I’m going take a chance here without any certainty or specific data, but Al Pastor Tacos may be the most popular in Mexico City. At least, that’s what I want to believe. For some reason, I learned a little about how they came about. It turns out I met someone related to the founders of Taquería El Tizoncito in my hometown. They say, they were the ones who invented them. It even says so in their brand’s tag line.
There is, however, little documentation that will help me find if this is totally true. What I do know it that this taco is strictly related to a Lebanese migration which arrived in Mexico. And, should I not be wrong, it was in the 60s when they adapted the Middle Eastern shawarma to ingredients and spices of Central Mexico.
Now, if we put them on a head-to-head. Shawarma is with lamb, while pastor is pork. Nonetheless, in time, it evolved again. Restaurants began to offer a chicken version. I wonder if it had to do with kosher and halal diets getting momentum as well. Maybe.
So, as I prepared the chicken shawarmas my Jewish friend shared with me, I thought that for this year’s Judaic festivities I could share this delicious recipe with the family and travel in some way to the Middle East via Mexico. Traveling through food is always a good option, and today is with two stops, I may say.
By the way, and if you fancy it. These tacos can very well have the pickled jalapeno rounds and veggies I shared around here a good while ago on the side. I’m going to leave easy access to that recipe here in case you need it.
Al Pastor Chicken
Equipment
- Small saucepan
- Blender
- Kitchen spoon or silicone spatula
- Big Bowl
- Baking sheet with rack
- Cast Iron pan
Ingredients
- 5 pieces Guajillo peppers deseeded and deveined
- 1 cup water
- 5 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 pinch cumin ground
- 2 cloves
- 1 slice pineapple 2 cm thick (3/4 inch)
- 6 chicken thighs with skin and bones
- 1 onion thinly sliced
To Serve:
- 12 corn tortillas
- 2 slices pineapple cubed
- 1/2 onion finely chopped
- Limes
- Salsa verde or salsa roja
Instructions
- Add the clean chiles in a small saucepan and cover with water. Let it come to a boil. Turn off, and let the chiles hydrate about 15 minutes.
- Place the garlic, cloves, pineapple, hydrated chiles and ¼ cup of the water where the chiles were hydrated in the blender glass.
- Blend the lot. If necessary, add a bit more water. Taste it, and if you feel it too spicy, add a dash more vinegar.
- Place the chicken pieces previously pat-dried in the bowl and season them over and under with salt.
- Finely slice the onion and add it on top of the chicken.
- Pour the thick sauce gently while mixing with the spoon or spatula.
- Once everything is covered with the adobo sauce, cover with plastic wrap and leave it in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
- Preheat your oven at 180 °C or 350 °F. Then, set your cast iron pan on the stovetop to heat as well with a drizzle of oil.
- Drip the chicken pieces on a baking sheet with a rack on top.
- Sear the pieces, one by one and on both sides starting on the side of the skin. Once well seared, set aside on the rack the pieces once more.
- Once all the chicken pieces are seared, sweat the onion with a pinch of salt. It won't need much time. Maybe just a couple minutes.
- Distribute the onion throughout the pan's surface and the chicken pieces in one even layer. If you need to use a second pan, use it.
- Bake for about 20 minutes. Verify the chicken is cooked to 75 °C or 165 °F.
- Personally, I like serving the pieces already deboned. So what I do is debone and either cut or mix the meat to mix with the now caramelized onions for my guests to prepare their tacos family style.
Spanish