GrillMexican
Al pastor, trompo-style
Thin pork shoulder, achiote, pineapple. A vertical pile on the grill if you do not have a trompo.
Made it?
1 hr 30 min · 35 min hands-on · pull 165°F · rest 5 min
Ingredients
8 lb on the fire · ~4.4 lb to the table · 9 plates at 8 oz
- pork shoulder, thin sliced8 lb
- achiote paste3 tbsp
- pineapple juice1/4 cup
- garlic cloves4
- cumin1 tsp
- pineapple, sliced1
- kosher salt2 tsp
Method
- 1
Marinate the pork 4 hours. Stack on a skewer with pineapple slices.
- 2
Indirect 300°F until the stack is 160°F, 45–60 minutes. Then a hard sear on the outside.
- 3
Shave downward like a trompo. Tortillas, onion, cilantro, more pineapple.
If you don’t have it
- pork shoulder → pork collar. Keep the same pull. Leaner cooks faster and dries sooner.
- pork shoulder, thin sliced → What you actually have, if it is the same muscle family. No trompo: a sheet pan 400°F, pork in a pile, pineapple on top, same shave.
Same cook, different day
Weeknight
Less time. Same seasoning, hotter fire, watch the probe. Do not skip the rest.
On the plate
With this, try
- With this dish, try making pinto beans.
Start when a packer wraps, or at the beginning of a shoulder. Soaked beans, smoked hock, onion, chili. Simmer until creamy. Salt late.
2 hr 30 min
- With this dish, try making pot liquor collards.
On with a shoulder or a ham. They want time, not a grate. Strip the stems, simmer with a hock until the leaves give and the pot liquor is the sauce.
1 hr 30 min
- With this dish, try making vinegar slaw.
Anytime. Better after an hour in the fridge. Cabbage, carrot, cider vinegar, a pinch of sugar, salt, pepper. No mayo if the meat is already rich.
20 min