Tacos al Pastor – A Marriage of Beautiful Tastes
By Dorothy Bell
YUM. Who in Mexico hasn’t walked by a taco stand or restaurant with a Tacos al Pastor vertical spit slowly rotating – delicious marinated pork crisping as it goes around and around. Sometimes hidden pieces of pineapple and onion are intermixed with the layers of meat but always, absolutely always, a pineapple crowns the spit and adds delicious juices as it rotates.
Thin slices of pork are marinated in achiote or adobo with chillies for 3 to 4 hours. The slices are then skewered on a vertical trompo, or spit, cooking slowly. The fat and juices to drip down the stack of skewered port basting it as the outer layer crisps. The taquero, or taco maker slices the tender crispy outer layer in a downward motion. He scoops up a generous portion of the cooked pork into a tortilla and finishes it off with onions, salsa cilantro. Heaven.
Fabulous Fusion Food
Mexican right? Yes and no. Like so many great culinary creations, Al Pastor is pure fusion.
Tacos al Pastor, Carlos Slim and Selma Hayek all have one thing in common. Lebanese origin. Lebanese immigrants came to Mexico in the late 1800’s. Many came through Veracruz to Puebla in the early 1900’s and brought with them the traditions and cooking styles from their home country. Classic shawarma, roast lamb cooked on a vertical grill was introduced to the area. It was served on a flour tortilla or pita bread and was called tacos árabes, A rough translation of al pastor is “in the style of the shepherd.”
Adaptations of this beloved taste were made over the years. Cilantro, onion and salsa were added. Pork substituted lamb – presumably because it is plentiful and economical. Who knows where the pineapple came from; A culinary mystery.
