Instant Pot Al Pastor Tacos

Love al pastor tacos, but don’t have a fire and a spit handy? Then these new Instant Pot Al Pastor Tacos are your new best friend.

The traditional way to prepare this savory Mexican dish is a long, slow process. First, the pork has to marinate in a mixture of chili peppers, pineapple, and spices. Then it cooks on a vertical spit over a low fire, with thin slices getting shaved off as they brown. It’s wonderful, but who has that kind of time?

Instant Pot to the rescue! Just rub your pork with seasoning and toss it in the pot with crisp bacon, pineapple, canned chipotles, and chicken broth. Cook for 35 minutes, do a manual release, and the meat is ready to shred and serve. No fire, no spit, just fabulous, flavorful pork tacos.

ingredients for Instant Pot Al Pastor Tacos

Can I adjust the spice level in the recipe?

Yes, you can adjust the spice level in this recipe according to your preference. If you prefer less spice, you can do a couple of things to reduce it.

First, you can rinse your chipotles so that they don’t have the spicy adobo sauce on them and remove some of the seeds which also add spice.

You could also reduce the amount of chipotles in adobo sauce used in the recipe or skip them altogether, though that will also change the flavor to a degree.

On the other hand, if you like your Tacos Al Pastor spicier, you can increase the amount of chipotles in adobo by ½ or 1 can or add 2-3 Tablespoons of hot sauce to the sauce mixture. You could also add some crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper or chili powder to the seasoning mix for added spice. You could also decrease the amount of pineapple added which will lower the sweet level and allow the spice to be higher. Keep in mind that the recipe as written has a medium level of spice, so adjust accordingly to your taste.

How should I store my Al Pastor Tacos?

You can store your Tacos Al Pastor in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. To reheat, you can either microwave the filling until hot or warm it up on the stove in a pan.

The tortillas can be warmed in the microwave or on a skillet. If you plan to freeze the Tacos Al Pastor, it’s best to store the filling and tortillas separately to maintain the best quality. When you’re ready to eat, simply thaw the filling and tortillas in the refrigerator overnight and reheat as desired.

Cut the pork into quarters and rub each piece well with salt, pepper and 3 of the packets of Sazon Goya.
Set the instant pot to the sear or brown function and heat the diced bacon until sizzling, about 3-5 minutes.
Brown each side of the roast pieces, about 5 minutes and then turn off the instant pot.
Remove the excess grease from the pot but leave in the bacon and any browned pieces on the bottom of the pan.
In a blender, combine the chicken broth, chipotles, crushed pineapple and the last packet of Sazon Goya and blend until smooth.
Pour the liquid over the roast and bacon and stir well to get any pieces of roast off of the bottom of the pot.
Seal the pressure cooker and cook for 35 minutes.
When the cooking time finishes, allow the instant pot to slow release for 10 minutes and then release the rest of the pressure manually.
Check that the pork has reached an internal temperature of at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit and that the pork shreds easily. If not, reseal the instant pot and cook for another 5-10 minutes before checking again.
Once the pork is well cooked, shred the pork and then return it to the sauce bacon.
Serve hot in corn tortillas, optional, and topped with chopped cilantro, white onion and lime wedges, optional.

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