Al Pastor idea

S

stickman

Knows what a fatty is.
Joined
Mar 20, 2024
Location
Woodland...
Name or Nickame
Ramsey
Hi folks

So I had this idea about Tacos Al Pastor and want to get your feedback before I try it.

The trouble with trying to replicate food truck al pastor at home is that on the truck, the meat sits on the spit for a long time, slow-cooking while customers are buying it. That's really hard to do at home unless you have a huge party and are serving all day.

So how would it be if you loaded up a spit and low-temp smoked it for a couple of hours, before putting it on the rotisserie?

I'm thinking of a workflow like - marinate, load the spit, smoke, rotisserie, then slice the surface meat onto a griddle to crisp, and serve. The spit then goes back on the rotisserie for the next serving, like picanha. With a small load, we'd be talking about 5-6 servings before the spit is done, so about right for a family dinner.

Thoughts?
 
Sounds like a plan. I've done that at least a few times. I used to hang the spit in my Hunsaker or PBC drum, cook it a little bit, take it out and slice the edges off right onto the flat top and hang the spit back to keep warm (replicating a rotating spit). We ate and drank from afternoon to just about midnight.

AMqGeZlh.jpg


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d5sJqQ3h.jpg


tLXAUXih.jpg
 
ssv3 said:
Sounds like a plan. I've done that at least a few times. I used to hang the spit in my Hunsaker or PBC drum, cook it a little bit, take it out and slice the edges off right onto the flat top and hang the spit back to keep warm (replicating a rotating spit). We ate and drank from afternoon to just about midnight.
Click to expand...

Oh man, that looks fantastic!

If I am going to smoke it before the rotisserie stage - thoughts about what temperature to aim for? I'm thinking maybe 110-120F?
 
stickman said:
Oh man, that looks fantastic!

If I am going to smoke it before the rotisserie stage - thoughts about what temperature to aim for? I'm thinking maybe 110-120F?
Click to expand...

Thanks!

I’d definitely go higher. I can’t quite remember exactly but I was definitely around 250 to 275. It’s a pretty thick stack of meat so you won’t overcook it. Shave, serve as you go and as the fire dies down in the pit slows down the cooking process so essentially you have your own food truck with fresh,hot tacos on demand. :-D
 
ssv3 said:
Thanks!

I’d definitely go higher. I can’t quite remember exactly but I was definitely around 250 to 275. It’s a pretty thick stack of meat so you won’t overcook it. Shave, serve as you go and as the fire dies down in the pit slows down the cooking process so essentially you have your own food truck with fresh,hot tacos on demand. :-D
Click to expand...

I wasn't clear in my question. I'm going to be using a slightly different process to you - I'm going to "par-cook" the al pastor in a smoker before putting it on a rotisserie, since we are not going to be chowing down on it for several hours. So my question was - what internal temperature to cook the meat to in the smoker, prior to transferring it to the rotisserie? I'm thinking 110-120F, aiming to get there over a couple of hours?
 
ssv3 said:
Sounds like a plan. I've done that at least a few times. I used to hang the spit in my Hunsaker or PBC drum, cook it a little bit, take it out and slice the edges off right onto the flat top and hang the spit back to keep warm (replicating a rotating spit). We ate and drank from afternoon to just about midnight.

AMqGeZlh.jpg


NCI1Axxh.jpg


HJ3QuIPh.jpg


40eOlh9h.jpg


d5sJqQ3h.jpg


tLXAUXih.jpg
Click to expand...

Dear sir, may I please be invited? Wow that is some amazing looking Al Pastore!
 
ModelMaker said:
I think with a rotisserie you're battling gravity being horizontal vs vertical?
Ed
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was also wondering about that. Thinking about wedging the meat between fresh pineapple ends on the spit before I start - but the down-side is they might get loose during the initial smoke. Another possibility is to use the Weber rather than the Carson for the rotisserie part. That way I can use spit forks with the pineapples to keep it all in place.

Gonna give it a try. What's the worst that can happen? :becky:
 
Last edited:
Great thread with good info .I look forward to seeing the results.

I was just recently visiting family in Guadalajara and while downtown we went to San Juan de Dios Market, the largest indoor market in Latin America. There were at least two vendors with giant carnes al pastor on trompas in the food court and I grabbed a picture of one I thought someone might like to see. Hope that's OK to share in this thread.


fvMYUTd.jpg


Guadalajara is known for tortas ahogadas which I ate more than my fair share of lol
 
Smoked&Baked said:
Great thread with good info .I look forward to seeing the results.

I was just recently visiting family in Guadalajara and while downtown we went to San Juan de Dios Market, the largest indoor market in Latin America. There were at least two vendors with giant carnes al pastor on trompas in the food court and I grabbed a picture of one I thought someone might like to see. Hope that's OK to share in this thread.

Guadalajara is known for tortas ahogadas which I ate more than my fair share of lol
Click to expand...

That looks amazing! Kinda defines the problem I am considering, too. All that meat in the middle sits on the spit for hours, slowly cooking, while the outside gets exposed to heat, sliced off and served. Replicating that process for 5-10 people in a home environment takes a bit of thinking about ...
 
stickman said:
That looks amazing! Kinda defines the problem I am considering, too. All that meat in the middle sits on the spit for hours, slowly cooking, while the outside gets exposed to heat, sliced off and served. Replicating that process for 5-10 people in a home environment takes a bit of thinking about ...
Click to expand...

ArnieTex did a video of a mini trompa over a grill that may help;

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oLPMy-GmNtw
 
Smoked&Baked said:
ArnieTex did a video of a mini trompa over a grill that may help;
Click to expand...

SUPER helpful video! Pretty long cook - 3.5 hours. Horizontal rotisserie is going to be easier than what ArnieTex did, I think. Interestingly, he doesn't put it on the plancha for a final crisping. Might need to eye-ball the need for that when we get there.

I've decided on the approach. Gonna do the whole thing on the Weber. Use 2 pineapple halves and spit forks on each end of the meat to keep it together. Start with a really low heat and plenty of smoke - either with a smoke box or a pellet maze - for a couple of hours, get the internal temp to ~120. Then crank the heat up for a conventional rotisserie sear.

We'll see how it turns out tomorrow! :)
 
stickman said:
SUPER helpful video! Pretty long cook - 3.5 hours. Horizontal rotisserie is going to be easier than what ArnieTex did, I think. Interestingly, he doesn't put it on the plancha for a final crisping. Might need to eye-ball the need for that when we get there.

I've decided on the approach. Gonna do the whole thing on the Weber. Use 2 pineapple halves and spit forks on each end of the meat to keep it together. Start with a really low heat and plenty of smoke - either with a smoke box or a pellet maze - for a couple of hours, get the internal temp to ~120. Then crank the heat up for a conventional rotisserie sear.

We'll see how it turns out tomorrow! :)
Click to expand...


Details and pictures please!
 
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