What’d You Do Last Weekend?
Chicken and Waffles? Yes!
Al Pastor
This was Todd's contribution - we'd sort of burned out on pork and beans, and hadn't really tried making anything with a Mexican slant lately. We poured through our Rick Bayless and Diana Kennedy cookbooks, and eventually turned back online where Todd discovered this great al pastor recipe.
He marinated it as directed, but instead of cooking it in a pot, he cooked it in the crock pot the next day. Initially we weren't thrilled with the results, but after making some homemade masa cakes and frying the pork in the skillet, it took on much better results!
Al Pastor Tacos
2-3 lbs pork butt roast
1/2 c olive oil
1 1/2 cups vinegar
3 - 5 cloves garlic, minced
4 - 10 jalapeño peppers
1 can pineapple chunks
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cumin
- Remove jalapeño seeds. Chop the garlic and jalapeños finely. In a sauce pan, add garlic, jalapeño, oil, pineapple juice, vinegar, oregano, cumin.
- Boil the marinade, reducing it to a thick paste.
- Trim as much visible fat off the pork as possible. Slice the pork into thin strips, dip in marinade paste, place in a bowl. Marinate several hours, preferably over night in refrigerator.
- Roast covered in oven at 350 for 2 hours. Add a bit of water as necessary to keep it moist. Shred the pork into small pieces. (Note: We cooked this in the slow cooker all day)
- Once the pork is cooked and shredded, re-heat it in a frying pan with little or no olive oil - it will crisp up nicely (like carnitas) and can then be used on tacos or burritos.
We served this with avocados that Todd picked off a tree in L.A. while Lucy Bland was on tour last week.
