WILD BOAR AL PASTOR TACOS

Photo by Larry White

There's nothing like Mexico's City's amazing street tacos. Among the best are the globally acclaimed al pastor tacos. Traditionally it consists of thinly sliced discs of boneless pork thats marinated, stacked high on a spit, topped off with a chunk of pineapple and then roasted by on open flame. Here I combine different flavors from various vendors used around the city to create a fast, and flavorful at home version.

The easiest way to achieve similar "street eats" results is to grill the pork slices individually while lightly charring and then roughly chopping them before assembling your tacos.

An alternate method is to stack the meat slices onto a long metal skewer and then grill horizontally on a grill while rotating intermittently to cook evenly on all sides. I rigged mine up to hang and cook next to a fire. You can check that video out here if interested. <<<

You can use a boneless shoulder or uncured ham from a domestic or wild hog. You want to butcher the meat so that when you slice it, you will end up with "meat sheets' that are around 4 to 5 inches wide and around 1/4 inch thick.

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 pound boneless pork shoulder or uncured ham

• 1 package of achiote paste (2-3 ounces)

• 1/2 cup chipotles in adobo

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/4 cup water

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon Mexican cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 2 cups fresh pineapple, cut into 1 inch rings

Directions

1. Butcher the pork so that when you slice it, you end up with around 4 to 5 inch "meat sheets".

2. Slice the pork into about 1/4 inch thick slices.

3. To a blender, add all off the ingredients except the pork and pineapple. Puree until smooth. If it's too thick, add a little bit of water to thin out.

4. Place the pork in a large non-reactive container or gallon size zip-lock bag. Pour in the marinade and coat the pork thoroughly. Marinate the pork in your refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours.

5. Remove the pork from the marinade and shake off any excess. If using a skewer, stand it up right and stack the meat onto the skewer while keeping it in the center.

6. Heat your grill to medium high heat.

7. Once the grill is hot, cook the pork slices on once side until they are lightly charred. Flip the pork over and cook long enough to just heat through (you don't want to dry the meat out.)

8. If using a skewer, follow this grilling method. Lay the meat down horizontally on the grill. Cook on all sides until the meat is lightly charred. Once charred, lower the grilling temperature to medium and place the pork on a cooler side of the grill (you want indirect heat of possible). Close the lid and cook until you reach your desired internal temperature. I aim for 150 degrees with wild pork.

9. Brush the pineapple slices with cooking oil and season with salt. Cook on both sides until lightly charred. Cut around the core and discard the core. Chop the pineapple into small pieces.

10. Slice the meat thin and serve with the roasted pineapple and any other toppings you choose.