El Al is part of the Taco Team - dedicated to analyzing the Al Pastor taco.

A disturbing ongoing issue with the consistant availability of Al Pastor at the Mi Pueblo store had breifly stablized. There was a certain chef who had been doing great. But the store has changed names and the spit is a disaster. The taco team gave up.

Now each member is forced to do home experiments to further their knowledge.

My Current Go To: Taqueria Santa Cruz on Soquel.
http://taqueriasantacruz.com/

After a trip to Mexico City El Al learned some things:

1. Cilantro is not always required in Mexico City.
2. Pork shoulder Al Pastor is a yuppy extravagance - any fool can make awesome Al Pastor with pork sholder but try loin... much harder.
3. High heat from the trompo is muy importante especially for feeding a line of people - En Serio!

El Al's extra-re-appropriation continues:

1. Al Pastor is all about appropriation as it was Lebanese shepherd/peasant style transformed in Mexico to something better.
2. El Al's Armenian/Texas herritage is not an insignificant factor in these heretical experiments:
   • Apply Al Pastor marrinade to pork ribs.
   • Smoke pork ribs till fully cooked with char and store in fridge if not ready to eat.
   • When ready for tacos, cut meat from bone and heat in pan or on gridle and serve.
   Obviously this changes the skill from trompo to smoker. It is a more flexible approach and the results defeat any method yet devised. However one must admit, just like using shoulder, it's pretty hard to not make something delicious, and the chef who can make the cheapest cuts of pork into the most exquisite tacos are worthy of the most respect.
3. Another question remains: what is the optimal toppings configuration?

A fantastic store bought marinade!

TACO TEAM

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