Tacos al Pastor

by Erin

Spicy Mexican sausage is mixed with sweet pineapple in these Tacos al Pastor, which are my favorite kind of tacos! So easy you can make them any night of the week.

Tacos al Pastor 2

Welcome to this month’s edition of the Secret Recipe Club! This month I picked a recipe from Leslie’s blog, La Cocina de Leslie. If you like Mexican food, her blog is the mecca of Mexican recipes. I’ve been wanting to try my hand at homemadew tamales for quite some time now and she does provide and step-by-step guide on how to make them, but I chickened out and decided to save them for another day when I had more time as they are not quickly executed. I was also tempted by her sweet corn ice cream but resisted only because I have a freezer full of ice cream already.

And when I saw her easy recipe for Tacos al Pastor I had to make them! I love Tacos al Pastor and they have been on my things-to-cook list for far too long. The only things I changed from her recipe was using chorizo because I could not find longaniza sausage and I added some cotija cheese on top. Per her suggestions, I also served the tacos with her red and green tomatillo salsas. I had to go to 3 stores before I found dried arbol chiles for the red one but it was worth it! Such easy salsas to make and actually my first time ever using tomatillos.

Thanks for the easy yet delicious recipe Leslie. Next up, tamales!

Tacos al Pastor 1

Two years ago: 20 No-Cook Summer Recipes

Three years ago: Individual Scalloped Potatoes with Bacon & Jalapeno

Four years ago: Sourdough Starter

TACOS AL PASTOR

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 lb. Mexican longaniza sausage, casing removed (I used chorizo because I couldn’t find longaniza

1 (14 oz.) can pineapple chunks, juices reserved

1/4 tsp ground cumin

8-10 corn tortillas

1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped

Fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Cotija cheese

Red & Green Tomatillo Salsas, for serving

Directions:

  1. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook, while lightly mashing with a spatula or wooden spoon to break up the sausage until no longer pink. Season with salt, if needed. Add the pineapple chunks, juice, and ground cumin. Cover skillet and let come to a boil. Remove cover, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the juices have mostly evaporated.
  2. To serve the tacos, heat the corn tortillas on a skillet over medium-high heat until soft and pliable (or microwave between damp towels for 10-30 seconds). Spoon 3-4 tablespoons of the mixture onto center of each tortilla. Garnish with chopped red onion, cilantro, and cotija cheese. Serve with red and green tomatillo salsa, or your favorite salsa.

Source: Adapted slightly from La Cocina de Leslie.


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16 comments

laura@motherwouldknow August 12, 2016 - 7:18 pm

I’ll admit that I didn’t know what tacos al pastor were – but now that I looked them up (on Wikipedia, of course) I’m obsessed. Seems kind of weird to say that I got the idea to make a meat-based taco from a blog that is called “The Spiffy Cookie”, but as my daughter used to say, whatever…:) Great Secret Recipe Club choice.

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spiffycookie August 14, 2016 - 8:17 am

Haha yea my blog name is a bit misleading as I’ve always posted both sweet and savory recipes but it is what it is. I’m glad you trust a blog dubbed cookie for tacos ;-). Enjoy!

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Emily @ Life on Food August 8, 2016 - 12:29 pm

Drooling right now. These look splendid! I could eat Mexican all day every day. Seriously, yum!

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Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious August 7, 2016 - 10:35 am

Adore pineapple in Mexican food — I’m usually the weirdo who is putting it in EVERYTHING! You’re right…Leslie’s blog IS a mecca for Mexican food. Wonderful SRC pick!

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susan | the wimpy vegetarian August 2, 2016 - 11:43 pm

Tacos are a huge favorite in my family!! I love Leslie’s blog, and this is a fantastic pick of hers!! At first I thought (in the photo) that butternut squash was added, but then I saw it was pineapple. Genius for summer!

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Sarah August 2, 2016 - 10:13 pm

Leslie has a beautiful blog! I’ve always been intimidated by making my own salsa, but this looks easy and amazing!

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Karen August 1, 2016 - 11:16 pm

Such beautiful photos Erin! These sound so good. The ice cream and tamales would totally tempt me too.

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Anna August 1, 2016 - 10:35 pm

Those look amazing. I have never made anything with tomatillos either, but I’m going to have to try those sauces.

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Bakingfanatic August 1, 2016 - 1:19 pm

Oh fabulous: I havent made tacos in ages so you have promoted me to rectify that! And these look so tempting

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Bakingfanatic August 1, 2016 - 12:12 pm

i adore tacos and these are so delightfully inviting. Another definite recipe for making very soon. Great choice

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Sid August 1, 2016 - 11:26 am

I used to love Tacos al Pastor when we lived in CA, but I don’t remember them coming with pineapple. Sounds like a fun recipe. Leslie has some great recipes on her blog.

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Leslie August 1, 2016 - 11:03 am

I love these tacos whether I make them with longaniza or chorizo. So good and so easy to whip up! I’m glad you liked them, and I’m also glad that you enjoyed the salsas. I also love that you added a little cotija cheese. YUM! :D

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SallyBR August 1, 2016 - 10:37 am

What a great recipe! THe addition of pineapple is really something!

Sweet corn ice cream is very popular in Brazil too, I never made it at home…

Nice post, hope you are having a fantastic Reveal Monday!

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Nicole @ Crazed Mom August 1, 2016 - 9:41 am

I love Leslie’s blog and this looks absolutely outstanding. I love all those flavors and could probably eat this up pretty quickly.
I had you this month, and I did your giant multi chip cookies and omg! Thank you for such a fabulous, fool-proof, big, fat, cookie recipe! We are addicted and have baked two more batches since the initial one! <3

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Susan August 1, 2016 - 9:17 am

Longaniza, huh? Never heard of it, even living on the border and shopping in stores that are geared toward our mostly Mexican-heritage population. I’ll have to look for that. I’ve also never had tacos al pastor – probably need to try these (I think I’ve made tacos exactly once in my life…)

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