Overland Journal – August 01, 2019

OVERLAND JOURNAL FALL 2019

128

Finelychopthemarinadeingredientsandcombineinthe

ziplockbag.Besuretoreserve1/4of theonionforgarnish.Take

yourporkshoulder—bonelessis easiest—thencutit intothin

slices,sprinkling withsaltandpepper.Addit tothebagand

refrigeratefor1 to8 hours.

Oncethemeatis donemarinating,slideit ontoa woodenor

metalskewerandcookoveranopenfireorgrilluntilthepork

reachesa minimuminternaltemperatureof160°Fandtheends

are brownandcrispy.If you haveaccessto anoven,youcan

alternatelybaketheporkfor 30 minutesat 350°F.

Whenthemeatis ready,removefromtheskewersandcut

intosmallpiecesforyourtacos.Youcanalsocuttheendsoff

periodicallywhiletherestofthemeatcooks—thisis howsha-

warmaorgyrosaredone.Heatthetortillasbeforeassembling

thetacos.

Traditionally,tacosal pastorareservedwithchoppedonion,

cilantro,anddicedpineappleontopofthetaco,butduringmy

recenttrip,I didnothavepineapplesowentwithout.Youcan

also use pineapple in the marinade. There is no wrong answer.

OVERLAND CHEF S.K. DAVIS

SERVES2-3

PREPTIME1-8 hours(to marinate)

COOKTIME 30 minutes

EQUIPMENTKnife,cuttingboard,largeziplockbag, skewers

1 poundporkshoulder,thinlysliced(you can

substituteporkloin for a leaneroption)

Salt and freshlygroundblack pepper

Oil, for cookingtortillas

12 smallcorntortillas

1 cup freshpineapple,diced

1/4 whiteonion,chopped

2 tablespoonscilantro, chopped

Limesforgarnish

MARINADE

2 garliccloves,chopped

1/2 tablespoonof driedguajillopeppersor

chili powder

2 tablespoonschipotlepepperin adobo

2 tablespoonswhitevinegar

1 tablespoonorangejuice

3/4 whiteonion,chopped

1 ounceof achiotepaste

Pinch of ground cinnamon

W

henI was18,I hoppeda jumbojettotheMiddleEast

and settled in.It was a difficult transitionfrom my

speedy,drive-throughlife backintheStates.Living just a few

milesfromtheOldCityofJerusalem,I woketotheminaretseach

morning—early—andspenttimegoingupanddownthecountry

fromtheGulfofAqabatotheGolanHeights.Theculturewas

fascinating,thehistorywasamazing(thoughtragic),andthefood

wasbrilliant.I fellinlovewithfalafel,gothookedonpizzawith-

outmeat,andpiggedoutonstreetshawarma.

YearslaterI gotintobigbikes.Eachwinter,myfriendandI

traveltoBajaandexplorethelesser-seenareasofthepeninsula,

tryingthefoodeverywherewego.Onetime,I noticeda spitof

meatwhichlookeda lotlikeshawarmaandaskedwhatit was.In

machine-gunSpanish,thecookreplied,“tacosdeadobada.” Later,I

learnedthismeatis alsocalledalpastor.

Aftersomeresearch,I foundthatLebaneseimmigrantscame

tocentralMexicointhelate19thcenturyandtheirpropensityfor

spit-cookedmeatsinfluencedpork-basedfoodwithMexicanfla-

vors.Bang—itallmadesense.Thetastyrednessofachiote,crispy

endsofthegrilledmeat,andpineapple all come together in this

booming, flavor-punched taco.

Tacos al Pastor

The MiddleEast comes to Mexico,

resulting in one tasty little taco.