Al Pastor
Servings 8 half-pint jars
Ingredients
- 2-3 lb pork shoulder cut in to 1" pieces
- 1 cup pineapple chopped
- 3 guajillo chiles stemmed and seeded
- 1 chile de arbol stemmed and seeded
- 1 ancho chile stemmed and seeded
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup white vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp achiote paste
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 small white onion quartered
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- 1 tsp Mexican oregano optional
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin optional
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves optional
- 2 tsp epazote optional
- 2 tbsp salt
- boiling water
Instructions
Toast and soak the chiles
- Begin boiling enough water to cover all the chiles
- Toast the chiles over a medium flame until fragrant, be careful not to let them brown or blister (1-2 minutes)
- Cover the chiles with boiling water and let them soak for 20 minutes
- Drain chiles and discard water
Make the marinade
- In the food processor, add the chiles, pineapple, garlic, onion, spices, sugar, oil, and vinegar
- Process in to a marinade in the food processor
Pickle the pork
- Place the pork in a large bowl and add the marinade
- Work the marinade in to the pork (wear disposable gloves if possible)
- Cover bowl with a paper towel and place in the fridge
- Leave to marinate for 1 to 2 hours
Canning the Al Pastor
- Cook the Al Pastor in a large pan over medium high heat
- Simmer until Al Pastor reaches uniform consistency, about 5 minutes
- Set up the eight half-pint jars near the cooking area with their lids and rings handy
- Distribute the Al Pastor evenly among the half-pint jars up to 1/2 inch headspace
- Wipe the rims of the jars clean as necessary
- Apply lids and screw the bands to finger tightness on the jars
- Using the jar lifter, lower the jars in to the instant pot
- Secure the lid of the instant pot and make sure the pressure valve is set
- Program the instant pot to cook under high pressure for 1 hour and 10 minutes, and make sure to disable the Keep Warm setting
Wrapping up the process
- After the instant pot has finished cooking, be sure to let it come down to ambient pressure using the natural release cycle, do not try to do the quick release cycle as this can cause liquid to be forced out of the jars and potentially break the seals
- Once the instant pot is safe to open, open it and use the jar lifter to pull the jars out and place on a towel too dry and cool down
- If the rings on the jars are loose, they can be finger tightened again, carefully
- Leave the jars to cool, you should hear the lids popping as the pressure creates a seal on the jars
- After the jars have cooled, the rings can be removed and the jars are now shelf-stable and safe to store in a pantry to be eaten later
- If any jar failed to seal, it is safe to either eat immediately or reprocess in the instant pot, though you may need to replace the lid since it did not seal properly
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