Made with succulent slow-roasted pork and pineapple tacos al pastor are an iconic Mexican dish with roots halfway around the world in the Middle East. But what does “al pastor” refer to? The term translates from Spanish as “shepherd style” and is a nod to the way the meat is cooked—on a spit over a grill—and the Lebanese immigrants who popularized the technique when they came to Mexico in the early 20th century. The most common version of the cooking method (the one used for tacos al pastor) uses a vertical spit called a trompo on which layers of pork are stacked before being thinly sliced and served on tortillas.
| Channel | Publish Date | Thumbnail & View Count | Actions |
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 Tasty | 2019-09-22 16:00:03 |  1,256,875 Views |
How Tacos Al Pastor is Made • Tasty
While the technique may be rooted in Middle Eastern cuisine al pastor is unmistakably Mexican. The tacos typically begin with pork marinated in adobo sauce—a garlicky smoky spicy paste—for several hours along with Mexican chiles citrus fruits and other spices that are then slow-cooked on the trompo. The achiote (a native spice) from the marinade gives the meat its traditional red color.
Although the culinary journey of al pastor has taken years to unfold it is still evolving. Generally speaking if you see a dish labeled “al pastor” on a restaurant menu you can expect it to feature meat marinated in adobo spit-roasted and sliced to perfection.
If you think the cooking technique used in tacos al pastor is identical to how Middle Eastern shawarma is made you’re 100% right. In the late 1800s and early 1900s Lebanese immigrants to Mexico brought with them their culinary traditions including the Middle Eastern dish shawarma often made with lamb. Due to a shortage of lamb in their new homeland they switched to pork which was more plentiful and popular. The spices breads and accompanying condiments also changed over time beginning to incorporate traditional Mexican ingredients like chili peppers and corn.
