Top with a spoonful of pineapple, onion cilantro mixture and Avocado-tomatillo salsa verde (optional). Use tongs to place about ¼ cup of meat on each tortillas. Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat and put two mini tortillas on top of each other, then warm the tortillas on both sides. Season the mixture with salt and set aside. In a small bowl stir together the onion, cilantro and lime juice. Brush the pineapple with oil and grill on both sides.

Preheat a grill or griddle pan to medium heat. Second, use two forks to shred the meat then return to the braising liquid. First, remove the meat, from the braising liquid and let cool. Move the Dutch oven to the oven and cook until the mixture is fork tender, about 2½ hours, rotating the meat halfway through cooking. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Return the browned pork to the Dutch oven and pour the mixture over the top. Add the chicken stock to the pot to deglaze the bottom. Add the pieces of pork, working in batches and brown on all sides about 6 minutes. Heat a 7.25-quart Dutch oven over medium heat, add the oil and heat through. Season the pork on all sides with kosher salt. Add the reconstituted chilies, onion, garlic, annatto, oregano, cumin, pepper, cloves, cinnamon, pineapple juice, orange juice and vinegar to a blender. Remove the chilies and discard the water. Let sit until the chilies have softened, about 10 minutes. Add the chilies a medium mixing bowl and top with hot water.

If needed it can be substituted with paprika. It can be found in the spice aisle of most grocery stores or at a Mexican market.

The annatto or achiote (the two names are interchangeable) is what gives the al pastor pork the signature bright red color.

Seasonings – A combination of annatto (achiote), oregano, cumin, black pepper, cloves and cinnamon seasons the pork, complementing the chilies and pineapple.

Reconstitute the chilies in hot water to soften them again before blending them in the sauce. If you cannot locate the dried chilies in stores I recommend ordering them online. Dried chilies are often found on the end-caps of aisles in grocery stores or by the Mexican ingredients.

Chilies – The main flavors of the braising liquid in the pork comes from a combination of guajillo chilies and ancho chili. They add a smokey flavor and mild heat to the recipe.

Pineapple slices are typically cooked on the spit with al pastor pork so I tried to mimic that flavor.

Pineapple – Pineapple juice is used in the braising liquid for the pork while grilled pineapple is later chopped and added to the top of the tacos.

When buying pork for this recipe know that you are going to end up with roughly half of the weight in the finished meat as it cooks and the fat renders or fatty pieces are discarded. It’s best slowly cooked so the meat has a change to break down and become tender. 6 dried guajillo chilies 6 dried cascavel chilies 4 garlic cloves 2 white onions quartered 6 to 7 lb pork butt or 4 lbs.

Pork – Pork shoulder comes from the front shoulder of a pig.

Mexican pork al pastor recipe