Shortcut Tacos al Pastor with Pineapple Salsa

  • Level: Easy
  • Yield: 4 to 6 servings
  • Total: 45 min
  • Active: 30 min
Tacos al pastor just got the weeknight treatment! Typically, this traditional Mexican taco is marinated for hours, then skewered onto a giant spit and cooked on a rotisserie for hours. This version gets you all that flavor but without all the work and waiting. To make this more kid friendly feel free to leave the habanero out of the salsa and serve some hot sauce on the side for those that like a little kick.
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Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for drizzling

1 red onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded and cut into 2-inch pieces

1/3 cup orange juice

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Kosher salt

2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, sliced 1/4-inch thick

8 to 12 corn tortillas

1/2 medium pineapple, cored and finely chopped

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 habanero pepper, seeded and finely diced

Lime wedges, for serving

Directions

  1. Preheat the broiler.
  2. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Add half of the onions and cook until softened, about 1 minute. Stir in the garlic, chiles, orange juice, vinegar, honey and tomato paste and bring to a simmer. Add the cumin and oregano and continue to simmer, about 5 minutes, covered. Remove from the heat and cover until the chiles are softened, about 5 minutes. Blend until smooth. Let cool completely.
  3. Line a baking sheet with foil, drizzle some oil on it and rub it around so that the foil is evenly coated. Spread the pork in an even layer. Coat both sides completely with the chile mixture with a pastry brush and transfer to the broiler. Cook until charred on both sides, flipping halfway through, about 12 minutes total. Remove from the broiler and let rest for 5 minutes. Wrap the tortillas in foil, turn off the oven and heat the tortillas.
  4. Meanwhile, combine the pineapple, cilantro, remaining onions, lime juice, habanero and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl.
  5. Cut the pork into 1/4-inch-thick strips and serve with the corn tortillas, lime wedges and pineapple salsa.

Let's Get Cooking!

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