Tacos al Pastor
In Mexico, eating street food is a way of life and Tacos al Pastor is one of the classics. Taco stalls are iconic and populate the side streets and markets of every Mexican town serving delicious soft corn tacos with a distinctive flavour.
For the pork:
2kg Pork belly, skinless and boneless and cut into 1½-2’’ slices
50g Achiote paste
5 x Whole guajillo chillies, seeds removed
4 x Whole pasilla chillies, seeds removed
100ml Cider vinegar
75ml Pineapple juice
½ White onion, peeled and roughly chopped
6 Cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2tsp Dried Mexican oregano
2tsp Sea salt
1tsp Ground cumin
You will also need:
1 x Pack La Fonda Taqueria Tortillas (Corn Tacos)
3 x Medium red onions
3 Limes (1 cut into wedges)
A splash of white wine vinegar
Bunch of Fresh Coriander, chopped
Your favourite salsa
A little extra salt
1. Remove the seeds and stalks from the dried chillies and tear into rough pieces. Heat a dry frying pan and toast the chillies for 30 seconds, until warmed through. Remove to a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to soak for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, start preparing the rest of the marinade ingredients and, once the chillies have soaked put everything in a blender and blitz to a smooth paste. Pour this marinade over the pork, making sure each piece is well coated and leave for as long as possible - at least a couple of hours but overnight is best.
3. When ready to cook, preheat your oven to 140°C and arrange the pork slices in a roasting tray, tipping in all the marinade as well. Cover with foil and slow cook for 1½ hours - the aim is for the pork to become lovely and tender, cooking slowly in its own marinade.
4. Meanwhile, make your quick pickled onions: slice the red onions, sprinkle over a couple of pinches of salt and the juice of 2 limes and a splash of white wine vinegar, then toss together and leave for 30 minutes.
5. After 1½ hours, remove the pork and switch your oven to the grill setting, turned up to its maximum heat. Traditional tacos al pastor are cooked on a rotisserie grill, so to recreate that effect, place the pork belly strips on a wire rack set over a baking tray and grill on maximum heat for 2-3 minutes per side, until nicely charred at the edges.
6. Once they have good colour, remove from the oven and leave to rest, then dice into small pieces and toss through some of the reserved cooking juices and marinade.
7. Warm the tortillas in a dry pan over a medium-high heat for 30 seconds on each side (you can do this ahead of time and keep them in a taco warmer - nobody likes a cold taco). Pile on the pork, top with pickled red onions, your favourite salsa, fresh coriander and, most importantly, a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
