EASY 30 MINUTE CHICKEN AL PASTOR TACOS | WEEKNIGHTING

🔪MY GEAR:

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RECIPE
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TOMATILLO SALSA
▪75-100g (½ of 1) White Onion, small diced
▪100g (1 whole) Poblano, small diced
▪350-400g (5-6 whole) Tomatillos, medium chopped
▪15-20g (5 cloves) garlic, minced
▪5g or ¾-1tsp salt
▪50g or 3Tbsp water

Add onion, poblano, tomatillos, garlic, salt, water to a saucepan over med-high and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, lower heat to medium low, cover and cook for about 10min. Stir and cook for another 8-10min over medium, uncovered, to allow to thicken. Transfer to cold bowl and cool in fridge or freezer.

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AL PASTOR MARINADE
▪50g or 1/4c pineapple, diced
▪100g (2 fruits worth) orange juice
▪25g or 1 3/4Tbsp water
▪25g or 1 3/4Tbsp white vinegar
▪20g or 1 2/3Tbsp sugar
▪20g or 1 heaping Tbsp salt
▪30g or 2-3Tbsp achiote annatto paste (or sub in lime juice, chile powder, & paprika)
▪2g or 2tsp dried oregano
▪5g or 3.5tsp garlic powder
▪5g or 3tsp cumin
▪10g or 4tsp chile powder

Puree all ingredients until smooth.

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MEAT
▪2lbs/1kg boneless skinless chicken thighs
▪4 “planks” of fresh pineapple, cut in similar size/thickness to chicken

Add ½ of marinade or 100g to chicken and mix to coat. Lay thighs onto a foil lined baking tray close together in the center of the tray. Place 2 planks of pineapple along side chicken (see @4:32 )

Preheat broiler on high. Place chicken/pineapple on rack closest to broiler and let cook for 5min - keeping a close eye to be sure it doesn’t burn. Rotate tray if needed, cook for another 5min. Chicken should be nicely charred on top at this point. Flip chicken and return to broiler for another 5-8 min to char 2nd side.

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FINISHING/GARNISH
▪Corn tortillas, heated
▪Oil
▪Chopped cilantro
▪White onion, small diced
▪Queso fresco (or feta)

Chop chicken and pineapple into ½”/1.5cm pieces.
Add long squeeze of oil to a nonstick pan over high/med-high, add in chicken/pineapple. Fry on first side for about a minute. Add 40-50g reserved marinade to pan. Toss to combine and satee until sauce is reduced.

Place chicken on double layer of corn tortilla, add chopped cilantro and white onion, tomatillo salsa, sprinkle of grated queso fresco.

🎧MUSIC:

CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
0:25 Starting the salsa
1:59 Al Pastor marinade
3:30 The meat
4:56 Checking back on the salsa
5:12 Sippin on Kettle and Fire bone broth
6:15 Checking and flipping the chicken
6:55 Finishing the salsa
7:28 Finishing the chicken
9:23 Plate up
10:16 Let's eat this thing

#weeknighting #chickentacos #streettacos

**DISCLAIMER: Some links in this description may be affiliate links. If you buy any of these products using these links I'll receive a small commission at no added cost to you. All links are to products that I actually use or recommend. Thank you in advance for your support!

[JGG]

Took me an hour but nailed it. Worth every minute as the family devours & raves about dinner. Brian is my new secret weapon.

[joshuafoster]

As far as food YouTubers go, there honestly isn’t anyone better at creating recipes that are both delicious looking and practical for most people to be able to recreate during the week. Thank you for consistently producing quality content that is both informative and entertaining! Another awesome recipe that I’ll be sure to make!

[ejecting]

Killing it with this recipe! While I love an all-day project as much as anyone else, I think this series could end up being your signature one: complex dishes that meet the realities of everyday life. Plus, anything close to that 'al pastor' taste is an absolute W.

[Yamp]

Thanks for all those delicious ideas you send our way! :D

[paintsketch]

Made this last week and my husband who lived in Mexico for two years about died. He said they took him back to his time there. Thank you for the fantastic recipe! ♡

[lunarlabaudio]

Looks great! Gotta try it. I’m not a chef but I am a Mexican who loves to eat. Just one recommendation - eat your salsa hot! FDA regulations require restaurants in the US to keep their sauces at a cool temperature but if you were to eat fresh made salsa at someone’s house in Mexico or at any decent restaurant, their salsas would be hot. This is especially important when serving salsas with meats like salsa de chorizo, salsa de chicharrón, salsa de huevo, etc, but more “basic” salsas also benefit from being served hot. You gotta try it. It’s gonna change your life.

[emilyheiss]

I made this tonight and it was incredible! I’m not a great cook so that tells me that anyone could make this. The instructions are really great and I love how they’re all listed out with the ingredients in the info section on the video. Brian, thank you so much! It was soooo good!!!

[ashjarnicki]

I made the same face when you tasted the raw achiote paste.
Also I like heating corn tortillas right over the gas flame, gets some good char going.

[devinmartin]

I just made these with a pico for some friends for Cinco. This a really simple recipe, but the results are incredible! This is one I'm looking forward to experimenting with to find even more levels of flavor. Thanks, Brian!

[shanewest]

Best tacos I’ve ever had and the salsa complimented them very well. Took me about an hour and a half lol but well worth it!

[ryanbroda]

Thank you for writing down the tablespoons and teaspoons directions as well!!! So good. I make it all the time now. Thank you. Once you start getting it, it doesn't take long at all. Love your work

[Ceb]

7:08
If you don't want to risk cracking your dishes: take a large bowl (biggest you have, preferably metal), fill it with ice water, then take a second smaller bowl (again, preferably metal) and put your salsa (or whatever) in there. Stir it continuously and it will be cool in a couple minutes. I would *not* recommend putting very hot liquids into freezing cold bowls for the same reason you should always let your pots/pans cool before you wash them under running water.

[johntoves]

@4:15 He's right. I'm in food R&D. "Marinating" meat is most times only coating it. You can thin a marinade out and put all of it under a vacuum. The vacuum helps open up the meat structure and pull in the marination. They make table top vacuum tumblers that you can use to get a really good marinade on meat.

[Cradotalks]

I appreciate the authenticity of your recipe. Many times, people overcomplicate their recipes by adding superfluous items (I'm looking at you, people who add lettuce and tomatoes as taco toppings) and steps when trying to make an authentic mexican dish without realizing that traditional mexican food is supposed to be simple and use as few ingredients as possible, while simultaneously maximizing flavor. This video, I feel, respects that.

[PumpedChef]

i guess i know whats for dinner tonight! thanks Brian. keep up the great work. i love the explanation you attach to your process of cooking. it helps me become more creative cook in general and lets me mix and match stuff to adjust to my liking!

[dimilton]

I freaking LOVE whenever we see something else Brian has prepared from an earlier video chillin’ in his fridge or freezer. Nice cameo of that delectable Danish.

[krazmokramer]

Next to fish tacos, these are my favorite tacos. They look wonderful!! The only thing missing is a Modelo Negra or six. Thanks Bri! One cleanup question...how do you get your white cutting board so white? They seem to stain badly for me.

[SuzanneBaruch]

*YES!* Our #1 Taco Boy comes through for us again! 🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮

[davidmurff]

How much lime juice, chili powder, paprika are you supposed to combine to substitute annatto paste?

[ThaBizzo]

I made this today with some black beans and Mexican rice... not overly complicated to make and is absolutely delicious. Thanks!!