This is a lovely Mexican pork dish, traditionally a shaved meat akin to shawarma. I made it like carnitas, but with pastor flavours. I do not crisp mine up, but it would be excellent crisped up if you feel like the extra step. I skimmed a few recipes and came up with this one. You’ll want to marinate the pork for at least 4 hours – I did mine overnight. You could do this in the oven at low heat (325F) if you don’t have a crockpot.
Crockpot Al Pastor
~2# Pork Loin Roast, cut into chunks (if you get a big 4# one, double the marinade)
Marinade
1/2 white onion, large dice
1/2 can pineapple chunks, reserve juice (in juice NOT syrup)
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tbl apple cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1 Tbl chiles in adobo (I really like La Costeña diced chipotles in adobo. They are med spicy. See photo.)
In the crockpot
1/2 white onion, large dice
1/4 can pineapple chunks, no juice
2 bay leaves
2 guajillo chiles, dried
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 c chiles in adobo
big splash pineapple juice
big splash orange juice
S/P
remaining pineapple chunks
1/4 c cilantro, fresh, chopped
Instructions:
Unwrap and cut up the pork loin roast, season with S/P. Put all marinade ingredients into food processor and pulse until you get a thick loose paste. Put pork and marinade in a plastic bag and let it sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours (I recommend overnight).
When you’re ready to start the crockpot, turn it to HI and spray with nonstick spray. Add onion, pineapple, bay leaves and guajillos to the bottom of the pot, then layer in the pork, try to keep it one layer. Put next 5 ingredients over the pork, then add in the marinade. Cook for about 5-6 hours.
When the pork is done, it will pull apart easily. You’ll need to skim off about 2/3 cup of liquid from the pork once it’s cooked, or your sauce will be too watery. Skim off as much liquid as you can, check S/P, then pull the pork apart. Remove the bay leaves and guajillos. Add in the cilantro and crush up the remaining pineapple into the finished pork. You’ll need to adjust salt and you may want to add more chipotles if the spice level is not to your liking. I like my pastor to be mostly citrus rather than chipotles and adobo.
Serve with tortillas, black beans, sour cream and salsa.