Tacos al Pastor

Name: Tacos al Pastor
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: Pork shoulder; Dried ancho chillies; Dried chillies; Orange juice; Red wine vinegar; Garlic; Pineapple; Onion; Fresh coriander; Corn tortillas

536 kcal a serving, against 880 for the traditional version. That is 344 kcal off, or 39%, with 45.2g of protein. Serves 4. 45 minutes plus marinating.

What the traditional version is

Fatty pork shoulder sliced thin, rubbed with a wet paste of dried chillies, orange juice, vinegar and garlic. Stacked on a vertical spit, heavily laced with lard, and roasted until the outside is charred and dripping with fat, then shaved directly into corn tortillas.

What changed, and what each change costs

800g of fatty pork shoulder and 50g of lard swapped for 800g of lean pork shoulder and zero lard

The fat in the traditional meat and the added lard cost hundreds of calories that you don't really need if the marinade is strong enough. Using lean pork strips the fat back dramatically while keeping the meat itself.

What it costs you. You'll lose the self-basting magic of a fatty trompo. Lean pork dries out quickly if you overcook it, and it lacks that melting mouthfeel you get from street vendors late at night. It's the first compromise you'll notice, because the meat is noticeably firmer.

400g of corn tortillas reduced to 300g

Less tortilla means less starch holding the meat, shifting the whole balance of the plate towards the pork.

What it costs you. You get fewer tacos per head, which means the meal feels a bit smaller on the table. You'll need to load up on onions and fresh salsa if you're very hungry, or just accept a slightly lighter dinner.

What goes in it

The ingredients, without the quantities. The weights are what the figures below are computed from, and they are in the book.

Pork shoulder
Dried ancho chillies
Dried chillies
Orange juice
Red wine vinegar
Garlic
Pineapple
Onion
Fresh coriander
Corn tortillas

How it starts

Toast the ancho and dried chillies in a dry frying pan for 2 minutes until they smell fragrant, but don't let them burn or they turn bitter.
Drain the chillies and blend them with the orange juice, red wine vinegar, garlic and a heavy pinch of salt until you've got a smooth paste.
Slice the lean pork shoulder as thin as you possibly can.

The rest of the method, and every weight, is in Authentic-ish Mexican.

The numbers

Per serving	Traditional	Lightened
Calories	880	536
Protein	41.8g	45.2g
Fat	51.9g	17.1g
Saturated fat	17.8g	5.2g
Carbohydrate	62.5g	50.9g
Protein per 100 kcal	4.8g	8.4g

Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Mexican prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked. How every number is computed sets out the method.

Allergens. sulphites.

The method is in the book

This is a brilliant plate of food, but A sharp, lean Tuesday night dinner, then. Not a street cart taco, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. You're trading the dripping decadence of a real trompo for a heavily charred version you can actually make at home without buying specialist equipment. The marinade delivers the right acidic punch, and the pineapple brings the sweetness. It's a very good taco. Just don't expect it to taste like it was carved off a spit in Mexico City.

The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Mexican, along with 56 more. Buy the paperback