Description
Tacos or nachos al pastor are made with braised or grilled pork. Cooked with lots of seasonings and pineapple juice, this is my favorite taco. Or nacho.
Ingredients
Al Pastor:
Serves: About 25 tacos or more
Time To make: About 20 minutes to prepare/About 4 hours to cook
Ingredients:
5.5 lbs of boneless pork tenderloin
3 t kosher salt
2 t oregano
3 t cumin
2 t coarsely ground black pepper
6 t chili powder or I used 3 t ancho chile powder and 3 t chipotle chile powder
1 7 oz can chipotles in adobo
4 c of fresh pineapple, diced
1 c chopped red onion
8 cloves of garlic
4 T fresh lime juice
2 T apple cider vinegar
1–2 12 oz bottles of Mexican beer
Pineapple Salsa
Makes enough for about 12 tacos and 1 batch of nachos.
Time to make: About 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1/2 of a pineapple, chopped into fairly small pieces
1/2 of a small red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1/4 c chopped cilantro
1 pinch of salt or to taste
1 tomato chopped
Chipotle Drizzle Sauce (Perfect for tacos and nachos and even sandwiches!)
Time to Make: About 5 minutes
Ingredients:
1/2 c mayonnaise
1/3 c sour cream or Greek yogurt
Juice of 1/2 of lime
1/2–1 t of chipotle or ancho chile powder
To Serve:
Tortillas for tacos, your preference
Tortilla chips for nachos, your preference
Grated Cheese, about 2 cups for nachos
Cilantro, Scallions, Shredded Cabbage for garnish
Instructions
Al Pastor:
Combine salt, oregano, cumin, pepper and chili powders in a small bowl. Rub the mixture into the tenderloins and place in a Dutch oven.
In a food processor place 1 can of chipotles, diced pineapple, red onion, garlic, lime juice and vinegar. Process until smooth. Pour this mixture over tenderloin. Now pour the beer over the top. As long as the tenderloin is covered, you have enough beer. Drink the other.
Over medium heat, bring mixture to a low boil. Turn temperature down to low and simmer for about 4 hours or until pork can be easily shredded. Let it cool in its juices and then use two forks to shred it. For tacos and nachos you want the mixture dry, so I drain it very well. For other purposes you may want to save some of the liquid and reheat it together.
Pineapple Salsa:
Mix together and put a spoonful on each taco or sprinkle over nachos.
Chipotle Drizzle Sauce
Mix this up in a mixing cup and then pour it into a squeeze jar. If you want it thinner add more lime juice, milk or heavy cream to thin it. Feel free to drizzle to your heart’s content!
To assemble tacos:
Take one corn or flour tortilla and top with a few spoonfuls of drained pork. Top with some shredded cabbage and then some salsa and cheese if you like. Drizzle some sauce on top. Keep the portions dainty as it is much easier to eat tacos this way!
For nachos:
I kept this simple. Arrange 1 bag of tortilla chips in a cast iron pan. I stand them up like rose petals and then place the meat and about 2 c of jalapeno jack cheese between the “petals” and on top. Bake at 425 until cheese is melted and chips are crisp. Top with pineapple salsa, extra chopped cilantro and drizzle some sauce. I use a spatula to get these out of the skillet and serve them on plates with forks!
