Pork shoulder sliced thin and marinated in an adobo of toasted guajillo, ancho and achiote, then charred hard on a cast-iron pan and chopped on the board with grilled pineapple. No trompo, no vertical spit, and still the right balance of sour, sweet and smoke.
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Terms ↗7 Steps
Stem and seed the guajillos and anchos and toast them in a dry pan over medium heat for about 30 seconds a side, pressing them flat, until they smell nutty and darken slightly. Any smoke means they are burnt and will turn the adobo bitter. Soak them in hot water for 20 minutes until pliable.
Drain the chillies and blend with the achiote paste, vinegar, orange juice, garlic, cumin, oregano, ground clove and salt until completely smooth and brick red, adding a little soaking liquid if the blender stalls. It should have the consistency of thick paint.
Slice the pork shoulder against the grain into sheets 5 mm thick — freezing it for 30 minutes first makes this far easier. Coat every slice with the adobo, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, ideally overnight.
Heat a cast-iron pan or flat griddle with the oil until it is smoking. Lay the pork out in a single uncrowded layer and cook 2 to 3 minutes a side, until the adobo caramelises and the thin edges go black and brittle. Work in three or four batches; a crowded pan steams the meat and it will never char.
Cut the pineapple into 1 cm slices and grill them in the same pan for 1 to 2 minutes a side, until well browned and softened. The sugar catching in the pork fat is exactly what you want.
Pile the pork and pineapple on a board with a quarter of the onion and chop everything together into rough pieces, mixing as you go so the fat and the sweet fruit are spread through the meat.
Warm the tortillas on the dry pan for 30 seconds a side until flexible and lightly spotted, then stack them double. Fill with the chopped pork and top with finely diced onion, coriander, a squeeze of lime and salsa verde.
The pork needs at least eight hours in the adobo and overnight is better — that time is not in the preparation figure. If you want something closer to a real trompo, pack the marinated slices tightly into a loaf tin, top with pineapple and roast at 200 C for 50 minutes, then shave down the sides.
Comments (3)
i left the pork in the adobo for two days instead of one. too long?
two days is fine with shoulder. much beyond that and the vinegar starts to cure the meat and it goes firm
no trompo needed, the char off a screaming cast iron got close enough for me
chopping the pineapple into the pork on the board. that is the step that makes it