Last to know, we play the jokers in this minstrel show
Cause no one cares in this showbiz crowd anymore.
Got another cigarette, I’m not quite through with this story yet.
Nothing left here that we should fear, I suppose.
“Last To Know” by Alejandro Escovedo
Update: Thanks to Arjun for fact checking al pastor on Wikipedia…this is a pork al pastor inspired recipe. And when by al pastor inspired, I mean it has pineapple and pork in it. Many apologies to my Mexican readers who may have been insulted by my lack of cultural knowledge about their food preparations.
Round two of Cinco de Mayo week! This is a great Mexican starter recipe for those of you that want to deviate from those packets of taco seasoning. This recipe uses stuff that you should be able to easily find in your local mega mart. I made this recipe up, let me know what you think. For what it’s worth, the little lady loved it.
Ingredients:
8 dried peppers, I used California and guajillo
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon of white vinegar
2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder, divided
2 teaspoons Mexican oregano, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
½ pineapple, cut into 1 inch chunks (about 2 cups)
¼ of a white onion
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 pounds country style pork ribs, de-boned (or boneless)
Directions:
1. Heat two cups of water with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar in a small pot
2. Once water/vinegar mixture begins to simmer turn off the heat and put in dried peppers and cover for 15 minutes, drain peppers
3. In a blender, mix drained peppers, ½ cup white vinegar, garlic, onion, ½ cup pineapple chunks, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
4. Preheat oven to 300° F
5. Place pork and marinade in a casserole, place remaining pineapple on top of pork
6. Heat until the pork can be easily shredded, about 3 hours
7. Remove pork and pineapple, shred in a separate bowl
8. Add 1 cup of cooked marinade, 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, ½ teaspoon chili powder, and ½ teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional) and salt (if necessary) serve
Al pastor is not shredded.
That’s a great photo—
Arjun: thanks, I changed the post
Moolay: always appreciated
Hey buddy, I use wikipedia for a lot of things; finding out what “al pastor” is is not one of them.
I didn’t know people still used microsoft encarta…
Actually, I went to the library.
whatever it was called or wherever it was discovered by arjun, i thought it was tasty…(especially as a ‘meat dip’ for chips in the post-meal snacks).
Elissa said you dominated the meat dip!
It was definitely tasty. A food coma was induced…go figure.
I think I would be insulted if you didn’t have a food coma, that is the barometer for my culinary success
That pork looks so moist and tasty!
The pineapple and the spices worked well together.
Close enough to call al pastor in my opinion. The spit isn’t what makes it. It is the marinade and the slow cooking.
Thanks, I really like your site, especially the whole hog.
Despite what Wikipedia says, this looks closer to the Al Pastor I had in Mexico than anything else I can find online. The Pork Al Pastor I had was shredded pork in a red sauce and tasted amazing.
Nice, I could use some pastor right now.