What are tacos al pastor? Where to find the best pork tacos

THE DISH

Tacos al pastor, Mexico

PLATE UP

Apologies in advance, because after reading this you are going to be very, very hungry. Tacos al pastor is a Mexican staple, and though it's a relatively new one, this is a dish you will find on pretty much every street corner across the country. Al pastor is a pork taco: that pork is marinated in spices and seasonings such as achiote, adobo and guajillo chillies, and sometimes pineapple juice, before being loaded onto a vertical spit, roasted until crisp on the outside, finely carved, and served on a small corn tortilla with onions, coriander and a salsa that also usually contains diced pineapple pieces. It's hot, sour, sweet and insanely tasty.

FIRST SERVE

As with so many of the world's great dishes, Al Pastor tells a story of history and migration. When a wave of Lebanese migrants began arriving in Mexico in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they brought with them the practice of roasting meat on a vertical spit, in the way of the Middle Eastern shawarma, the Turkish doner and Greek gyros.

In the city of Puebla in the 1930s, street stalls began peddling "tacos arabes", or Arabian tacos, in which roast lamb was carved from a vertical spit and served in pita bread with various toppings. As the practice spread through Mexico, pork replaced the lamb, traditional spices and chillies began to be used as a marinade, and corn tortillas replaced the pita. The introduction of pineapple, however – a key ingredient and a somewhat bizarre addition – remains a mystery.

ORDER THERE

It's almost no exaggeration to say there are tacos al pastor being sold on every street corner in Mexico, particularly in the eponymous capital. It's also fair to say there will never be a "best" purveyor. However, if you want to sample a classic, call into El Tizoncito (eltizoncito.com.mx) – it's a chain now, but the original restaurant is still there in the Condesa neighbourhood, and this is the place credited with introducing pineapple to the dish. Though, truthfully, no one really knows.