Recipe of tacos al pastor mexicanos
The tacos al pastor inaugurates the Mexican food recipes season of Comedera.com.
In the title we talked about a recipe for Mexican tacos al pastor (just to say "Truly Mexican"), because the idea is to achieve a result as close as possible to the true flavor of the Mexican recipes that we will be publishing. No stereotypes that have nothing to do with the taste of that country. It is true that without the precise ingredients it is difficult to reach the same taste, but not impossible, or at least here we will try to give you the keys and tricks so that your recipe for tacos al pastor is the best, and you end up cooking them again.
Tacos al pastor is the first of the Mexican recipes of Comedera.com, because it is the one that comes most quickly to the head of most Mexicans (at least those who live in Mexico City). Interestingly, it is not a very old recipe, and it is also the result of the eastern Arab influence, interpreted with native ingredients.
If you want to know how to prepare the tacos al pastor, you have to take into account several components:
- Marinated meat.
- Tortilla.
- Dressings.
Tortillas They must be corn, of the best possible quality. For those who do not live in Mexico, surely there is a good supermarket or Mexican store nearby (although it is very likely that we will soon publish how to prepare tortillas, here on Comedera.com).
The dressings are placed on the meat cooked, once prepared the taco, and give it its characteristic flavor. However, not everyone loves them. So do not feel bad if you do not like hot sauce or onions and decide to remove them from your recipe.
How to make tacos al pastor
* Outside of Mexico, ingredients marked with an asterisk can be found in Latin stores.
Achiote is a seasoned pasta, widely used in Mexican cuisine.
The chilies that are normally used for this recipe are broad chiles or guajillo. If you do not get those types of chili, replace with other red chilies.It can be green or red, spicy or not spicy.
Preparation
- Cut the pork into small strips or leaves thin (it is not necessary that they cover the width of the piece. Ideally, they should be small.)
- Open the knife with a knife to remove the seeds and the vein.
- Submerge the chili peppers in hot water for several minutes , so that they soften.
- Wash the onion, peel and cut into pieces. Also peel the garlic.
- Blend all the ingredients of the marinade.
- Arrange the marinade and the pieces of meat in a bowl. Add a little water if you need liquid to soak each piece. Leave to rest in the refrigerator for a few hours, ideally.
- Before resuming cooking of the meat, wash the cilantro and chop into small pieces.
- Also peel the Onion and pineapple. Chop the first in small cubes and the second in small slices.
- Cooking the meat is traditionally topped, but for home purposes, it can be baked or grilled. I prefer the iron. What you need to do is heat it over high heat for a quick cooking; so you do not lose much juice.
- Deposit the marinated pork pieces on the griddle , trying not to overlap. Monitor because the color will change in a very short time because of rapid cooking. Depending on the size of the plate, the quantity of meat will be arranged simultaneously. You may have to perform several cooking operations.
- Move the pieces to be cooked from both sides, without stopping to watch.
- Remove the meat from the griddle and Reserve. Then lower the heat and then place the tortillas on the griddle, so that they heat up and soften with the fat from the meat. Leave them alone enough to warm up, without hardening. Flip to heat both sides.
- After removing each tortilla from the heat, accommodate it on a plate, completely open.The idea is to stay in such a way that each tortilla can be taken with its ends between the index finger and the thumb, being bent with the filling inside.
- Spread a bit of chopped onion and cilantro over the meat. Add small slices of pineapple.
- Serve with lemons and salsa (spicy or not spicy). The lemons are used so that everyone squeezes a piece on their tacos. Lemon is widely used as a condiment in Mexican cuisine.
You can also serve apart the components of the dish so that each diner prepares his own tacos al pastor. In that case, the tortillas are served in a container with lid and with a cloth napkin, to help conserve heat and humidity. In small containers, pineapple, sliced onion, chopped cilantro, salsa, and chopped lemons are served separately. Meat is served on a plate in the center, with a good serving spoon.
Tips
- If there are no corn tortillas in a diameter of 500 kilometers around, it is possible to use wheat tortillas. The result is not an authentic taco al pastor, but it is quite tasty. In countries where corn tortillas are not available, generally the most recommended (and economical) wheat tortillas are those sold to prepare kebab. You only have to cut them to the size of a taco.
- The tacos al pastor are particularly known for the orange-reddish touch that the surface of the pig takes. If you do not get achiote for the marinade, but still want to achieve the visual effect, you can add a little vegetable dye in the mixture.
- If you prefer a much more hydrated meat, you can add pieces of fatty parts of the pork . In fact, this technique is widely used when preparing meat in the traditional top, to alternate layers of lean meat.
- For those who do not eat pork, veal meat, or even chicken, can be used. Chicken tacos al pastor are also available with some frequency in Mexico.
- If you prefer baked meat instead of grilled meat, you can cook it like this at 180 degrees, covered with baking paper (so that dehydrate) and using the whole piece of pork (slicing it until after leaving the oven and that has cooled a bit).
If you were left with more desire for tacos, here is another recipe for Comedera.com: Mexican tacos with tomatillo sauce.
Photo: Michael Stern
Comments
Comments
