I don’t care either so you decide
Person 2: I mean I could have anything so it’s up to you
And on and on and on and on. It’s without a doubt one of the most annoying conversations you can have with someone and yet it’s happened at least once a week for the last twelve years between the two of us. It’s pretty pathetic. Thankfully we both love tacos and, on those kinds of nights, they are usually what we end up eating. Gabe and I joke that without Mexican cuisine we would probably starve.
Al pastor is traditionally made pork and onion that have been marinated for 24 hours and then layered and cooked on a spit roast along with the pineapple. The outside pieces get nice and crispy and the fat continually drips down the meat keeping it nice and juicy. It is similar to shawarma and it is incredible! There is a taco shop near our house that serves the best al pastor but the burritos are the size of my head and weigh roughly 5 pounds. I might be exaggerating a bit on the size but nonetheless they are huge and not something we can indulge in on a regular basis. You really do get the most authentic taste when cooking on a spit roast, however this recipe comes pretty dang close to our beloved taco shop.
Happy Cooking!
Al Pastor Bowls
Ingredients
- 3 lb pork shoulder or butt roast
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
Marinade
- 1 large pineapple cored and cut into spears, divided
- 8 guajille peppers, dried
- 2 chilis de arbol, dried
- 1 TBSP white vinegar
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 TBSP granulated garlic
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
Instructions
- Remove stems and seeds from the chilis. Heat pan over high heat and toast the chilis until lightly charred. Remove the chilis and add to a bowl then cover with boiling water (about 1-2 cups). Let the chilis soak for 15 minutes. Once the chilis are rehydrated drain the water, reserving 1/2 cup for the marinade.
- Add the 1/2 the pineapple slices, rehydrated chilis, 1/2 cup water from chilis, and remaining marinade ingredients into a blender and process until smooth.
- Slice pork widthwise into 1/2 inch pieces* (see notes)
- Add pork, sliced onion,, and marinade to a casserole dish or large ziplock bag. Make sure all of the pork is completely covered in the marinade and place in the refrigerator for 8-24 hours. If using a casserole dish, make sure it is covered with a lid or plastic wrap.
- Lightly oil your grates and preheat your grill to med-high heat. Take your meat out of the fridge and separate the onions from the meat. Add your meat to the grill and cook for 4-5 minutes per side or until lightly charred and just cooked through. Let rest for 5 minutes
- Add pineapples to grill and cook 3-5 minutes per side until they have grill marks but are not burned.
- This step is optional. You can either discard the onions or preheat a sauté pan over med heat and sauté the onions until soft, about 10-15 minutes. Remove onions to a cutting board
- Slice the pork, onions (optional), and pineapple into roughly 1/2 inch pieces. If eating as a bowl serve over your favorite rice or vegetable rice with avocado and pico de gallo salsa. We also love these as tacos or burritos.
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