Tacos al Pastor

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.

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!

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.