When I order tacos, I always gravitate towards pork. I’ve spent many a late night on the streets of Sayulita, Ensenada and Bucerias enjoying a post-dinner al pastor taco trio. Traditional al pastor is a Mexican dish made with seasoned and marinated pork. The name translates to “Shepherd Style,” which is derived from the origin of the cooking method, a preparation of slices of pork layered on a split and grilled. It is believed to have originated in the Central Mexican region of Puebla, although today it is a common menu item found in taquerías throughout Mexico. The method of preparing and cooking al pastor is based on the lamb shawarma brought by Lebanese immigrants to the region. My home cook version, which uses a slow cooker and broiler, gives you all the flavor, succulence, and crispness without investing in a trompo, or vertical broiler. My Apple & Brussels Sprout Slaw is not traditionally served with tacos, but I was looking to add a Fall spin, so I came up with this light and crispy slaw, which provides a nice counterbalance to the rich, fatty pork.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 7 hr 30 min |
| Active: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Yield: | 16 to 24 tacos |
Ingredients
- 7 ounces (two 100-gram blocks) or about 1 cup achiote paste
- 2 cups fresh pineapple chunks plus 1/4 to 1/3 cup pineapple juice (I use the juice from the pre-cut fresh stuff! No need to buy extra juice)
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup orange juice
- 3 tablespoons agave or honey
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 cloves garlic
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 pounds pork shoulder, just above the muscle, fat cap scored
- 16 corn tortillas or 24 street taco-size corn tortillas, oiled and lightly griddled
- Apple and Brussels Sprouts Slaw, recipe follows
- Charred Salsa Verde, recipe follows
- Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon celery seeds
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Granny Smith apple, julienned
- 2 cups shaved Brussels sprouts
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly julienned
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
- 1 pound (about 4) large tomatillos, husks removed
- 3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 1 dried ancho chile
- 1 poblano chile
- 1 small yellow onion, skin and root intact, quartered
- 1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and coarsely chopped
- 2 limes, juiced
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
- 1 teaspoon agave
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a food processor, add the achiote paste, 1/4 cup pineapple juice, 1/4 cup orange juice, agave or honey, cumin, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth. Add more of either juice to thin out if need be. (Achiote can be quite dense, so make sure the mixture is smooth.)
- Place the pork fat-side up into a slow cooker. Pour the achiote marinade over the pork and spread it all over. Sprinkle salt all over the pork after applying the marinade, to ensure even seasoning! Add the pineapple chunks around the pork. Cover and cook until completely fork-tender, about 6 hours on high heat or 8 hours on low heat.
- Arrange an oven rack in the top two-thirds of the oven. Preheat the oven to broil on high.
- Place the pork, fat cap-side up on a sheet pan fitted with a wire rack. Broil until the fat and meat get bubbly and crispy, 3 to 5 minutes. Don’t walk away! Keep your eye on that pork so it doesn’t burn.
- Remove the pork from the sheet pan to a cutting board. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the bone. Lift the fat cap off, coarsely chop, and set aside. Using 2 forks, shred the pork. Transfer the pork and fat to a platter and pour the braising liquid over it. (And the pineapple chunks, if desired.)
- Top each tortilla with pork, Slaw, Salsa and cilantro.
- Whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, mustard, brown sugar, celery seeds, sesame oil and salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Add the apples, Brussels sprouts, red bell peppers and chives. Let sit for 1 hour. Adjust the seasonings. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Heat a large grill pan to medium-high heat.
- Add the tomatillos, garlic, ancho chile, poblano chile and onion. Grill the ancho chile until just slightly colored, then transfer to a small bowl. Pour enough hot water to cover. Let it sit until the chile softens, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the stem and seeds and reserve the water to adjust the consistency of your salsa, if needed.
- Continue to char the tomatillos, garlic, poblano and onion on all sides until blackened in parts, removing them to a cutting board as done. (Depending on their size, each vegetable will char at a different rate.)
- Remove the stem and seeds from the poblano and the skins from the garlic and onions. Put the tomatillos, garlic, onions, all the chiles, lime juice, cilantro and agave into a food processor and blend until mostly smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Reviews
First time I’ve ever liked al pastor! The slow cooker to broiler method is what made me want to try this recipe. I subbed the agave for brown sugar like in one of Jeff Mauro’s other al pastor recipes and it turned out great! Adding the braising liquid to the shredded pork is important for sure. I did not make the salsa verde because I have my own recipe that we like, but the slaw was excellent! Can’t wait to serve this for a party next month!
I made this recipe and it was so good!! A little time consuming but well worth it. The slaw and salsa verde made the tacos. When I first was working on the recipe, I told my husband I was never making them again. But after 1 bite we declared them best tacos ever!!!! The achiote paste marinade would be good on chicken too. SO DELICIOUS!!!
I made these tacos for dinner tonight and they were so delicious! The pork itself was pretty mild in flavor, but my marinade seemed looser than when Jeff made it on the show. I will be making these again and may add just a little chipotle in adobo to spice things up!
This is the 1st recipe from the kitchen and the food network I did not like. To me it was pretty flavorless. I was really disappointed as I LOVE pulled pork. I will use the pork in other recipes with more seasoning, so not a total loss. On a positive note, my husband liked it, but would not touch the slaw as he is not a Brussels sprouts fan.
This is fantastic!!! My family loved the flavor combinations and the different textures. The only thing I changed, was I did not add the bell pepper to the slaw. My husband and I are not big fans of bell peppers. Delicious!
Made this last night here are the differences: Pork was 8 lbs., skimmed the fat off the marinade after removing the pork and reduced a bit on the stove, placed in fridge that night before and placed in slow cooker in the morning and cooked for 10 hours (because of the larger meat), for the slaw used a food processor instead of a mandolin (very easy) and bought the salsa verde. This was delicious the marinade/sauce was very flavorful and the pork was perfect. Bought the paste at Walmart.
I loved the salad. Husband gave the pork a thumbs up. I didn’t do the end oven char because our roast didn’t have a fat cap. I saved some of the marinade and used it over a garbanzo bean/quinoa/tofu. It was really good. I didn’t make the salsa verde because I already had some in the fridge. I will make this again.
Was drawn to this recipe after watching the episode for two reasons: trying out a new ingredient I’ve never used (achiote paste) plus the opportunity to use my slow-cooker which tends to sit unused in my cupboard. What didn’t work for me was the resulting flavor of the sauce. After removing the pork and shredding, I set it aside. I kept the sauce separate, then removed the heavy layer of fat on top. I combined a small portion of the pork with a small amount of the de-fatted sauce, then tasted. There was a bitterness and intensity my taste buds immediately rejected. That said, our family is a lover of pulled pork, but more in the BBQ style. Since I kept the pulled pork separate, I was able to use with a more traditional sauce for our family. The pork, separate from the sauce, was tender and flavorful. So, if this is a new ingredient for you, and you are more of a traditional BBQ pulled pork person, I recommend keeping the sauce separate until you taste some with the pork. You may love it, or not. Either way, you haven’t committed all your pulled pork before it’s too late to change course.
Absolutely delicious all the way around
I thought the pork was delicious, I will admit the slaw was a lot of work. but i made it. my husband tried it and literally ran to the trash and spit it out! I also didn’t like it. It ended up in the compost pile. i didn’t make the salsa so i can’t judge that. Pork Great!!!! will make again.