Al Pastor

This recipe is one of my favorites, when done properly it is a thing of beauty and genius. It was created in Mexico city during the late fifties which is not that long ago for a food which has become so traditional, widespread, and culturally indispensable. As widespread as it is now, really nobody this side of the border has been able to get it right. The marinade has been close in a few cases but the texture is almost always all wrong. The rotisserie is an essential part of the texture but is no guarantee, it still requires that the chef knows how to slice the meat properly. Too often I am told of a new place which has the proper equipment but find that it is being improperly used. These photos show an example of proper al pastor from a taqueria just off calle 5 de mayo just a few blocks from the zocalo. The meat is placed on the rotisserie to be cooked by a flame then the outermost layer that has been cooked is thinly sliced off. The layers can be seen stacked on top of one another still. A piece of pineapple is also on the rotisserie and most times a thin slice is put into the taco. The thin cut creates the proper texture.

The photo of the taquria shows the rotisserie and work station for the al pastor, it alone has two seperate grills. On the left side is another flat grill and on the right are two others of different shapes, all used for various meats. At least three chefs were present at all times, making service quick even in a crowd, keeping quality high as thier focus was not so divided, and still offering a decent size menu all at the same time.