Tag: main course
Al Pastor
Al Pastor
The concept of al pastor was introduced to Mexicans in Puebla, Mexico by Lebanese immigrants. The Lebanese originally created tacos arebas, with thinly sliced lamb roasted upright on a spit, much the same way as shawarma. Mexicans adopted the concept, using marinated pork instead. The pork was roasted on the spit, sometimes with pineapple. Once the outside develops a charred crust, the al pastor is sliced off. The pork and pineapple gets served in corn tortillas with cilantro, onion, and a green salsa. Not much is better than this.
Equipment
- Spice grinder
- Blender or food processor
- deli slicer or sharp knife
- al pastor upright spit
- mandolin
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
Al Pastor Marinade
- 1 oz dried guajillo peppers
- 1 oz achiote paste
- 1/2 cup pineapple
- 1/4 cup vinegar
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp mexican oregano
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1 tsp salt
Al Pastor
- 3 lbs boneless pork shoulder
- 1 medium white onion
- 1 whole pineapple trimmed
Tacos
- corn tortillas
- white onion finely chopped
- cilantro chopped
- green salsa
Instructions
Al Pastor Marinade
- Grind the dried chilies, cumin, and cloves in a spice grinder.
- Add all marinade ingredients to a blender or food processor.
- Purée until smooth.
- If you have a deli slicer, slice the pork shoulder 1/8”-1/4” thick. If you don’t have a deli slicer, place your pork shoulder in the freezer for an hour to firm up. Using a sharp knife, thinly slice the pork.
- Place the sliced pork shoulder in a bowl.
- Marinate the pork for 3 days. Make sure every slice of pork gets covered in the marinade.
Al Pastor Assembly
- Place the al pastor spit on a baking sheet lined in foil.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place 4 slices of the pork on the spit.
- Place several slices of onion on top.
- Repeat these steps until all of the pork is used.
- Place a trimmed pineapple on top of the pork.
- Roast the pork for 90 minutes. The internal temperature needs to read 160 degrees. Let rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
Taco Assembly
- Using a sharp knife, trim off pieces of the pork and pineapple.
Salmon Tacos
Salmon Tacos
This is a great use for salmon if you’re looking for something different to do to your taco. The salmon fillet is marinated in garlic, paprika, lime juice, salt and pepper; only for 15 minutes. Any more time marinating will start to cook the salmon from the acidity of the lime juice. When looking for the right salmon for the tacos, I like to use sustainable farm raised Norwegian salmon. Despite what you hear from the know it alls that have never worked in the food industry a day in their life, there is safe and sustainable farm raised salmon raised in the fjords of Norway. I am a huge fan of the fat content of farm raised fish. It tends to be more moist than wild caught. I always will leave the skin on while cooking. There are a lot of nutrients and omeg 3 fatty acids in the fat between the flesh and the skin. When you remove the skin, you loose this. Yes, I hate on all those people that used to make me skin their fish at work just as much as the people that buy boneless skinless everything. But with that being said, if you want to use wild caught salmon, please do.There are endless options to what you can put on these tacos…except one. No cheese with fish! Got it!
Servings: 8 tacos
Ingredients
- 1 lb salmon fillet skin on
- 4 garic cloves minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- corn tortillas
Taco Toppings
- cabbage or lettuce shredded
- pickled red onion
- pickled jalapeños
- real mexican sour cream
- cilantro chopped
- avocado sliced
- green onion
- hot sauce of your liking
Instructions
- Marinate the salmon in olive oil, minced garlic, paprika, salt, pepper, and lime juice for 15 minutes.
- Heat up cooking oil in a sauté pan or griddle over medium high heat. Cook the salmon skin side down for 6 minutes.
- Flip the salmon over and cook for another 4-6 minutes.
- Let your salmon fillet rest for 5 to 10 minutes before creating you taco. While your salmon is resting, prepare all the other toppings you plan to use in your taco. I’m using double corn tortillas, along with shredded cabbage, green onion, homemade garlic habanero pickled jalapeños, limes, cilantro, homemade pickled red onion, avocado, and real Mexican sour cream.
- Assemble and devour. I yielded 8 tacos with 1lb of salmon, and they were all generously sized.
Pibil Style Chicken (stove top version)
Pibil style Chicken (stove top version)
Pibil style chicken originates from the Yucatan Peninsula. The main ingredients in the sauce are achiote paste and citrus, usually a combination of orange and grapefruit juices. The chicken is placed on a banana leaf covered with the sauce, topped with a slice of tomato, onion, and epazote leaf. It is then wrapped up in the banana leaf and steamed. This is a stove top version of the traditional recipe, stewing the chicken the sauce instead of steamed in a banana leaf.
Equipment
- Large sauce pan or Dutch oven
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 6 garlic cloves
- 100 grams achiote paste
- 3/4 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup grapefruit juice
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp mexican oregano
- 3 lbs chicken pieces
- 2 roma tomatoes sliced
- 1/2 large white onion sliced
- 6 epazote leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor, place the achiote paste, orange juice, grapefruit juice, oregano, garlic, and cumin.
- Purée until smooth.
- In a large sauce pan or Dutch oven, layer tomato and onion slices. Place the chicken pieces on top of them.
- Cover with the sauce and epazote leaves.
- Cover the chicken and simmer over medium low heat for 50 minutes. You may need to add a little more liquid to the sauce. I recommend using more orange juice or chicken stock.
- Serve with steamed rice and avocado.
