We’ve outlined all the ingredients and directions for you to make the perfect Al Pastor-Inspired Tacos. This dish qualifies as a Intermediate level recipe. It should take you about 1 hr 20 min to make this recipe. The Al Pastor-Inspired Tacos recipe should make enough food for 6 servings.
You can add your own personal twist to this Al Pastor-Inspired Tacos recipe, depending on your culture or family tradition. Don’t be scared to add other ingredients once you’ve gotten comfortable with the recipe! Please see below for a list of potential cookware items that might be necessary for this Al Pastor-Inspired Tacos recipe.
Ingredients for Al Pastor-Inspired Tacos
- 1 cup honey
- 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon saffron threads
- 1/2 cup whole milk yogurt
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly minced garlic
- Kosher salt
- 2 ripe tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 medium white onion
- 2 pounds ground meat (lamb, beef or a mixture of the two)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 6 soft flour tortillas
- Torn fresh cilantro and mint leaves
Directions for Al Pastor-Inspired Tacos
- For the basting sauce: Add the honey, butter, coriander, cumin, salt, cinnamon, pepper and saffron to a small saucepan over low heat. Let cook 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside.
- For the yogurt sauce: Combine the yogurt, vinegar, mint and garlic in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt.
- For the roasted tomatoes: Preheat the broiler.
- Quarter the tomatoes, then toss with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and broil, checking occasionally to prevent burning, about 7 minutes, then turn over the tomatoes and roast until lightly charred, another 7 to 8 minutes. Set aside.
- For the pickled onions: Add the onions, vinegar, salt, sugar and 1 cup water to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then remove from the heat and set aside.
- For the meat: Grate the onion on the largest holes of a box grater and mix into the ground meat along with the salt. Shape the meat into 6 cigar shapes on koobideh swords or flat shish kebab skewers.
- Heat a grill or grill pan over high heat. Grill the kebabs, basting with the saffron sauce occasionally, until charred on the outside and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
- To serve: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- Warm the tortillas in a pan in the oven for 5 minutes.
- Spread a heaping spoonful of yogurt sauce on a tortilla. Add the meat, roasted tomatoes and pickled onions. Garnish with torn herbs.
Cookware for your recipe
You will find below are cookware items that could be needed for this Al Pastor-Inspired Tacos recipe or similar recipes. Feel free to skip to the next item if it doesn’t apply.
- Cooking pots
- Frying pan
- Steamers
- Colander
- Skillet
- Knives
- Cutting board
- Grater
- Saucepan
- Stockpot
- Spatula
- Tongs
- Measuring cups
- Wooden Spoon
Categories in this Recipe
- Taco – A taco (US: /ˈtɑːkoʊ/, UK: /ˈtækoʊ/, Spanish: ) is a traditional Mexican dish consisting of a small hand-sized corn or wheat tortilla topped with a filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and eaten by hand. A taco can be made with a variety of fillings, including beef, pork, chicken, seafood, beans, vegetables, and cheese, allowing for great versatility and variety. They are often garnished with various condiments, such as salsa, guacamole, or sour cream, and vegetables, such as lettuce, onion, tomatoes, and chiles. Tacos are a common form of antojitos, or Mexican street food, which have spread around the world.Tacos can be contrasted with similar foods such as burritos, which are often much larger and rolled rather than folded; taquitos, which are rolled and fried; or chalupas/tostadas, in which the tortilla is fried before filling.
- Main Dish
- Grilling – Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above, below or from the side. Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat and vegetables quickly. Food to be grilled is cooked on a grill (an open wire grid such as a gridiron with a heat source above or below), using a cast iron/frying pan, or a grill pan (similar to a frying pan, but with raised ridges to mimic the wires of an open grill).Heat transfer to the food when using a grill is primarily through thermal radiation. Heat transfer when using a grill pan or griddle is by direct conduction. In the United States, when the heat source for grilling comes from above, grilling is called broiling. In this case, the pan that holds the food is called a broiler pan, and heat transfer is through thermal radiation.Direct heat grilling can expose food to temperatures often in excess of 260 °C (500 °F). Grilled meat acquires a distinctive roast aroma and flavor from a chemical process called the Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction only occurs when foods reach temperatures in excess of 155 °C (310 °F).Studies have shown that cooking beef, pork, poultry, and fish at high temperatures can lead to the formation of heterocyclic amines, benzopyrenes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are carcinogens.Marination may reduce the formation of these compounds. Grilling is often presented as a healthy alternative to cooking with oils, although the fat and juices lost by grilling can contribute to drier food.
