Al Pastor - WSM style w/pics

[chisoxjim]

I havent had a lot new to add lately(been doing alot of the same ol' ribs, wings, etc) Got a little creative this past weekend and thought I would share. Living near Chicago, I get alot of great authentic Mexican food, between here and L.A., there isnt a greater concentration of Mexicans in the U.S. With that said I am a big fan of Al Pastor tacos. Pork, and typically pineapple cooked on a spit, and cut off in chunks and served on a tortilla. I had some great ones a couple weeks ago @ Tierra Caliente on Ashland Ave., and a good one @ Big Star in the city. So I have been craving them.

Yesterday before we went to tour a local organic farm I was trying to figure out what I was going to do for SUnday dinner. Got in the truck and headed east to where some grocery stores are. Then it hit me, Ill take a swing @ Al Pastor. Called the butcher who is open Sunday, and had him set aside 4+lb. bone on pork butt, not cheap @ a little over $9 for the 4 lbs., but his pork is local, fresh, un-enhanced, and all natural. I usually use his pork for special events. I also picked up some chipotle marinade, pineapple and other items I needed.

I had done a high heat cook on the WSM the day before doing a gyros loaf. High heat on the WSM is basically the same set up as a regular cook, but no water in the foiled water pan. It will hold 350 for hours.

I went with lump charcoal, and a couple chunks of mesquite for this cook, and had the temps hang out 325-350 for the 2+ hours.

I sliced off sections of the butt, and reserved the bone section for my wife to make some Filipino adobo this weekend. I marinated these slices for about 5 hours.

Now to get the proper set-up. I took a large metal skewer, and opened up the eylet a little to allow it to be hung from the top rack of the WSM. I stacked the pineapple, onion, and pork on the skewer, and then ran another skewer through form the opposite direction to help keep things from falling off. Hung the skewer from the top rack of the WSM to allow the pineapple, onion, and pork fat to run down and throgh the meat as it cooked, self basting. When it was done I finished the meat on the Weber kettle to get a little char and crispiness. Sliced it off the skewer, chopped and served with chopped red onion & El Yucateco green sauce. These were really nice and about as authentic as I could go.

pork butt:




on the skewers:


on the WSM:


about 1 hour in view throught he WSM fuel door:


crispin' on the kettle:


slicin':




chopped:


good eats:


also did some abt's:


thanks for checking out my pics.

[Beer-B-Q]

Dang Jim That Sure Looks Good...

[HawgHeaven]

Wow, that looks good... great idea!!

[crusty ol salt]

dude... looks great and i would bet it tasted even better

[chisoxjim]

thanks folks.

it was good, as good as what I have gotten at the small tacqerias for sure.

[curious aardvark]

I like that - kind of an all-in-one kebab (gyro) meat and filling !

Looks damn tasty

[erain]

and here i am thinking who is this Al Pastor guy lol!!! i had to google it to really find out. nice to see something different. and i bet it was good stuff too!!!

[chisoxjim]

Originally Posted by curious aardvark

I like that - kind of an all-in-one kebab (gyro) meat and filling !

Looks damn tasty

right,

alot like shwarma. I guess in certain areas of Mexico (puebleo) there was an influx of middle eastern immigration, so some items were influenced by these settlers.

[chisoxjim]

Originally Posted by erain

and here i am thinking who is this Al Pastor guy lol!!! i had to google it to really find out. nice to see something different. and i bet it was good stuff too!!!

thanks erain,

I have a competition(my first) coming up Saturday, so the last couple weeks have been trying to get away from the stuff I am doing for that(ribs, chicken,etc), and to try some new things, methods.

[Mikey]

Great job on the al pastor. That's a common dish here where I live since the population is 99% Hispanic.
Do you have a thread going on your upcoming comp? Would be interested in the details.

[Fire it up]

for a creative smoke!

[chisoxjim]

Originally Posted by Mikey

Great job on the al pastor. That's a common dish here where I live since the population is 99% Hispanic.
Do you have a thread going on your upcoming comp? Would be interested in the details.

thanks

I have not posted any details about the small competiion I am doing as of yet. Ill try to start a thread. Its a small competition only 14 teams I believe, non-KCBS, but Illinois BBQ Society sanctioned held in Harvard Illinois as part of their annual Milk Days celebration.

Figured a small one day event like that would be a good place to start.

[ALX]

Very cool....I like this idea and thanks for showing it....Always looking for new uses for pork butt.

[Fishawn]

Great Work Jim..... That looks Fantastic!

[Critterhunter]

That looks really good Jim.Better than what you can get around here

[chisoxjim]

2nd attempt:

Wanted to give this another go. This time using some thick, fatty, bone in pork chops.

My marinade:
- fresh pineapple juice, lime juice, and lemon juice
- gravey master
- garlic
- chipotles
- adobo
- black pepper
- white pepper
- marjoram
- mexican oregano
- chinese wine
- oil
- cayenne
- soy sauce

maritaed for just 2 hours, citrus and fruit enzymes did their job. I skewered the chops, some slices of onion and pineapple and hung ti from the top rack of the WSM.

WSM was running hot, 325ish when I put the meat in. Temps fluctuated 300 - 350, got nice even browning and crisping.

End result made some good tacos. Sweet, tender, juicy, and a little spicy meat.

marinated chops:



ready to go:











thanks for looking.

[Fishawn]

Very Nice.... Love the "hanger cam"

[chisoxjim]

Originally Posted by Fishawn

Very Nice.... Love the "hanger cam"

lol, surprised I havent melted that camera with some of the close ups I try to get.

[sweet_magnolia]

Fantastic, Jim! Missed it the first time around but love the looks of it!