"Al Pastor" (Tacos al pastor; Cabrito al pastor)

Tue Nov 27 00:35:00 UTC 2007

At 6:26 PM -0500 11/26/07, William Salmon wrote:
>>I just did a first draft for "al pastor." It's not in OED ("miserable
>>on food, and don't even ask about ranch dressing"). "Tacos al pastor"
>>are very popular in Austin.
>
>Especially at Taqueria Aranda's on the corner of South First and Oltorf.
>The horchata is rich and cold there too.
>

Mmm.  Sounds tasty.  To buttress Barry's point on
popularity and breadth, tacos al pastor are also
far from unknown on menus (or restaurant and
snack wagon placards) in California, and
deservedly so.  But "al pastor" does still strike
me as (dare I say) a Spanish term...

LH

>>...
>>I didn't see "tacos al pastor" or "cabrito al pastor" in Robb Walsh's
>>"The Tex-Mex Cookbook" (2004).
>>...
>>O.T.: I just noticed that Google ads attached a  "Liposuction NY" ad
>>to this entry. Is it any wonder that I'm making three bucks a day
>>(before taxes and expenses)?...I see that Wikipedia's "Big Apple"
>>entry was vandalized again (someone added that "Big Apple is a
>>nickname in the hood"), and John Baker thankfully changed it back.
>>Wikipedia must be trying to kill me...Grant Barrett says to look at
>>site "visitors" and not "hits," but for some reason, I've been getting
>>20,000 hits a day recently....Three lousy bucks for all that. Food
>>history pays!
>>...
>>...
>>...
>>http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/al_pastor_cabrito_al_pastor_tacos_al_pastor/
>>...
>>Entry from November 26, 2007
>>Al Pastor (Cabrito Al Pastor; Tacos Al Pastor)
>>"Al pastor" means "shepherd style," a term originating in northern
>>Mexico. "Al pastor" is meat carved from a vertical spit, often seaoned
>>with pineapple, onions, cilantro and lime.
>>
>>"Cabrito al pastor" (goat) was first served in Texas in the 1940s.
>>"Tacos al pastor" was served in Texas by the 1970s, but became a
>>popular dish (especially in Austin) by the 1990s.
>>
>>
>>Wikipedia: Al pastor
>>Al pastor, literally meaning "Shepherd Style", is a dish developed in
>>Mexico City likely as a result of the adoption of spit-grilled meat
>>brought by Lebanese immigrants. The dish is similar to the Turkish
>>döner kebab, Shawarma, or Greek gyros.
>>
>>Preparation
>>Usually pork, it is marinated with a blend of different spices and
>>herbs, and then slowly cooked on a vertical rotisserie called a Trompo
>>(lit: spinning top), often with a pineapple on top. When ready, the
>>meat is then thinly sliced off the spit with a large knife. It can be
>>served with small tortillas, onions, pineapple, cilantro and lime. It
>>is also a common ingredient in tacos, burritos, and tortas.
>>
>>Popularity
>>Tacos al pastor, although less widely available than other styles in
>>fusion Mexican cuisine, are one of the most popular tacos served in
>>Taquerias both in Mexico and US latino neighborhoods.
>>
>>In some places in Northern Mexico, like Nuevo Leon, these are usually
>>called Tacos de Trompo.
>>
>>Everything2.com
>>tacos al pastor
>>A Mexican delicacy, invented some thirty years ago in Mexico City.
>>Tacos al pastor are invariably eaten in a restaurant, because to make
>>them you need a vertical broiler, which nobody has at home.
>>
>>The meat is pork, seasoned with red stuff that I assume to be achiote.
>>Slice upon slice of meat is impaled upon the vertical spit, which is
>>then topped with a whole pineapple and occasionally an onion.
>>The spit is then mounted in the vertical broiler, and the cooking
>>process begins. As the outer layer of the huge ball of meat (it is
>>actually called la bola) roasts, the cook (actually a specialized guy,
>>called el pastorero) trims off the cooked bits and collects them in
>>something that resembles a dustpan.
>>
>>The complete taco employs tortillitas: the pastorero dips briefly the
>>tortillita in the drip pan (didn't I mention that the meat is quite
>>fatty and releases large amounts of fat ?), slices off meat on the
>>tortillita, slashes at the pineapple (which is also cooking) and
>>catches the falling slice with the tortillita. The taco is then served
>>with raw chopped onion, cilantro, hot sauce, and lime. Since the
>>individual taco is quite small, you can easily eat five. Or ten.
>>Especially if you are drinking Negra Modelo.
>>
>>One of the best places for tacos al pastor in Mexico City is called El
>>Tizoncito, and it is actually a local mini-chain of restaurants. Also
>>very good is El rincón de la lechuza on Miguel Angel de Quevedo.
>>Another tasty one is Charly II on Av. San Fernando in Tlalpan.
>>
>>Taco Journalism
>>Wednesday, May 23, 2005
>>Austin Chronicle's "Best of" Taco Trucks - Round One
>>(...)
>>Tacos Al Pastor
>>Location - 1911 E. Riverside Austin, TX 78741
>>Cornbiter and myself had a tough time finding this inconspicuous
>>little joint tucked in front of one of many shopping centers on E
>>Riverside. The truck looked innocent enough, no real signage or prices
>>displayed with a nice lineup of jarritos sodas and mexican cokes.
>>
>>I ordered two pastors on corn with cilantro and onion served with an
>>extremely spicy/tasty salsa verde. The salsa made its way up your
>>mouth nicely and had a long and strong finish. Now let me let you in
>>on something, Belinda Carlisle must have been talking about Tacos Al
>>Pastor when she wrote 'Heaven is a place on Earth." These taco's
>>rocked! The pastor was diced coarsely and the meat, which consisted of
>>both charred and moist pork, was seasoned perfectly. There was a taste
>>explosion in every bite. Chase it all down with a mexican coke and
>>Cornbiter D and myself were in Taco Heaven.
>>
>>If you are still reading this I hope it is on your cell phone while
>>you barrel down I-35 on you way to this place, not to be missed.
>>Tacos Al Pastor - 5 1/2 stars- jarod
>>
>>Google Books
>>La raza cósmica: Misión de la Raza Iberoamericana
>>by Jose Vasconcelos
>>Agencia mundial de libreria
>>1927
>>Pg. 191:
>>...largo y estirado sobre tres palos enterrados en el suelo, encima de
>>las brasas ardientes; se llama allá lo mismo que entre nosotros:
>>cabrito al pastor
>>
>>7 April 1948, Brownsville (TX) Herald, pg. 6, col. 1 ad:
>>EL OASIS
>>Restaurant and Bar
>>Front of the Market Square
>>West Side
>>MATAMOROS
>>Ribs and Cabrito (Al Pastor)
>>Best Mexican Food
>>Roberto Guerra, Owner
>>
>>Google Books
>>Modern Mexico (Mexico Modern)
>>Mexican Chamber of Commerce
>>1950
>>Pg. 12:
>>... especially on Saturday nights and Sundays; and he should give 1n
>>to the advertisements of cabrito al pastor (roast kid), Monterrey's
>>most typical dish.
>>
>>31 December 1950, Brownsville (TX) Herald, "Matamoros-Victoria Highway
>>Short Route To Mexico City," pg. 14A, col. 1:
>>Among its tourist attractions San Franando has little to offer except
>>its quaint plaza, located right in the heart of the city, an old
>>church, and its genuine Mexican dishes such as cabrito en sangre,
>>cabrito asado, cabrito al pastor, agujitas, and its famed machacado
>>con heuvo (an omelet made from dried beef and scrambled eggs). Its
>>dried beef (carne seca) is famed throughout Tamaulipas and in some
>>parts of Mexico. Cattle are butchered and the meat is salted (and
>>sometimes spiced) and hung out in the sun to dry. Cabrito en sangre is
>>meat from a kid cooked in its own blood. The dish is spiced with
>>oregano, cominos, mejorana and other fragrant and tasteful herbs which
>>give it a delicious flavor and a tang all its own. Cabrito asado is
>>broiled kid meat. Cabrito al pastor is kid meat broiled over an open
>>fire, usually on a spit. Agujitas are spare ribs broiled over charcoal
>>embers.
>>
>>16 March 1957, San Antonio (TX) , pg. 8, col. 7 ad:
>>JASMER'S DRIVE INN
>>3839 W. COMMERCE
>>CABRITO AL PASTOR
>>MEXICAN DINNERS
>>
>>20 April 1957, San Antonio (TX) Light, "Cabrito Treat at New Jasmer's
>>Drive Inn Cafe," pg. 8, cols. 2-3:
>>A dining treat not often encountered outside northern Mexico is now
>>available to San Antonians at Jasmer's restaurant and drive-in, 3639
>>W. Commerce st.
>>
>>This newest and most comfortable establishment of its kind features
>>cabrito al pastor, an incomparable piece de resistance which may
>>require a bit of explaining to the uninitiated. Cabrito, in Spanish
>>and in the interpretation of the owner of Jasmer's, means kid or young
>>goat and "young" refers to the brief life span of the goat, not the
>>comparative age in terms of elephant years.
>>
>>"Al pastor" means, roughly, "like a shepherd," or prepared, with some
>>refinements, in the manner in which it has been prepared by sheep
>>herders through hundreds of years on the plains and in the mountains
>>of Mexico.
>>
>>Broiled on a spit over hot coals, cabrito becomes one of the real
>>delicacies of all meats. It is this regional Mexican food which is
>>attracting crowds to Jasmer's, together with sandwiches and short
>>orders with more familiar sounding names.
>>
>>19 March 1960, San Antonio (TX) Light, pg. 8, col. 5 ad:
>>Mario's Restuarant
>>325 So. Pecos St.
>>Specializing in
>>"Cabrito Al Pastor"
>>"BILLY GOAT COOKED IN A PIT
>>OLD MEXICAN STYLE"
>>
>>7 May 1960, Galveston (TX) Daily News, pg. 2, col. 7 ad:
>>Direct from Monterey's "Los Arcos Cafe" and introducing for the first
>>time to the SOuthwest area "Mexico's Widely Known"
>>"CABRITO AL PASTOR"
>>Young kid with it's open hearth, cooked-in falvor—see it cooked before
>>your eyes.
>>(...)
>>El Sarape
>>1001 Ave. C
>>
>>8 February 1963, Brownsville (TX) Herald, pg. 10, col. 1 ad:
>>CAMERON PARK
>>DRIVE-INN
>>Cabrito Al Pastor
>>Tacos & Tamales
>>
>>9 April 1972, Dallas (TX) Morning News, "Cabrito al Pastor Is Favored
>>Entree" by Frank X. Tolbert, section A, pg. 37:
>>CABRITO is the favorite entree of most folks on both shores of the Rio
>>Grande along the Texas-Mexico border. Cabrito signifies unweaned goat
>>kid either broiled, fried, or roasted.
>>The best is cabrito al pastor, meaning prepared farm or ranchero style
>>over coals and open flame. And the very best cabrito al pastor which I
>>had in my current wanderings along these borders was at a modern
>>restaurant called El Rancho Grande in Ciudad Miguel Aleman, formerly
>>San Pedro de Roma (or St. Peter of Rome) across the Rio Grande from
>>the architecturally impressive City of Roma, Texas.
>>(...)
>>While we were in Ciudad Camargo, a cathedral town several miles
>>inboard from the Rio Grande but opposite Rio Grande City, Mr. Boyle
>>pointed out a small cafe called the Alamo which he said often produces
>>a cabrito al pastor even superior to that in the Migeul Alaman
>>restaurant.
>>
>>"The reason may be is that the cooks at the Alamo are specialists.
>>Nothing but cabrito al pastor is served there," said George Boyle, a
>>native of San Benito, Texas, and a man with a good command of Spanish.
>>
>>I'll have a report on Alamo next in my "gastronomical tours." And I
>>also hope to sample a Matamoros (the big city across river from
>>Brownsville) cafe called Los Nortenos which serves nothing but cabrito
>>al pastor with a few condiments.
>>
>>5 April 1964, San Antonio (TX) Express and News, entertainment
>>section, pg. 6, col. 3 ad:
>>CABRITO AL PASTOR
>>Guacamole Salad, Refried Beans, Coffee of Iced Tea ... $1.50
>>THE PAN-AMERICAN RESTAURANT
>>720 Pleasanton Rd.
>>OUR TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR SPECIALIZING IN ORIGINAL MEXICAN FOODS
>>
>>Google Books
>>Fly Down, Drive Mexico
>>by David Dodge
>>New York, NY: Macmillan
>>1968
>>Pg. 135:
>>Cabrito al pastor tastes pretty much like what it is; plain old grilled goat.
>>Nobody, gringo or mexicano, ever ate birria without coming back for more.
>>
>>17 June 1972, Dallas (TX) Morning News, "A Bouncing Bridge to Miguel
>>Aleman" by Frank X. Tolbert, section A, pg. 23:
>>The restaurant in Cuidad Miguel Aleman has a big menu, from frog legs
>>and quail to steak, although the specialty is cabrito, broiled in an
>>open pit over mesquite knot coals. In contrast, Senor Saenz's
>>establishment in Camargo serves nothing but cabrito al pastor, also
>>barbecued over the open pit, and sometimes served "on a stick" to
>>those who want to take out.
>>
>>29 August 1972, Dallas (TX) Morning News, "About Restaurants on
>>Tex-Mex Border" by Frank X. Tolbert, section A, pg. 17:
>>The Moderno has acceptable cabrito, yet it's not the classic cabrito
>>al pastor, cooked over an open hearth such as you can get for half the
>>price at such smaller cafes as El Rancho Grande and Waldorf (not
>>kidding) in Ciudad Miguel Aleman, across river from Roma, Texas.
>>
>>3 March 1976, Port Arthur (TX) News, "La Iguana Restaurant prepares
>>food in tradition of Mexico," pg. 31, col. 4:
>>La Iguana is the only restaurant of its kind that sells "Cooked over
>>charcoal" cabrito al pastor (bar-b-que Lamb), carnitas (prime pork),
>>tacos al carbon (beef & pork steaks that are spiced & broiled), carnes
>>asadas ahujitas (broiled steaks), chorizos (sausage), pallitos
>>(roasted chicken), baizas Mexicanas (hot sauce), frijoles a la chana
>>(ranch style beans), homemade tamales y tortillas, also includes a
>>large menu of the most popular Mexican dishes.
>>
>>2 September 1976, Corpus Christi (TX) Times, pg. 10C, col. 4:
>>Town Club members ill "visit" Mexico on Saturday, Sept. 11, in
>>celebration of Diez Y Seis. The club's parking lot will be converted
>>to an authentic village plaza with "puestos" offering cabrito and
>>turkey cooked over an open pit, tacos al pastor, mole con gallina y
>>much, much mas.
>>
>>25 October 1977, Brownsville (TX) Herald, pg. 7C, col. 2 photo caption:
>>TACOS AL PASTOR (on the grill) one of the many types of tacos
>>available in Matamoros, are prepared from a hanging wedge of beef and
>>pork. Put both in a corn tortilla, add onion, tomato, caliander, and
>>salsa. Ten more, please!
>>
>>27 July 1986, New York (NY) Times, pg. XX14:
>>Follow them with taco al pastor, a fresh, soft, puffy flour tortilla
>>stuffed with pork, marinated in chili and served with cebolletos
>>(grilled spring onions), and seasoned with cilantro (coriander).
>>(Old Mexico Grill in Santa Fe, New Mexico—ed.)
>>
>>23 October 1992, New York (NY) Times, pg. C26:
>>The delicious burrito al pastor ($9.95) is a neatly folded pouch
>>containing strips of grilled steak, green pepper and onions, carefully
>>topped with a vivid pico de gallo and sour cream.
>>(Benny's Burritos—ed.)
>>
>>Google Books
>>Mexico on Fifty Dollars a Day, '94
>>by Marita Adair (Frommer's Staff)
>>New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing
>>1993
>>Pg. 772:
>>Tacos al pastor Thin slices of flavored pork roasted on a revolving
>>cylinder dripping with onion slices and the juice of a fresh pineapple
>>slice.
>>
>>Google Books
>>Mexico 1995 (Fodor's)
>>by Berkeley Travel Staff
>>Fodor's Travel Publications
>>1994
>>Pg. 57:
>>The tacos al pastor (marinated pork, onions, and pineapple on a spit)
>>cost about 60e each.
>>
>>Google Books
>>A Cook's Tour of Mexico
>>by Nancy Zaslavsky
>>New York, NY: St. Martin's Press
>>1997
>>Pg. 86:
>>Monterrey Cabrito al Pastor Restaurant.
>>Pg. 154:
>>Tacos al Pastor. Throughout Puebla, storefronts sell this relatively
>>newfangled (possibly fifty years old) Mexican taco,...
>>
>>27 April 2003, New York (NY) Times, "Four Mexico City Restaurants That
>>Stay Close to Their Roots" by Mark Bittman, pg. TR6:
>>Or venture over to La Condesa, the up-and-coming neighborhood
>>reminiscent of the East Village, and stop at El Tizoncito, a joint
>>that offers delicious tacos al pastor, in which a coal-fired vertical
>>oven perfectly browns a gyrolike affair of achiote-laced pork
>>shoulder. The meat is sliced to order and layered into a tiny taco,
>>with a little of its drippings, some chili sauce, a bit of onion and a
>>garnish of deftly cut pineapple. You eat 5 for a snack and 10 for a
>>meal. It's not elegant, and blessedly it's not pasta.
>>
>>Rosita's Al Pastor - Austin, TX (Yelp)
>>Nick L.
>>Austin, TX
>>4 star rating
>>05/15/2007
>>You've seen how most taco stands and taquerias in Austin tend to do
>>tacos al pastor: nondescript brown chunks of pork, seemingly stewed--
>>not cut from a skewer, as should be the norm--and sometimes garnished
>>lightly with chopped pineapples. A pretty reliable, if unspectacular
>>order that generally tastes the same at most places, with the
>>exception of a few outliers.
>>
>>When I heard about Rosita Al Pastor, a family restaurant tragically
>>tucked away in a massive, unattractive strip mall on the 1900 block of
>>East Riverside, I was intrigued. A restaurant so dedicated to the
>>pursuit of turning out excellent al pastor that they included it in
>>the name? What did this mean for the rest of the menu? Was al pastor
>>all they served, to the neglect of other fine Mexican meats? How could
>>I have driven by this place for years without ever having noticed it?
>>
>>Well it turns out that Rosita's offers a full-service menu that
>>features the usual lineup of tortas, tacos (including some damn fine
>>egg and potato), burritos, gorditas, etc. that you can mix and match
>>as you please with assorted meats (I don't remember seeing
>>carnitas—why is carnitas exceedingly ubiquitous in California and so
>>hard to find in Texas?) However, you would be remiss if you did not
>>pair any of these entrees with Rosita's crown jewel: smoky, bright red
>>strips of tender, savory pork, bursting with flavor --true al pastor
>>that I'm fairly certain is sliced piping hot off a skewer. Topped with
>>some freshly chopped white onions, cilantro, and Rosita's house salsa
>>verde, these tacos are pretty much perfect, I think. What's the secret
>>ingredient that gives the pork that brilliant red zest? Maybe we'll
>>never know. I've only seen al pastor of this hue in Mexico, and come
>>to think of it, chorizo as well. Maybe someone more enlightened can
>>bring me up to speed as to why that is.
>>
>>On my first visit, I ordered three tacos al pastor on both corn and
>>flour tortillas. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the warm,
>>fluffy texture of the flour tortillas far surpassed the corn
>>tortillas, and I'm usually a corn man. So don't be afraid to be a
>>gringo and ask for flour...it's worth it! For what it's worth, my
>>friend ordered his al pastor on gorditas. I looked wistfully at his
>>plate, as it seemed that he was given a larger portion of meat. Your
>>mileage may vary. My meal came out to less than $6, if I remember
>>correctly.
>>
>>HornFans.com
>>hornian
>>11/16/07 07:20 PM
>>Re: Best Tacos al pastor in town
>>I really like the ones at Curras on Oltorf. They mix a little bit of
>>pineapple in there, plus that cilantro and onion stuff, top it with
>>the avacado sauce (its not guacamole, it a sauce), and it's allsome.
>>Make sure you sub borracho beans. And of course you have to get it on
>>corn tortillas, but that goes without saying.
>>
>>------------------------------------------------------------
>>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
>
>
>~Will Salmon
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org