Tacos al Pastor are a Northern Mexico tradition that combines a beautiful rich rustic red chile sauce with sweet pineapple and tender chunks of grilled marinated pork steaks. Served on warm tortilla shells, what’s not to love?
And don’t miss this Pulled Pork Taco Recipe. Seasoned to resemble pork carnitas, your family will flip over this one. It’s one of our favorite taco recipes.
It seems like Tacos al Pastor are everywhere lately…my favorite little taco joint here in Denver has them on the menu… Rick Bayless sent over a recipe via his newsletter.
Food and Wine Magazine talked about them in their taco truck article.
Gourmet Magazine referenced a Denver Mexican restaurant with Tacos al Pastor as a “must order”. So it seemed like this was a “must make” for me.
So what makes this Tacos al Pastor recipe so special? The rich and robust red sauce and grilled pork steaks.
Table of contents
I mean really, who can resist grilled pork shoulder steaks slathered in a Mexican Red Sauce served on steamy corn tortillas topped with sweet grilled pineapple and caramelized onions.
The al pastor sauce (marinade) is simply out of this world using Guajillo chiles, warming Mexican spices and citrus.
What is Al Pastor?
Al pastor is a dish developed in Northern Mexico where a pig is slow roasted in an outdoor spit for two days. It literally means “shepherd style” in Spanish. It’s a very popular taco dish consisting of marinated pork roast, sliced thin, and preferably grilled.
Let’s get started.
For my red sauce al pastor marinade, I used some mild and earthy flavored dried red peppers as my base. Guajillo peppers are a popular choice and readily available on the Mexican aisle in your grocery store.
The Guajillo pepper is a dried Mirasol Chile Pepper which is a chile pepper commonly grown in Southern Colorado.
I also like to use a combo of Guajillo and Pasilla chile peppers. The Pasilla are spicier and darker in color. This will make the sauce even a deeper earthier red.
Step by Step Instructions
Please see recipe card and video for complete
- Step 1: You’ll combine the ingredients for the al pastor sauce and use your food processor, or blender to puree softened dried chile peppers and spices into this luscious red chile paste.
- Step 2: With a very large sharp knife, slice the pork shoulder into steaks, about ¾ inch wide and place in a platter so you can marinate them. A large zip lock plastic bag would also work very well here.
Tip: If the pork is slightly frozen, it will be easier to cut. And if the pork roast is too large, slice in half vertically and cut the steaks from the two pieces.
- Step 3: Slather those pork steaks with the red chile paste. Use either a spatula or a basting brush to get the marinade evenly distributed.
- Step 4: Grilled al pastor: Once the pork steaks are grilled, let them rest for a few minutes under foil. Stack three of the steaks on a cutting board, with the grain of the meat all running the same direction.
- Step 5: With a very sharp knife, slice the steaks very thin, across the grain.
To Build Those Tacos Al Pastor
- Step 6: Warm the corn tortillas. Place slices of pork on the tortillas and sprinkle on pieces of the grilled pineapple and onions. Add some chopped cilantro and serve with lime wedges. Some chopped avocado would work well here.
Due to the deep red color of the al pastor sauce, one might think them to be spicy in nature. In fact, the marinade does carry a little heat, but the pork, once cooked is smoky, tangy and with a bit of sweetness from the citrus. If you want them spicier, sprinkle on some New Mexico Red Chile Powder or garnish the tacos with with rings of Jalapeno pepper or Pickled Jalapeno Pepper.
Tips For Success:
- Seek out a boneless pork shoulder roast. If bone-in is the only cut you can find, ask your butcher to slice the roast into pork steaks. Over the past few years, packaged pork steaks have been available in the meat department.
- Dried guajillo peppers are readily found on the Mexican aisle of your grocery store. You’ll find them in clear plastic packages along side Mexican spice packets.
How To Serve Them
- Serve on warmed flour or corn tortillas to make al pastor tacos.
- Cubed fresh pineapple, or grilled pineapple slices then cubed after grilling.
- Chopped Cilantro
- Lime wedges. A squeeze of lime will brighten flavors.
- Chopped raw onion, sweet or red.
Recipe for Grilled Tacos Al Pastor
I hope you give these pork Tacos al Pastor a try, and if you do, please come back and give the recipe a star rating and leave a comment about your experience with the recipe. There’s a reason tacos al pastor are so very popular, they’re irresistibly delicious.
And if you’re looking for recipes using pork steaks, this is a winner. And check out my recipe for Grilled Ham Steaks. With a sweet and tangy glaze, it’s a super easy dinner recipe.
Recommended Related Recipes
And take a look at the most popular Mexican pork recipe on my site for Hatch Green Chile. Check out my Mexican/Southwestern category for a ton of delicious ideas.
If you liked this recipe, please leave a star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I always appreciate your feedback and hearing how everything went.
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Tacos Al Pastor Made With Grilled Pork Steaks
Ingredients
- 6 dried chile peppers I used 3 Guajillo and 3 Pasilla. Pasilla are hot
- 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce seeds and veins removed
- ½ cup fresh orange juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- ¼ cup cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon anise seeds
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano Preferrably Mexican Oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground clove
- ⅛ cup brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), sliced ¾" thick
- 6 rings Fresh pineapple cut into chunks
- 2 sweet onions sliced
- 16 Corn tortillas
- cilantro and avocado chopped for serving
Instructions
- For the pastor sauce (marinade)
- Stem and seed the dried chiles and place them in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover with water and microwave at high power until softened, about 3 minutes.
- Let cool slightly, then drain and transfer to a food processor. Add the chipotle chilis, orange juice, lime juice, vinegar, anise seeds, oregano, cumin, ground cloves, sugar and garlic powder. Blend until smooth.
- Transfer the marinade to a saucepan. Add the 2 tablespoons of oil and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until very thick, about 5 minutes; let cool.
- To Make Tacos Al Pastor
- Cut the pork roast into ¾ inch slices. Arrange slices into an oven proof baking dish. A 9/13 Pyrex pan works good here.
- Slather those pork steaks with the red chile paste. Use either a spatula or a basting brush to get the marinade evenly distributed.
- Cover and chill 3 – 12 hours.
- Preheat grill to 500 degrees, then lower to 350. Remove pork from marinade and grill pork steaks about 12 minutes per side. Grill pineapple and onion rings until caramelized, turning to cook on each side.
- Transfer pork onions and pineapple to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes, tented.
- Stack three of the steaks on a cutting board, with the grain of the meat all running the same direction.
- With a very sharp knife, slice the steaks very thin, across the grain. Tip from cooking school: A sharp serrated knife works well for slicing meat very thin. Chop the onions and pineapple.
- Warm the corn tortillas. Place slices of pork on the tortillas and sprinkle on pieces of the grilled pineapple and onions. Add some chopped cilantro and serve with lime wedges. Some chopped avocado would work well here.
Video
Notes
- Seek out a boneless pork shoulder roast. If bone-in is the only cut you can find, ask your butcher to slice the roast into pork steaks. Over the past few years, packaged pork steaks have been available in the meat department.
- Dried guajillo peppers are readily found on the Mexican aisle of your grocery store. You’ll find them in clear plastic packages along side Mexican spice packets.
Nutrition
Tacos al Pastor …It’s What’s For Dinner.
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
These sound wonderful going to give them a try and I may use my spicy pickled pineapple as a topping
That looks great. I was about to make these type of tacos but I couldn’t find a good recipe. Thank you for sharing this.
I’ve got a few versions of this and was going to try Steven Raichlen’s in the next week, trying to use the rotisserie. Hopefully mine will turn out as good as yours.