Authentic Al Pastor Meat Tower
Mexican · Organized from the video by ThatDudeCanCook
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Ingredients
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Steps
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- 1
Prepare the dried chiles: remove stems and seeds from guajillo, ancho, and árbol chiles. Toast them in a medium heat pan for about 1 minute, tossing after 30 seconds. Soak in hot water for 15-20 minutes until pliable.
💡 If they are too dry, they won't have as much flavor.
🔥 medium heat⏱ 1 minute⏱ 15-20 minutes⏱ 30 seconds
- 2
Char the aromatics: In the same pan, toast garlic cloves (skin on) and 1/4 white onion on medium heat for about 8 minutes until charred.
💡 Leaving the garlic skin on protects the garlic while intensifying flavor.
🔥 medium heat⏱ 8 minutes
- 3
Toast whole spices: In the pan, toast the cumin seeds and black peppercorns for about 3 minutes. Remove and cool in a mortar and pestle before grinding.
💡 Toasting whole spices and grinding them yourself makes everything better.
⏱ 3 minutes
- 4
Blend the marinade: Combine soaked chiles, charred onion, charred garlic, ground spices, salt, canned pineapple juice, orange juice, lime juice, Mexican oregano, Mexican cinnamon, cloves, achiote paste, agave, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, and avocado oil in a blender. Blend on high for 1 minute until smooth.
💡 Using canned pineapple juice prevents the meat from becoming mushy due to bromelain enzymes.
⏱ 1 minute
- 5
Prepare the pork: Slice the pork shoulder into 1/2 inch thick pieces. Pound them with a meat mallet to about 1/4 inch thickness. Coat the pork thoroughly in the marinade.
💡 If using fresh pineapple juice, marinate for only 4-8 hours to avoid mushy texture.
⏱ 8 hours
- 6
Build the meat tower: In a meat tower pan, place a layer of pineapple rings at the bottom. Layer the pork slices with more pineapple rings in between, stacking until the tower is built. Cap with a final pineapple piece.
💡 The pineapple helps the meat caramelize during roasting.
- 7
Roast the tower: Bake in the oven at 350°F (no fan) for approximately 90 minutes. For the final 30 minutes, increase the temperature to 370°F to achieve a dark char.
💡 Starting with a lower temperature prevents the sugar from burning before the meat is cooked.
🔥 350°F⏱ 90 minutes⏱ 30 minutes
- 8
Make the salsa: Char tomatillos, jalapenos, garlic, and white onion in a hot pan for 4-5 minutes, then place under a high heat broiler until charred. Combine all ingredients in a blender with a bit of the pan juice, salt, cilantro, and lime. Pulse for 15 seconds to keep it chunky. Thin with water if needed.
💡 The juices from the charred vegetables in the pan should be added to the salsa for flavor.
🔥 high heat⏱ 4-5 minutes⏱ 15 seconds
- 9
Final serve: Let the meat rest for 15 minutes. Baste the meat with the pan drippings. Slice the meat and serve with the roasted tomatillo salsa on tortillas.
💡 The pan drippings should be used to baste the meat for extra flavor.
⏱ 15 minutes
Tips
- Use canned pineapple juice to avoid the bromelain enzyme making the meat mushy during long marination.
- Charring garlic with the skin on makes it easy to peel and intensifies the flavor.
- If using a standard blender instead of a high-speed one, pass the marinade through a sieve to ensure smoothness.
- For the salsa, pulse the blender briefly to maintain a chunky, authentic texture.
- Soaking raw sliced onions in ice water removes harshness and makes them extra crunchy.
This recipe was organized from the source video's transcript. Amounts follow what the video presents. Source: ThatDudeCanCook on YouTube