Tacos Al Pastor with Grilled Pineapple Salsa

Tacos al Pastor, the classic taco truck staple made with succulent pork, can easily be made at home with a few simple hacks. Serve with grilled pineapple salsa for a sweet and smoky taco. Learn how with this step-by-step recipe. Watch the video!

This recipe was first posted June 23, 2014 and last updated June 10, 2022.

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Making Tacos Al Pastor at home can be tricky. You’ve seen the thin slices of pork shoulder stacked gyro-style on a vertical spit in Mexico or at your favorite taco truck.

I have neither the equipment or the patience for that but I did come up with a method that I think hits all the right notes flavor wise and is waaayyyy easier to pull off. It involves grilling big pork shoulder steaks which is counter to everything you’ve probably ever read about making Al Pastor at home but stick with me.

The secret is the large pieces of meat stay so much juicier than the pounded thin slices and it is about a million times easier than slicing and pounding and stacking and slow-roasting, etc.

Feeling a bit more adventurous but don’t have a rotisserie? Try this version from Serious Eats.

If you are ready to dive into the wonderful world of totally doable homemade Tacos Al Pastor. Then let’s go!

More To Explore

Quick and Easy Chorizo Tacos Recipe

Shredded Beef For Tacos {Carne Deshebrada}

Grilled Fish Tacos with Sweet Corn Salsa

What Does Al Pastor Mean?

Al Pastor literally translates to mean Shepard-style, which is a bit confusing seeing as the phrase typically refers to pork and last time I checked pigs didn’t really roam many pastures.

What the name more likely refers to is the technique of cooking the meat. This Mexican dish gets its inspiration from Lebanese immigrants who migrated to Mexico by the thousands during the 1948 Israel-Lebanon War. They brought their technique of cooking lamb shawarma (sheep need Shepards, hence the name) which quickly became popular using pork and Mexican flavors such as limes, pineapple juice, and Mexican oregano.

Ingredients

• Boneless pork shoulder
• 1 whole pineapple
• Canned chipotle peppers in adobo
• Dried guajillo chiles
• Dried ancho chilis
• Garlic
• Limes, plus lime wedges for serving
• Kosher salt
• Serrano peppers
• Red onion
• Cilantro
• Corn tortillas

How To Make This Tacos Al Pastor Recipe

step one

Toast and soak the chiles. To make the marinade, heat a small pan or comal over medium heat. Once hot, add the dried chiles and toast until the color has darkened and the chiles are fragrant. Meanwhile, bring a small pan of water to a boil over medium high heat. Once the chiles are toasted place them in the boiling water. Remove from heat, submerge the chiles in water and set aside to soften.

step two

Cut the pineapple. We will be using half of the pineapple for the salsa and half for the marinade. Slice the top and bottom off the pineapple then remove the skin by running a sharp knife down the sides of the pineapple in between the skin and the flesh. Cut the pineapple in half vertically. Set one half aside for the salsa. Remove the core from the other half, cut into large pieces and place in a blender.

step three

Blend marinade. Remove chiles from the water and add to the blender with the pineapple. Add the chipotle chiles, 2 cloves garlic, lime juice from 1 lime, oregano, and salt. Blend on high until smooth.

step four

Prep pork. Slice the pork shoulder against the grain into 1 1/2-inch thick steaks.

Place steaks in a single layer in a dish large enough to hold them plus the marinade. Pour the marinade over the pork and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

step five

Heat grill. Before lighting the grill, remove the pork from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature while the grill heats and you make the salsa. Heat the grill so one side is at high heat and the other side is medium.

step six

Grill pineapple for salsa. Place the reserved pineapple half on the grill and cook, turning occasionally until the outside is nicely charred on all sides, about 15 minutes. Remove to a cutting board, let cool.

step seven

Make salsa. Remove core from the grilled pineapple and cut into small dice. Mince the red onion, serrano, and fresh cilantro and place in a large bowl. Add lime juice and salt and stir. Taste and add more lime juice and/or salt as needed.

step eight

Grill pork. Place pork steaks on the high-heat side of the grill, keep the dish with the marinade close by. Grill pork until one side is deeply marked with grill marks, about 7 minutes.

Flip and brush with a layer of the leftover marinade then grill another 7 minutes on the other side. Flip again moving them to the cooler side of the grill and brush again with the marinade.

Continue cooking on that side another 10 minutes. Flip one last time—do not brush with marinade anymore—and cook on that other side another 10 minutes or until the meat is nicely crisp on the outside and firm. Internal temperature should read 150°F.

Remove to a cutting board, cover with aluminum foil, and let sit 5-10 minutes.

step nine

Slice pork and serve. Slice pork into small, bite-sized pieces. Serve in warm tortillas with grilled pineapple salsa on top and lime wedges for squeezing.

step ten *optional

Crisp pork. If the edges of the meat aren’t as crispy after grilling as you’d like, cook the slices of pork in a dry frying pan over medium-high heat until they crisp up. Do this in batches so there is only enough pork to cover the bottom of the pan. As the meat sears, remove to a serving dish and do another batch.

Which Cut Of Meat Is Best For Al Pastor Tacos?

Where I agree with all other Al Pastor recipes is the pork shoulder or pork butt is the best cut of meat to use for Al Pastor. Where I disagree however, is how it should be prepared.

Instead of thinly slicing the pork shoulder and pounding it thin before cooking I prefer to cut it into thick steaks, marinate and grill them, then slice thinly after cooking.

Grilling thick pork butt or pork shoulder steaks is a method I first learned about in Amy Thielen’s book, The New Midwestern Table. I thought it was crazy at first because I had only ever cooked this cut of pork low and slow. It turns out that the well-marbled cut of meat grills beautifully and because it is thick enough the juices stay in the pork. This is especially true for Al Pastor where the fat from the meat melts into the marinade making for an ultra-flavorful, tender, and juicy steak.

Other Al Pastor recipes where you thinly slice the meat and pound it even thinner results in all the fat dripping down into your grill, leaving a dry and tough steak.

More Tacos Recipes!

• Shredded Beef Tacos {Carne Deshebrada}
• Quick and Easy Chorizo Tacos Recipe
• Grilled Fish Tacos with Sweet Corn Salsa
• Beer-Braised Beef Barbacoa Tacos
• Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos
• Instant Pot Pork Carnitas Tacos
• Chicken Tinga Tacos

Don’t Sleep On These Al Pastor Tacos

You might love these even more than the ones at the taco truck—no kidding! Feel free to let me know how much you loved this recipe by snapping a pic and tagging me on Instagram @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno so I can see or leave me a comment below (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating) ! Also, sign up for my weekly newsletter, lots of good stuff there too!

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