- Pork marinated in dried chiles, achiote and vinegar
- Small corn tortillas
- White onion, cilantro and grilled pineapple
- Salsa roja or salsa verde, lime
Tacos al Pastor
Tacos al pastor shaved from the trompo. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Tacos al pastor are Mexico City's signature taco: marinated pork shaved from a vertical spit called the trompo, served on small corn tortillas with onion, cilantro, pineapple and salsa. The technique came with Lebanese immigrants in the early 20th century and became something entirely Mexican.
They are eaten standing up, usually late at night, two or three at a time. The taquero shaves the pork, catches a slice of pineapple on the knife mid-air, and the taco is assembled in seconds.
Key ingredients
Where to try it
- El Tizoncito in Condesa, which claims to have invented them in 1966
- El Vilsito in Narvarte, a mechanic's garage by day and taqueria by night
- Any trompo on a Mexico City street corner after 8pm