Tacos Al Pastor
Translation is usually marinated pork, but that doesn't tell you the story.
Al Pastor spit at Atotonilco
Al Pastor spit at Huentitlan
Pork is marinated, layered on a spit with onions, and roasted as the spit turns. As the outer part browns, the onions are carmelized and the marinated pork is browned.
close-up of the spit at Atotonilco
The outer part is shaved off, put into a tortilla, and covered with fresh onions and cilantro.
Tacos Al Pastor served with all the trimmings and a glass of Horchata at Huentitlan
Tacos Al Pastor at Taqueria Moran
I usually add some fresh lime and salt, which goes really nicely with the pork. But not all Al Pastor is created equal, so I sought out some different kinds around Chicago.
I first tried Al Pastor in Mexico City. I was taken to a place in Colonia Polanco that served it up just right. Of course I didn't know what it was called then, but I remember the spit, and those finely carmelized shavings of roast pork. I can hardly claim to be an expert in Al Pastor; I'm the equivalent of a foreigner who comes to Chicago, and eats a hot dog at some expensive bistro in Lincoln Park and returns to tell about it.
My friend Mike, who is a lurker here, lived for a few years in Austin, Texas. He's not a great fan of Austin ("Schaumburg of the South"), but does remember a 24-hr Al Pastor place that he frequented.
Mike the lurker wrote:The trick is that they shave only the edges of the meat off the spit: very thin slices.
I'd also add that the essential elements of any spit of meat cooked and shaved for hours, including shwarma, rodizio, and gyros, are:
(1) heat high enough to cause carmelization*, and
(2) a critical mass of people waiting to eat it, so the meat can be properly cooked for everyone without getting overdone or dried out.
IMHO most gyros places are serving warmed up meatloaf, and have gotten away from the roots of the spit.
Some Al Pastor places, recognizing that they will not receive a steady stream of people as the spit get fired up and carmelizes the meat, cut the meat as it is ready and then keep the cooked al pastor meat refrigerated until customers ask for it. Then, they warm the pieces on the grill before serving.
Then there are places that have dropped the spit altogether, and just fry up a pieces of chopped marinated pork w/onions on the grill. You still get the browning, just in a different way. Browning occurs more evenly, in a fried rather than roasted kind of a way. Results can be similar; when I started this I looked primarily for places with the spit, but then was pleasantly surprised when I ordered it from places without a spit.
I. places with Al Pastor spits:
Tortilleria Atotonilco
5656 S Kedzie
Chicago
773-436-4890
Hacks off large pieces; only some edges are carmelized. No cilantro or onions. Greasy, juicy, and the huge pieces have less browning and less marination. Why don't we just call them carnitas.
Tacos El Jaliciense
2859 W Chicago
Chicago
773.235.2859
A pineapple is on the top of the spit. The spit only runs periodically; they keep the meat in a heated container to the side of the spit and add it directly to the tortilla w/o re-frying. Pieces are huge, and definitely not browned. Very greasy, enough grease to soak through a 2-ply tortilla, no fresh onions or cilantro.
Birriria Huentitlan
4019 W North
Chicago
773-276-0768
Hugely popular, line out the door, 24 place on weekends. The meat is served fresh from the spit, but not browned to perfection. They do serve it with fresh onions and cilantro. I was disappointed with the lack of browning though; seems more like an assembly line with the people filing in, and they cut the meat early instead of waiting for it to brown.
Taqueria Puebla
3625 W North
Chicago
773-772-8435
They have a spit, which was not running while I was there. They run the spit, harvest all of the meat, and save it in the refrigerator. The meat I had was from the 'fridge, fried up before serving. Very nice attention to quality; so good that I really question the whole fresh spit thing anyway.
II. no spit
Taqueria Moran
2226 N California
Chicago
773-235-2663
They have no spit; they don't even have al pastor on the menu, but they've served it to me on several occasions. Meat is chopped into very fine pieces, marinated w/chopped onions, and fried together when ordered. I thought this stuff was great, so great that I've stopped looking for the spit. Overall I really like this taqueria, and they obviously pay closer attention to quality than a lot of places. When I asked them directly why they don't use a spit, she said because it tastes better from the grill. After sampling the results, I tend to agree, but I still have fond memories of that spit in Mexico City, just as Mike the Lurker has fond memories of Austin.
So is the spit really done for quality, or is it an assembly line, mass production technique done for quantity?
*Technically meat is not carmelized, it is browned, according to Robert Wolke, "What Einstein told his cook."
[edited to include picture labels]
Last edited by
Rich4 on October 5th, 2004, 6:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
there's food, and then there's food