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Woo hoo! Our Mexican neighbour helped with making the tortillas. I think her expectations were low and this Al Pastor recipe far, far exceeded her and her husband's expectations. Hurrah for @Troble. I made fish tacos to start, followed by Al Pastor and then finished with pineapple and ginger sorbet. I was touched by the fact that she has not been able to get to Mexico for a while (looking after sick old dog) and so was super happy to have the taste of Mexico brought to her. And her husband loved rolling the meat in the fat that accumulated in the bottom of the pan.

Adobada Tacos/Tacos Al Pastor You probably know this dish as Tacos Al Pastor. I call it Adobada Tacos. Who is right? The answer is both of us are. In Mexico, the terms get used differently depending on the region and you will find further discussions about if it’s Al Pastor or Adobada depending on if it’s on the griddle after it’s been cut. The sensible answer to this is that Adobada is the type of sauce or marinade that is commonly found in many Mexican dishes. You will often see dishes served “in adobada sauce”. They call the pork on the spit Tacos Al Pastor. But in Baja California which is close to where I live in San Diego, we call it Tacos Adobada, and that is also fine. For a detailed discussion on this read this article https://frugalcooking.com/is-al-pastor-the-same-as-adobada/ Now for the dish. What exactly is Al Pastor or Adobada tacos? It’s the ultimate fusion food. It’s basically a Mexican version of Middle Easter Shawarma. But the Mexican people adapted it to their region and used their spices and pork instead of chicken. That’s it in a nutshell. For more info about this check out this article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_pastor I live in San Diego, precisely 8 miles North of Tijuana, Mexico where their taquerias are legendary and Adobada/Al Pastor reign. I actually had a business in Tijuana for 2 years and ate at all the best tacos stands in the City and I consider this one of my areas of expertise so it’s always been something I wanted to cook at home, especially now in the Pandemic, when I can’t cross the border to get my taco fix. In previous attempts I have used the rotisserie on my KK to attempt this dish. (seen here https://komodokamadoforum.com/topic/2453-everyday-misc-cooking-photos-w-details/page/296/?tab=comments#comment-127969 I stacked the meat on the spit and then used a foil tray to act as a deflector over the coals. This worked, but it was hard to manage. Hard to cut the meat and eventually the aluminum tray would get super-hot and sometimes end up melting by the end of the cook which isn’t good either. So, enter the Trompo King. I saw this thing on the KK forum and thought that could be a great solution for what I am looking for. The Trompo king allows for vertical stacking of the meat, but more importantly it has a nice collector tray below it where the meat can be shaved and then cooked further which is key to executing this dish. The Trompo King can be found here https://smokeware.com/products/trompo-king Here is the recipe I used as a template for this cook. I think this recipe is pretty damn authentic, although I do think it’s a little heavy on the adobo sauce side and I may try increasing the sugar on subsequent cooks, but it is damn good to start to start with this and season as you see fit. There are a couple of key ingredients you will need to purchase to make this cook happen. I will list them below. 1. Dried Guarillo Peppers – available in any Mexican market but also on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Guajillo-Chiles-Peppers-Dried-Whole/dp/B087XBKNB7/ref=sr_1_16?dchild=1&keywords=guajillo+peppers+dried+el+guapo&qid=1609555947&refinements=p_72%3A1248897011&rnid=1248895011&s=grocery&sr=1-16 2. Dried Chipotle Pepper available at any Mexican market but also on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Dried-Chipotle-Morita-Chile-Peppers/dp/B0821P2R3G/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=dried+chipotle+peppers&qid=1609556057&refinements=p_72%3A1248897011&rnid=1248895011&s=grocery&sr=1-5 3. Achioete Paste - https://www.amazon.com/El-Yucateco-Achiote-Red-Paste/dp/B0000GHNVI/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia-wc-nc-drs2_0?crid=3HZWBZNRY04XJ&cv_ct_cx=achiote+paste&dchild=1&keywords=achiote+paste&pd_rd_i=B0000GHNVI&pd_rd_r=a9ce6812-13a3-475f-9a3d-5cda389c772e&pd_rd_w=Dd06o&pd_rd_wg=3VpEl&pf_rd_p=a64002b9-9c26-4361-b8a1-b0f5a4835670&pf_rd_r=5AJEBBH4CTYWAQ63MXRR&psc=1&qid=1609556116&s=grocery&sprefix=achio%2Cgrocery%2C231&sr=1-2-38d0a374-3318-4625-ad92-b6761a63ecf6 The rest of the ingredients calls for Mexican oregano, Mexican cumin, Mexican Thyme, and Mexican brown sugar. You can use what you have in your pantry but if you plan to make this dish often there are subtle flavor differences using the Mexican herbs and sugar you can also find those on Amazon. When prepping the adobo sauce, I like to use my KK and cast-iron pan so it has more of that “smokey flavor” I generally cook something else the day before on my KK then make the adobo sauce while my KK is still going and prepare the marinade and meat for the next day. When prepping the pork butt, it helps to freeze it for 4-5 hours so you can make nice cuts prior to marinating. When you are prepping to cut the pork butt, trim off the fat cap, also make cuts that would look like they would fit well on the skewer. You want about ½ thick cuts. Take each cut and lather it in marinade and then refrigerate overnight. I like to use pineapple juice and orange juice in my marinade, but that’s up to you. The other recommendation I have for executing this dish is to make sure that as you slice off the outside layer of meat, spray the spit and meat on the tray with pineapple juice. it helps to caramelize it all. I cooked the meat at 375 and it took me about 3 hours to do a 7 lb. pork butt. In previous attempts on the spit, I’ve done it at 450 and it cooked faster, but in this last attempt I liked the cadence of slicing every 20 minutes as I could let the meat cook on the tray below and prep some condiments. The condiments to this dish make it all come together. It’s essential that you use you the following 1. Raw onion 2. Sliced radishes 3. Fresh cilantro 4. Pineapple chunks I like to make a creamy salsa verde but that’s also up to you. If you are so inclined one could use this recipe https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/tomatillo_salsa_verde/ (although I do add a 1/2 cup of Mexican Crema to this recipe because I like it creamy) Lastly, the final key is to serve this dish on a lightly toasted flour taco sized tortilla. This isn’t a burrito, find and source some small taco sized tortilla. The tortilla is really a key ingredient here and it’s easy to gloss over it. I don’t make my own because I live in San Diego and can go to a stand and pick up a fresh pack super easily, but if you live in another country or a place where getting fresh tortillas isn’t an option have you no fear. It’s upper easy to make and it’s a great skill to teach your kids to do for you while you cook. Here is a recipe to make fresh tortillas https://thecafesucrefarine.com/best-ever-homemade-flour-tortillas/ if you are so inclined you can get a tortilla press to make it even easier If you’ve never had a fresh tortilla, I encourage you to try to once and see what you think. It makes a world of a difference in the end product. https://www.amazon.com/Estrella-Tortilla-Pataconera-Original-MEXICO/dp/B01LRDID2A/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=tortilla+press&qid=1609557105&refinements=p_72%3A1248915011&rnid=1248913011&s=home-garden&sr=1-7 Here are some photos of the latest cook using the Trompo King. If you have any questions on this cook please reach out, I’d be happy to help but it’s an amazing dish to cook for your friends.

Sorry for the delay, hope this helps. And you would want to leave some extra room just for wiggling it in place.

Well, please wish me luck. Tomorrow is the day. I am at our place in Italy and I have promised to serve our Mexican neighbour and her Italian husband home made tacos. That involved making the fresh masa at home in England earlier in the week, vacuum packing it and transporting it in the car. I bought some pork shoulder from the market this morning and marinaded it in the bright red marinade for al pastor. I also bought a pineapple and have scoped out some fish to buy tomorrow so we can have some fish tacos for starters. A brave (or foolish) move, trying to cook someone else's native food and telling them that you do it well! I will report back after the event. In the meantime here is a couple of photos of the work in progress.

Loving this thing, just delivered on Monday! Cobalt blue pebble is stunningly beautiful.