Air-Fryer Mexican Al Pastor Pork Taco Trays

AF-200 Crew Recipe

Air-Fryer Mexican Al Pastor Pork Taco Trays

The Grand Tour leaves the Caribbean behind and crosses the Gulf into Mexico, where the streets of Mexico City never seem to sleep. Music echoes through busy.

Air-Fryer Mexican Al Pastor Pork Taco Trays

The Grand Tour Story

The Grand Tour leaves the Caribbean behind and crosses the Gulf into Mexico, where the streets of Mexico City

never seem to sleep. Music echoes through busy plazas, taquerías stay open until the early hours, and the smell of

roasting pork, pineapple and dried chillies drifts through the warm evening air.

We stop beside a tiny taquería where a towering trompo of marinated pork slowly turns in front of glowing flames.

Every few seconds the taquero slices off another handful of beautifully caramelised meat before catching it neatly

inside a waiting tortilla.

Our guide, Diego, smiles.

"People think it's the pineapple."

"It isn't."

"It's the marinade."

One taco later, we stopped asking questions.

Air-Fryer Mexican Al Pastor Pork Taco Trays preparation stage

You’ll Need


For the Pork
700g pork shoulder or pork loin, sliced into thin strips
2 tbsp vegetable oil, 3 cloves garlic, finely grated
2 tbsp pineapple juice, 1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp tomato purée, 2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp sweet paprika, 1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp cracked black pepper

Taco Tray
8 small soft tortillas
150g fresh pineapple, diced
1 small red onion, finely diced
Fresh coriander, chopped

To Finish
Lime wedges

Optional but dangerous
Pickled jalapeños
Avocado slices
Chipotle mayo
Cold Mexican lager

Method

Preheat your air fryer to 200°C.

In a large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, garlic, pineapple juice, lime juice, tomato purée, smoked paprika,

sweet paprika, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, sea salt and black pepper.

Add the sliced pork and coat thoroughly. Marinate for at least 1 hour, or overnight if possible.

Spread the pork into the air fryer basket in a single layer.

Air fry for 12–14 minutes, shaking halfway through, until the pork develops dark caramelised edges.

Add the diced pineapple during the final 3 minutes so it lightly caramelises without losing its freshness.

Warm the tortillas in the air fryer for 1 minute.

Fill each tortilla with the hot Al Pastor pork.

Top with the caramelised pineapple, diced red onion and chopped coriander.

Finish with plenty of fresh lime and serve immediately.

Lad Tip: Diego says Al Pastor should have a little bit of everything in every bite—smoky pork, sweet pineapple, sharp onion, fresh coriander and plenty of lime. If you're chasing bits of pork that have fallen out of the taco onto the plate, congratulations... you're eating it exactly the way Mexico intended.

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