Leo's Tacos Truck ★ 4.7
Leo's Tacos Truck on La Brea, Los Angeles carves al pastor until 02:00 nightly. Three permanent truck locations, the La Brea stop is the busiest.
Try: Al pastor and asada tacos
History
Al pastor, marinated pork on a vertical trompo spit, came to Mexico from Lebanese shawarma immigrants in 1920s Puebla, then crossed the border into Boyle Heights and East LA in the 1970s and 80s with Mexican migrant cooks. The LA trompo holds 30 to 50 pounds of pork shoulder marinated in achiote, dried chiles, vinegar, garlic and pineapple, slow-cooked vertically for hours, then shaved to order onto a doubled corn tortilla. A whole pineapple sits at the top of the spit, smoking and dropping juice down through the meat. Leo's Tacos, with three truck locations, popularised the late-night trompo on La Brea after 2012; Tacos Tamix has worked the Pico Union and Pico Boulevard corners since 2006.
Common allergens: Corn
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 1.2kg pork shoulder, sliced into thin steaks
- 4 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 2 dried chiles de arbol (optional)
- 60ml white vinegar
- 60ml fresh orange juice
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp achiote paste
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 fresh pineapple, peeled and sliced into rings
- 24 small corn tortillas
- 1 white onion, finely diced
- Fresh cilantro, chopped
- Lime wedges, to serve
Method
- Toast the dried chiles in a dry pan 30 seconds per side until fragrant. Cover with boiling water and soak 20 minutes.
- Drain the chiles and blend with vinegar, orange juice, garlic, cumin, oregano, achiote and salt until smooth.
- Coat pork slices in the marinade, layer with pineapple rings in a container, cover and refrigerate 12 to 24 hours.
- Heat oven to 200C with rack in the middle. Stack the marinated pork slices and pineapple into a tight cylinder on a vertical skewer placed in a deep tray (or use a loaf tin if you have no skewer).
- Roast 90 minutes until the outer layer crisps and chars. Rest 10 minutes.
- Slice the outer crusty layer thin, like shaving from a spit, into a hot pan to refresh.
- Warm tortillas. Pile pork on, add a piece of caramelised pineapple, top with onion and cilantro. Serve with lime.
Tip from the editors. No skewer at home? Pack the meat tight into a loaf tin and roast: the same caramelised outer layer forms on the top, slice down through it.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Where to eat al pastor taco
Al pastor taco in Los Angeles
Tacos Tamix ★ 4.5
Tacos Tamix runs five LA trucks shaving al pastor off a wood-fire trompo since 2006, the Pico Union truck the most consistent for the late-night order.
Try: Al pastor taco from the trompo
El Chato Taco Truck ★ 4.6
El Chato Taco Truck on Olympic and La Brea, Los Angeles has been parked at the same corner since 1972, slow-cooking cabeza and lengua tacos to order.
Try: Cabeza and lengua tacos
Tire Shop Taqueria ★ 4.7
Tire Shop Taqueria in South LA, Los Angeles operates from the lot of an actual tire shop on Avalon. Suadero and al pastor tacos until 01:30, cash only.
Try: Al pastor and suadero tacos
More cities are in research. Want al pastor taco covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.