Tacos al Pastor is traditionally cooked on a rotisserie/ grill spit and shaved off once cooked. I have eaten + loved traditional Tacos al Pastor, I've adapted it to make it an EASY recipe for the at home chef without ANY loss of flavor. I think it's also important to note that my husband and I attempted a more traditional Tacos al Pastor by fashioning a series of shish kabobs to stand upright then removed all the shelves from our oven for a make shift rotisserie ?.
MAKING THE MARINADE
To make the perfect sweet savory marinade with a little spice I combined salsa, BBQ sauce, a can of adobo peppers, apple cider vinegar, and a little water. I seasoned the marinade with garlic powder, chicken soup base, sea salt, and taco seasoning. If you do not have taco seasoning use chili powder, cumin, paprika, and black pepper to get the same result!
SPICE TIP* Purée the adobo peppers for an extra kick! Puréeing the jalapeños seems to make it a little spicier than cutting them into small chunks.
WHICH PORK CUT TO USE FOR A SHREDDED PORK TACO:
I have made this recipe 2 times, each time with a different cut of pork! The first time I made it was slow cooked in a crock pot and the second was pressure cooked in an Instant Pot. Both were a delicious success! Ultimately when it comes to the cut pork shoulder is usually the consensus. Don’t be discouraged if you have a different cut of pork though the first time making this I used two slabs of pork rib and it turned out incredible!
PREPARING THE PORK:
Any cut of pork you end up using will need a bit of trimming. Pork shoulder make sure to trim the excess fat and cut into 2” x 2” chunks. For pork ribs be sure to remove the membrane on the rib and trim excess fat.
HOW TO COOK PORK TACOS
- CROCK POT/SLOW COOKER: Place pork and marinade in crock pot and cooking on low heat for 8 hours. It will make pork shoulder OR ribs fall off the bone/pull apart tender.
- INSTANT POT (6 QT OR LARGER): Place trimmed, cut pork shoulder/ribs in marinade for 1-8 hours and refrigerate. Once it’s done marinating, add pork and marinade to the instant pot.
Cover and make sure pressure release valve is sealed.
-Pork shoulder cooks on high for 45 minutes
-Baby back ribs cook on high for 30 minutes
-Spare ribs cook on high for 35 minutes
Once the pressure timer goes off keep the pressure release valve sealed. Let it do a natural pressure release for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes have passed release the remaining pressure by turning the valve until you can open the lid. Let sit for 10 more minutes then use 2 forks to pull apart and shred.
That’s it! It’s ready to serve!
FAVORITE TOPPINGS FOR PORK RIB TACO:
-
- FRESH PINEAPPLE CHUNKS are imperative for this recipe. If you’re thinking of using canned pineapple for this recipe take my advice and do NOT do that. Canned pineapple is sugary and it’s not the same! Other toppings I have used and love are
- Sour Cream
- Cilantro
- White Onion
- Red Cabbage
- Monterey Jack or Queso Fresco
- Avocado
Enjoy!
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Pineapple Pork Tacos al Pastor
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lb Pork shoulder (trimmed of excess fat and cut into 2" chunks *Preferred cut
- 2 slabs Ribs (trimmed of excess fat and membrane removed) *Optional This recipe has been made and works nicely with 2 slabs of ribs
- 1 cup Salsa *Any salsa will work for this - I used Frontera's chipotle salsa
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
- 2 tablespoon Apple cider vinegar
- 3.5 oz Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 1 tablespoon Chicken Soup Base *I use Lb Jamison chicken soup base
- 3 tablespoon Taco Seasoning Mix *I use McCormick's "Original Taco Seasoning Mix"
- 2 teaspoon Sea salt
- 4 cloves Minced garlic *if you don't have fresh garlic you can substitute this with 1 teaspoon of garlic powder!
- ½ cup Water
- 1 package Tortillas
FAVORITE TOPPINGS FOR PORK RIB TACO:
- 2 cups (*FRESH) Pineapple diced
- 1 cup Red cabbage
- ½ cup Cilantro
- 1 cup Sour cream
- 1 cup Monterrey Jack Cheese or Queso Fresco
Instructions
- Combine salsa, BBQ sauce, apple cider vinegar, chipotle adobo peppers with sauce included (I purée these before adding for extra kick) and a little water in large container for marinade.
- To season the marinade add garlic, taco seasoning, chicken soup base and sea salt
PREPARING THE PORK:
- Any cut of pork you end up using will need a bit of trimming. Pork shoulder make sure to trim the excess fat and cut into 2” x 2” chunks. For pork ribs be sure to remove the membrane on the rib and trim excess fat.
HOW TO COOK PORK TACOS
- CROCK POT/SLOW COOKER: Place pork and marinade in crock pot and cooking on low heat for 8 hours. It will make pork shoulder OR ribs fall off the bone/pull apart tender.
- INSTANT POT (6 QT OR LARGER): Place trimmed, cut pork shoulder/ribs in marinade for 1-8 hours and refrigerate. Once it’s done marinating, add pork and marinade to the instant pot.
- Cover and make sure pressure release valve is sealed.-Pork shoulder cooks on high for 45 minutes-Baby back ribs cook on high for 30 minutes-Spare ribs cook on high for 35 minutes
- Once the pressure timer goes off keep the pressure release valve sealed. Let it do a natural pressure release for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes have passed release the remaining pressure by turning the valve until you can open the lid. Let sit for 10 more minutes then use 2 forks to pull apart and shred. That’s it! It’s ready to serve!
FAVORITE TOPPINGS FOR PORK RIB TACO:
- FRESH PINEAPPLE CHUNKS are imperative for this recipe. If you’re thinking of using canned pineapple for this recipe take my advice and do NOT do that. Canned pineapple is sugary and it’s not the same! Other toppings I have used and love are: Sour cream, cilantro, white onion, red cabbage, Monterrey jack or queso fresco and avocadoENJOY!
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