Tacos Al Pastor
Think of this as a “Mexico meets Middle East” kind of dish. It does, after all, trace its origins to the influx of Lebanese and Syrian immigrants to the Central American country, back in the 1920s and 1930s. Tacos al pastor, the name translates as “shepherd-style tacos”, is a blend of foreign and local culinary cultures that has now truly made its home in Mexico.
Tacos are a staple in Mexican cuisine, and are probably the nation’s most popular culinary export. That being said, tacos come in many versions and flavors on the streets and dining halls of Mexican locales. In the case of the tacos al pastor, it’s like a Middle Eastern or Mediterranean style of taco, similar to the donner kebab from Turkey, or the gyros from Greece.
As with generally all taco dishes, the staple is the tortilla which encases a filling of thin slices of succulent spit-roasted pork, to which are added slices of pineapple which gives the dish a sweet contrast to the savory meat. Slivers of onions and chopped coriander will add a good dose of aromatic flavors to this dish.