Have I mentioned before I love The Sandwich King? Besides Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, this is my next favorite food network show. I don’t have cable t.v. but whenever I go to my sisters house she shows me her favorite episodes that she has recorded. She saved an episode of The Sandwich King for these Tacos al Pastor and I knew we had to try them asap.
My sister actually made them for a ladies lunch and they were AWESOME! The recipe says to use pork butt, but we just used pork chops and cut them into cubes (everything else in the recipe we did the same). The tacos came together really quickly and the fresh pineapple salsa on top was a fabulous combination with the spicy pork.
Ingredients
- PORK MARINADE:
- 1 1/2 cup pineapple juice
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 oz. achiote paste or use 1 tsp. chili powder
- 4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2-3 lbs. boneless pork loin chops, or ribs
- TACOS:
- 12-14 fresh white corn tortillas
- 8 oz. cotija cheese crumbled
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1 recipe Pineapple salsa
Instructions
- In a food processor or with a fork and knife, mash the four chipotle peppers until fairly smooth. In a bowl, whisk together the pineapple juice, vegetable oil, achiote paste, chipotle peppers (with some of the adobo sauce from the can), cloves of garlic (minced) and salt. Once it is whisked together, set aside. Remove the pork chops (or loin) from the package and cut with a sharp knife into one inch cubes. Add the pieces of pork to the marinade mixture. Let the pork sit with the marinade for several hours, or overnight. When ready to cook the pork, heat a pan or cast iron skillet to high heat. Once the pan is hot, add some olive oil or more vegetable oil to the pan. Remove the pork from the marinade and add the pieces of pork to the pan (the less marinade the goes into the pan, the more golden brown you can get your pork pieces). Let the pork sit on the hot pan until it starts to get golden brown and cooked. Turn the pork pieces once they are cooked, and eventually just saute them on all sides to get them cooked through to the center. They don't have to be totally golden on each side, but if you have a nice char on at least one side, it will look more apptizing. Season the pork with salt and pepper. Serve the tacos with the Pineapple Salsa, cojita cheese crumbles and cilantro.
Here is the recipe for the fresh pineapple salsa for the top of the tacos.
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped pineapple
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 to 2 tbsp chopped seeded jalapeno
- Juice of one small lime
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Toss all the ingredients together and enjoy! Tastes great the next day too!
- If you are feeling gourmet, grill the pineapple first to add a caramel flavor and add zest from the lime before squeezing it:)
