Best Chicken al Pastor Recipe
This Chicken al Pastor is bold, smoky, sweet, and packed with flavor thanks to a rich marinade of dried chiles, pineapple, and achiote. It's the best street taco shortcut, no spit or grill required!
Ingredients
- 2 lb boneless chicken thighs
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 sweet onion chopped roughly
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp salt
- 10 black peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- 3-4 dried Guajillo chili peppers seeds removed
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 chipotle in adobo sauce
- 1 cup fresh pineapple diced
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 package of Achiote paste
Pineapple pico de gallo
- 1 cup fresh pineapple diced
- 2 tbsp sweet onion diced
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro chopped
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- Pinch of salt
- Corn tortillas
- Salsa verde to serve
Instructions
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add olive oil, onion, garlic, bay leaves and spices. Sauté until onion is translucent.
- Add Guajillo chili peppers, salt, vinegar and water. Cover the pan and let it simmer for 7-10 minutes.
- Transfer all the mixture into a blender. Add chipotle on adobo, fresh pineapple, orange juice and Achiote paste. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the mixture over the chicken thighs and marinade overnight. Make sure every piece of meat is covered with the sauce.
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Shake excess marinade from the chicken and cook for about 10 minutes. Chop into small pieces.
- In a medium bowl mix all ingredients for the salsa and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Warm up your corn tortillas and build tacos with chicken al pastor, pineapple salsa and salsa verde. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Store the cooked chicken and pineapple salsa separately in airtight containers in the fridge. Reheat chicken in a hot skillet or microwave. Enjoy within 3 days.
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