Pork tacos al pastor

I think I tried this recipe from Cheryl and Bill Jamison before, back in the prehistoric days before I started this blog. It is keeping with my new passion for spit-roasting, and we always like Mexican-type food and adore pork.

The day before, make a rub/paste by starting with a loosely packed 1/4 c. garlic cloves, roasted in a dry skillet over medium heat until just browned, crush and peel. Pan roast 2 plum tomatoes over high heat until blistered and soft. Put these in a blender with 2 Tbl achiote paste, 2 Tbl ground Ancho or New Mexico chile, 2 tsp salt, 1 Tbl olive oil, and puree. In a resealable plastic bag, spread this paste over a 4 lb. tied boneless pork roast.

They looked at me like I was a Martian at WF when I asked for achiote paste. It seems to me that we found it at a Latino market last time, where it is also known as annatto. This time I searched the Web for substitutes and found one that combined paprika, ground cumin and olive oil to make a paste. The pork roasts at WF ran about 2-1/2 lbs so I special ordered and got one for 3-1/3 lbs that was kind of long and thin -- but it was wonderfully tender and flavorful.

The next day, take the pork out of the fridge 30 min. before cooking. Put it on the spit with a peeled white onion and a peeled half pineapple on each end (this was supposed to be oiled with olive oil but I missed that step and doubt that it really mattered). Put on the spit and cook to an internal temperature of 150 to 155 degrees. I usually ignore the times on these recipes (on this one 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hrs) because the WF charcoal runs very hot and in this case the roast was fairly thin. I checked after 35 min. and it was ready after 45 min.

Let the roast sit at least 10 min. Chop the onion and pineapple and mix together as a relish. Slice the pork (they say thin, though I actually made it pretty chunky) and then cut into strips. Serve with warmed tortillas, tomatillo salsa, and the relish. I cooked some Rancho Gordo Santa Maria pinquito beans as a side (great as always!) and we drank margaritas with the meal.

The pork was nice and moist and I carved it in the juices rendered as it sat. The rub caramelizes into big black patches and the pineapple-onion relish sets the porky taste off really well. A keeper -- we'll do this one a third time!