Tacos al Pastor: re-revisited!

All over the map

So I made the pork last weekend. I marinated 3/4 inch pork butt slices. Each looked like an 8 oz strip loin. The recipe was from a new book called "Mod Mex" which I bought because it was the first book I came across with the recipe for Tacos al Pastor. Anyway, I left the "steaks" in the marinade for over two days. Then I smoked the meat over direct heat at 250 for about 3 hours. They never reached the temperatures of pulled pork (I brought them in somewhere around 170). To finish, I diced the steaks (they still had quite a bit of fat in them) and fried them in their own rendered fat in the frying pan with diced onion and pineapple chunks. I made homemade corn tortillas and salsa and guacamole. It was a completely authentic feast. The next time I'll cook at 300 and see if I can get the pork to a higher temperature a little more rapidly. The cooked meat freezes well, and now I have my own little stash of "al Pastor" ready for my next craving!

Recipe for the marinade is as follows:

3 ancho chiles
3 guajillo chiles
4 cloves of garlic
4 bay leaves
1 onion
2 tbsp of achiote paste
2 tbsp of kosher salt
1 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of mexican oregano
1 tsp of ground black pepper
1 tsp of fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp of allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 cups water
1/2 cup apple cider or red or white wine vinegar

Blend it all up into a very liquid paste. I think it would make enough for about 6 pounds of pork butt. The large will only handle 3 pounds of meat sliced as I described above.

Sorry there are no pictures! Next time, I promise!

aotm

P.S. Awesome cookbook! I love Mexican food and this is the best one I've got.

http://www.amazon.com/Mod-Mex-Cooking-Vibrant-Flavors/dp/0740768654/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203295971&sr=8-1