Gringas de Pastor

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large cast iron comal or heavy skillet, at least 12 inches
• •Heavy chef's knife for chopping the pastor
• •Wide spatula for pressing and flipping the gringa
• •High-powered blender for the adobo
• •Fine-mesh strainer

Instructions

1. 1

   Toast the chiles

   Heat a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium. Toast the guajillo, ancho, and arbol chiles separately, about 20 to 30 seconds per side. The skins puff and the kitchen smells like a chile vendor's stall at La Merced. That is the oil waking up. Burned chile turns the adobo bitter. If one goes black, throw it out.

   The arbol is small and burns fast. Pull it before the guajillo and ancho. You want color and aroma, never smoke.
2. 2

   Build the adobo al pastor

   Place the toasted chiles in a heatproof bowl and cover with hot tap water. Hot, not boiling. Soak for 20 minutes until the skins soften. Drain and transfer to a blender with the achiote paste, vinegar, pineapple juice, orange juice, garlic, oregano, cumin, cloves, salt, and the half onion. Blend until completely smooth and the color is a deep brick red. Pass it through a fine-mesh strainer. The achiote is what gives al pastor that red that nobody else has. Without it, you have adobo. Not pastor.

3. 3

   Marinate the pork overnight

   Lay the pork steaks flat in a deep dish or a large resealable bag. Pour the adobo over the meat and turn each piece so every surface is coated. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours and up to 24. The acid in the pineapple and vinegar tenderizes the pork and the achiote works its way into the meat. No me vengas con atajos. A two-hour marinade gives you weak color and weak flavor.

4. 4

   Cook the pastor on a comal

   You do not have a trompo at home. Neither does anyone except the taquero on the corner. You have a comal. Heat a large heavy skillet or cast iron comal over medium-high until it is very hot. Add the manteca. Working in batches, lay the marinated pork steaks flat and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until the edges char and the adobo caramelizes against the iron. Transfer to a cutting board. Lay the pineapple rings on the same hot surface and char for a minute per side until they take on dark grill marks.

   The trompo at a taqueria builds char by dripping fat. At home, you build char with high heat and a heavy pan. Do not crowd the comal. If the meat steams instead of sears, your pastor will be pale and sad.
5. 5

   Chop the pastor and pineapple

   Pile the cooked pork on the cutting board and chop it fine with a heavy knife, the way the taquero does at the trompo. The pieces should be small enough to fit easily inside a folded tortilla. Chop the charred pineapple into small dice and toss it in with the meat. The pineapple acidity cuts through the fat and the cheese. That contrast is the dish.

6. 6

   Layer the gringa

   Wipe the comal clean and return it to medium heat. Lay one flour tortilla flat. Cover it with a generous layer of pulled quesillo, edge to edge. Scatter a heaping portion of the chopped pastor and pineapple over the cheese. Add another layer of quesillo on top so the meat is sandwiched between two layers of melting cheese. Cap with a second flour tortilla and press down gently with a spatula.

7. 7

   Griddle until the cheese pulls

   Cook the gringa for 2 to 3 minutes per side, pressing down with the spatula. The bottom tortilla turns golden with brown freckles and the cheese melts into the meat. Flip carefully and griddle the second side. You know it is ready when you lift a corner and the quesillo pulls into long strings. Slide it onto a cutting board and cut it in quarters or halves. Serve immediately. A gringa that sits gets rubbery and the cheese tightens.

8. 8

   Dress and serve

   Top each gringa with diced raw white onion and chopped cilantro. Serve with lime wedges, salsa verde cruda, and salsa de chile de arbol on the side. Each person dresses their own. Eat with your hands while the cheese is still pulling. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Quesillo is non-negotiable. The string cheese from Oaxaca pulls and melts the way no other cheese does. If your market sells Oaxaca cheese in a ball, pull it apart by hand into thin strands before it goes on the tortilla. Mozzarella is a compromise, not an upgrade. Cheddar is a different dish entirely.
• •Use real flour tortillas, the kind sold in Mexican markets, soft and pliable with visible flour on the surface. Tortillas from a supermarket bag that bend like cardboard will tear when you flip the gringa.
• •The pineapple has to be fresh and the char has to be real. Canned pineapple is too sweet and too soft. A taquero shaves slices from a whole pineapple sitting on top of the trompo. You sear yours on the comal. Same idea.
• •Make the adobo a day ahead and let the pork marinate the full 24 hours. Time is the technique here. There is no shortcut for this.

Advance Preparation

• •The adobo can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated in a sealed container. The flavor only deepens.
• •The pork must marinate at least 12 hours and up to 24. This is not negotiable.
• •Cooked and chopped pastor keeps in the refrigerator for 3 days. Reheat on a hot comal with a splash of its juices. The gringa itself must be assembled and griddled to order. A pre-assembled gringa goes soggy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 410g)