I believe one of the fun things about having limitations in your diet is the creativity it forces if you wish to experience a prohibited food.
Jump to RecipeFor me, I try to eat Kosher. Or said more correctly, I do not eat foods that would not be Kosher. Which essentially means I do not eat pork and shellfish. Many ask, don’t I miss it. When I was younger, I ate everything. As I have gotten older, I have connected to my roots and chosen these restrictions because I understood the purpose for the restriction and why the rule existed. On a more basic level, it has been so long since I ate most of these items, I do not really remember there taste. Think about that, YOU DO NOT KNOW YOU ARE MISSING SOMETHING IF YOU HAVE NOT HAD IT. So restriction, is not all that hard.
So my Chicken al Pastor was developed so I could taste the flavors of the pastor, is that the right way to say it? Or is it to taste the al pastor. Either way, all I needed was a new vehicle so that I could savor this delicious marinade/sauce. Chicken is an obvious choice. I prefer using chicken thighs to chicken breasts, and in this application, the thighs have more fat and in a small way resemble pork better than the leaner chicken breasts would do. Some examples of flavorful chicken recipes with different marinades include:
The sauce is the key and really quite easy to make. The base of the sauce is dried chilies. I feel you can play with the types of chilies you use or what your store has. Try different varieties until you know what you like. I like to use some combination of New Mexico, anchos and arbol among others. All you need to do is to heat the dried chilies in a skillet to release some of there flavors and smokiness. Then add to a blender with tomatoes and onions. This is the base for this sauce and many Mexican sauces. For this sauce, I added a couple of types of dried oregano, fresh orange juice, some jarred mole, cumin and garlic. The final result was delicious! As Guy Fieri likes to say, the sauce would taste good on a flip flop. I hope you try this recipe and enjoy it.
The cast of characters for the al Pastor.
The making of the al Pastor.
The Chicken al Pastor plated.
Chicken al Pastor
It is so easy to add flavor to chicken. My Chicken al Pastor is chicken marinated in some smoky chilies with tomatoes, garlic and onions.
Ingredients
Al Pastor Marinade
- 6 Whole Roma (or plum) tomatoes rough chop
- 1 Whole Large yellow onion quartered
- 5 Cloves Garlic peeled
- 1 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar
- 2 Whole Oranges juiced
- 2 Tbsp Mole sauce
- 5 Whole Dried New Mexican & Ancho chilies
- 3 Whole Arbol chilies
- 1 Tbsp Mexican oregano
- 2 Tsp Oregano
- 2 Tsp Ground cumin
Chicken al Pastor
- 8 Whole Boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut in strips
- 1 Tbsp Grapeseed oil
- 1 Whole Lime
- 1/2 Whole White onion diced
- 1 Bunch Cilantro rough chop
- 1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp Chipotle or Sriracha sauce
- 1/2 Whole Red onion cut in small slices
- 1/2 Whole Pineapple
- 12 Whole Tostadas
Instructions
Al Pastor Marinade
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Begin by toasting the dried chilies in a cast iron skillet. Toast until just darkened. Take off the stems and add them to a blender. Next, add in the tomatoes, onions, and garlic. Add in the orange juice, apple cider vinegar and mole sauce. Blend until smooth. Add in all the spices and mix one more time.
Chicken al Pastor
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Take the strips of chicken and place in an air tight container. Pour over as much of the marinade as will fit. Marinade for a minimum of 1 hour up to overnight.
Combine the mayo and chipotle sauce and set aside.
After marinating the chicken, take the chicken out of the container. Heat a cast iron skillet on medium high heat and cook the chicken in batches. Be sure to not overcrowd the pan. You want to get a decent charring onto the chicken.
To assemble, place the tostada on a plate. Then layer beginning with the chipotle mayo, chicken, pineapple, red onions, white onions and cilantro.
Serve and enjoy!
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