Chicken Al Pastor Tacos
This super fast and easy taco recipe borrows the flavors of al pastor, but uses a shortcut cooking technique to give us the charred, spit-cooked flavor in a fraction of the time and effort of cooking on a trompo.
Ingredients
AL PASTOR MARINADE:
- 50 g pineapple, diced
- 100 g orange juice, 2 fruits worth
- 25 g water
- 25 g white vinegar
- 20 g sugar
- 20 g kosher salt
- 30 g achiote annatto paste, or sub in lime juice, chile powder, & paprika
- 2 g dried oregano
- 5 g garlic powder
- 5 g cumin, ground
- 10 g chile powder
MEAT:
- 1 kg boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 4 “planks” of fresh pineapple, cut in similar size/thickness to chicken
TOMATILLO SALSA:
- 75-100 g white onion, small diced
- 100 g poblano, small diced, 1 whole
- 350-400 g tomatillos, medium chopped, 5-6 whole
- 15-20 g garlic, minced, 5 cloves
- 5 g kosher salt
- 50 g water
FINISHING/GARNISH:
- corn tortillas, heated
- oil
- chopped cilantro
- white onion, small diced
- queso fresco, or feta
Instructions
AL PASTOR MARINADE:
- Puree all ingredients until smooth.
MEAT:
- Add ½ of marinade or 100g to chicken and mix to coat.
- Lay thighs onto a foil lined baking sheet close together in the center of the tray. Place 2 planks of pineapple along each side of the chicken.
- Preheat broiler on high. Place chicken/pineapple on rack closest to broiler and let cook for 5minutes. make sure to keep a close eye to be sure it doesn't burn.
- Rotate tray if needed, cook for another 5 minutes. Chicken should be nicely charred on top at this point.
- Flip chicken and return to broiler for another 5-8 minutes to char 2nd side.
TOMATILLO SALSA:
- Add onion, poblano, tomatillos, garlic, salt, water to a saucepan over med-high and bring to a simmer.
- Once simmering, lower heat to medium low, cover and cook for about 10min.
- Stir and cook for another 8-10 minutes over medium, uncovered, to allow to thicken.
- Transfer to cold bowl and cool in fridge or freezer.
FINISHING/GARNISH:
- Chop chicken and pineapple into 1/2″/1.5cm pieces.
- Add long squeeze of oil to a nonstick pan over high/med-high, add in chicken/pineapple. Fry on first side for about a minute.
- Add 40-50g reserved marinade to pan. Toss to combine and saute until sauce is reduced.
- Place chicken on double layer corn tortilla, add chopped cilantro and white onion, tomatillo salsa, sprinkle of grated queso fresco.
Notes
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