Pork adobada tacos are a Mexican street vendor food that you can now easily make at home. Layers of pork shoulder is smothered in a chile paste mix with layers of pineapple and bacon and roasted in the oven.
Living in San Diego means that we are blessed to eat a lot of delicious Mexican food. And I’m not talking about Taco Bell Mexican food – I’m talking about everything from street tacos to carne asada fries and other unique recipes from all over the region.
And I don’t need a passport to go to Tijuana to get this food. I find it all over Southern California. It’s a delicious problem to have.
Several years ago I had the pleasure to attend an event at Chef Marcela Valladolid’s house here in San Diego. I enjoyed so many amazing foods that I never had before.
My favorite dish is what I am sharing with you today, Adobada Tacos. And if you have never tried this before, oh boy, are you in for a treat!
Why you must try this recipe
Adobada Tacos are one of Mexico’s beloved street food. Layers of marinated pork are cooked with pineapple and slowly grilled. Vendors would slice up this deliciousness in front of you to prepare you tacos.
Well Chef Marcela brought all the wonderful flavors of this dish to your kitchen. Instead of the grill, though, you can roast it in the oven. And the result? Oh. My. God. Life changing.
After trying these tacos at this event, I told my family all about this amazing recipe. Everyone wanted me to recreate it at home. I admit, I was a little intimidated even though I had just watched Chef Marcela make it live and in person.
Two chiles are used to make the paste that is rubbed on the pork: Guajillo and ancho chiles. These are dried chiles that are sweeter and smokier than I expected. Another key ingredient is achiote paste which is made with ground annatto seeds.
Once I found these ingredients, the hard part was over!
This is really an easy meal to put together. You layer everything together, the marinated pork, pineapple and bacon. It doesn’t have to be perfect or pretty as all of it melds together in the oven to create something really magical.
And tacos! Who can say no to fabulous tacos?!!
This is perfect to serve your family over several days and equally fabulous to wow your guests at your next dinner party. So little effort is needed to make something really incredible.
Ingredients you need
This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Read my full disclosure policy
- Dried chiles: This recipe uses dried guajillo and ancho chiles. The ancho chile is simply a dried poblano pepper that ripened from green to red. It is mild and has a sweet and smokey flavor. The guajillo is a dried mirasol chile and spicier than the ancho, but not flaming in heat.
- Achiote paste: Usually found in brick form, this is made with ground annatto seeds along with other seasonings like cumin and coriander. It gives your dish a sweet, spicy and smokey flavor.
- Kitchen staples: Distilled white vinegar, garlic, vegetable oil, salt and pepper.
- Orange juice: This balances the spicy and smokey flavors of this dish. You can use freshly squeezed or bottled orange juice.
- Boneless pork shoulder: This will be sliced and layered with the other ingredients, sliced lengthwise into ¼-inch-thick slices
- Bacon: This is layered with the meat and pineapple and gives the dish moisture and flavor. Don’t skimp with turkey bacon, but use real pork bacon.
- Pineapple: Fresh pineapple is preferred, but you can use canned pineapple.
- Served with: chopped onions, cilantro, lime wedges and small tortillas.
Tools to Use
Step-by-step directions
1. Hydrate the chiles. Soak chiles in a bowl with warm water for 10 minutes. Drain and discard the water.
2. Prepare paste. In a blender combine hydrated chiles, garlic cloves, vinegar, orange juice, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth and consistency is paste like.
3. Prepare the pork. Slice the pork lengthwise for easier layering. Place each slice between two sheets of plastic wrap and flatten until about ¼-inch thick using a meat mallet.
4. Assemble. Place a couple of slices of meat on a lightly greased pan and season with salt and pepper. Spread adobo paste on meat until fully covered. Top with slices of bacon then with slices of pineapple. Repeat the layers until you use up all of the meat, bacon and pineapple.
5. Marinate. Place in the refrigerator and let the meat marinate for 2 hours.
6. Roast. Pull meat out from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. You do this so the meat will warm up slightly and cook evenly. Drizzle meat with a little oil and roast at 375ºF until cooked through, about 40 to 50 minutes.
7. Slice the roast. Once done, let it rest 10 minutes then transfer the entire stack to a cutting board. Do not discard the oil left on the baking pan. This deliciousness will be used to heat the tortillas.
Starting from one side of the neat stack, thinly slice downwards so you get all the layers together: marinated pork, bacon and pineapple.
8. Assemble tacos. Using a pastry brush, brush on the reserved leftover oil from the pan to both sides of a tortilla. Place tortillas on a warm pan over medium-high heat until warmed through.
Make tacos by stuffing tortilla with sliced meat, chopped onions, cilantro, cooked pineapple and a squeeze of lime juice.
Expert tips and recipe FAQs
If you have made a large batch and have leftovers, you can easily freeze them for later use. They will keep in the refrigerator in a resealable container for up to 4 days and in the freezer for up to 6 months.
You can serve your tacos as simply or as ornate you like. Some topping options include:
- Chopped onions
- Cilantro
- Green onions
- Guacamole or avocado slices
- Chopped radish
- Pico de gallo
- Salsa verde
- Sour cream
- Lime juice
- Guacamole salsa
- Corn
You can also serve it with some Spanish rice. For some culture fusion, this would be fabulous with Shirazi salad (cucumber tomato salad). You can also use the leftovers and make some baked taquitos.
This is a staple ingredient in Mexican cooking. Achiote paste is made with annatto seeds that are ground with white vinegar and spices like coriander, cumin and oregano. They are sold in 4oz blocks and not only give your dish a sweet and smoky flavor, but also dyes it red.
Adobada is a popular Mexican dish where pork is marinated in a paste made with achiote paste, red chiles, orange juice and vinegar. The slices of marinated pork is then layered with fresh pineapple and bacon and grilled or roasted ’til perfection. The slices of pork and pineapple are then wrapped in a corn tortilla with fresh cilantro and chopped onions.
If you are enjoying my recipes, I would love for you to sign up for my newsletter (and get my free citrus e-cookbook!) or follow me on Instagram or Facebook.
Homemade Adobada Tacos
Pork adobada tacos are a Mexican street vendor food that you can now easily make at home. Layers of pork shoulder is smothered in a chile paste mix with layers of pineapple and bacon and roasted in the oven.
Ingredients
- 2 ancho chiles
- 2 guajillo chiles
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ bar achiote paste
- ¼ cup distilled white vinegar
- ½ cup orange juice
- 2lbs boneless pork shoulder, sliced lengthwise into ¼-inch-thick slices
- 10 slices of bacon
- 1 small pineapple, peeled and thinly cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
- 4 TBS of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup finely chopped white onion
- 1 cup finely chopped cilantro
- 4-6 limes, cut into quarters
- Small corn tortillas
Instructions
- To hydrate the chiles, soak them in a bowl with warm water for 10 minutes, Drain and discard the water.
- In a blender, combine hydrated chiles, garlic cloves, vinegar, orange juice, salt and pepper. Blend until all ingredients are combined and consistency paste like. Set aside.
- Place a slice of pork between two sheets of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet, gently flatten meat until it is very thin, about ¼-inch thick. Pound and flatten the remaining slices of meat.
- Lightly coat a baking pan with oil. Place a couple of slices of meat on the greased pan. Season with salt and pepper. Spread adobo paste on meat until fully covered.
- Add 3 slices of bacon over the pork layer then top with a couple slices of pineapple. Repeat the layers until you use up all of the meat, bacon and pineapple.
- Place in the refrigerator and let the meat marinate for 2 hours.
- Pull meat out from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
- Drizzle meat with a little oil and roast until cooked through in the center, about 40 to 50 minutes.
- Once cooked thru, let it rest 10 minutes then transfer the entire stack to a cutting board. Do not discard of the oil left on the baking pan. This deliciousness t will be used to heat the tortillas. Starting from one side of the neat stack, thinly slice downwards so you get all the layers together, cooked strips of pork, bacon and pineapple.
- Using a pastry brush, brush on leftover oil from the pan to both sides of a tortilla. Place tortillas on a warm pan over medium-high heat until warmed through.
- Make tacos using sliced meat, onion, cilantro, cooked pineapple, and a squeeze of lime juice.
Notes
Adobada tacos are typically served with small corn tortillas, but you can also use flour tortillas. You can top your tacos with the addition of guacamole, guacamole salsa, pico de gallo, sour cream or your favorite salsa.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 418Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 93mgSodium: 261mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 2gSugar: 5gProtein: 26g
PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.
You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my eMail list, too!
These look fabulous. I made these last year, and I used one of those spikes with the base (can’t remember the name) but even though I was using a recipe, I had to reduce the cooking time and the meat still got overcooked. what a shame. I’ll do this next time!
Hi Mimi-
Yes, it’s like a vertical spit. I’ve made this dish several times and it is moist and tender. I hope you give this a try!
Laura