Al Pastor

(from Spanish, "herdsman style"), ''tacos al pastor'', or ''tacos de trompo'' is a preparation of spit-grilled slices of meat, usually pork originating in the Central Mexican region of Puebla and Mexico City, where they remain most prominent; today, though, it is a common menu item found in throughout Mexico. The method of preparing and cooking is based on the lamb shawarma brought by Lebanese immigrants to the region. features a flavor palate that uses traditional Mexican adobada (marinade). It is a popular street food that has spread to the United States. In some places of northern Mexico and coastal Mexico, such as in Baja California, is known as or .

A variety of the dish uses a combination of Middle Eastern spices and indigenous central Mexican ingredients and is called .

Name

The name “al pastor”, which literally translates to “herdsman”, “cowherd” or “shepherd” style, comes from «Asado al Pastor», which can be translated as “spit roast” or “spit barbecue” over an open fire. The ''Asado al Pastor'', also known as “asado del pastor”, “carbonada” and “asado a la estaca”, was one of the styles for roasting or “barbecuing” meats in the Mexican countryside, the other one being barbacoa. Whole animals, commonly veal, bull, cow, or mutton, or pieces of meat, were skewered with a “spit” or “estaca” (stake) and placed over an open fire to be roasted.

In the Mexican cookbook ''Diccionario de Cocina o El Nuevo Cocinero Mexicano en Forma de Diccionario'' (1845), Manuel Galvan Rivera explains that there are different classes or types of asados (roasts or barbecues) in Mexican cuisine:

Galvan Rivera also explains that “carbonada” (which can be translated as “over coal”) was another name for an “Asado del Pastor”:

The ''asado al pastor'' was widely prepared in Mexico at countryside festivities, such as ''rodeos'' (cattle roundups), ''herraderos'' (cattle branding celebrations), jaripeos and bull-fights, patron saint festivities of the hacienda, or family picnics. 19th century Mexican writer Domingo Revilla wrote in 1844 and 1845, respectively, that the “banquet” at the ''herraderos'' was reduced to ''asados al pastor'' and barbacoa of whole calves (veal), bull or mutton, and explained that ''asados al pastor'' were more common in ''Tierra Adentro'' or the Bajío region, western Mexico, and beyond, while ''barbacoa'' was more common in the Mezquital and Apan valleys and surrounding areas in central Mexico.

An anecdote collected by Victoriano Salado Álvarez tells that, as part of a Mexican Independence celebration in 1856, a whole bull was roasted al pastor style in the middle of the Alameda Central in Mexico City, and that among the guests was President Ignacio Comonfort:

History

During the 19th century, variations of a vertically grilled meat dish doner, now known by several names, started to spread throughout the Ottoman Empire. The Levantine version of doner, called shawarma, was brought to Mexico in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by a wave of Lebanese immigrants, mainly Christians who have no religious dietary restrictions on eating pork.

By the 1920s, lamb meat was mostly replaced by pork. The Mexican-born progeny of Lebanese immigrants also began opening their own restaurants.
Later, in Mexico City, they began to marinate with adobo and use corn tortillas, which resulted in the al pastor taco. It is unknown when they began to be prepared as we know them today; however, some agree that it was in the 1960s when they became popular.

Preparation

Pork is marinated in a combination of dried chilies, spices, pineapple, and typically achiote paste, then slowly cooked with charcoal or gas flame on a vertical rotisserie called a (), the meat is shaved off as the outside is browned, and made into tacos. Guajillo chile, garlic, cumin, clove, bay leaf, and vinegar are common ingredients, with cinnamon, dried Mexican oregano, coriander, and black peppercorns found in many variants. Meat is thinly sliced off the spit with a large knife into a small corn tortilla and served with finely chopped onions, cilantro, and diced pineapple. A wedge of lemon or lime and a salsa are optional condiments. This meat is also a common ingredient in gringas, alambres, huaraches, tortas, burritos, and pizza.

Varieties

In some places of northern Mexico, such as Nuevo León, Durango and Chihuahua, these are usually called if served on corn tortillas, and if they are served with cheese on flour tortillas.

A similar dish is called (), which originated in Puebla in the 1930s from Arab-Mexican cuisine. use shawarma-style meat carved from a spit, but are served in a pita-style bread called (). These tacos have been brought by Mexican immigrants to the United States in the past few years and have become popular in cities such as Chicago and Los Angeles, two of the largest Mexican/Mexican-American population centers in the United States.

A chicken version marinated in the style was brought back to the Middle East in the early 2000s, and sold as "shawarma mexici". It is typically served in the Middle Eastern style, wrapped with garlic mayonnaise, dill pickle, and french fries in a thin flatbread.

See also

* Dürüm
* List of Mexican dishes
* List of spit-roasted foods
* Sandwich

References

{{Street food

Lebanese diaspora in Mexico
Maronite cuisine
Mexican cuisine
Mexican pork dishes
Nicaraguan cuisine
Pork
Pork dishes
Spit-cooked foods
Taco