Homemade Tacos al Pastor Recipe: I Tested 8 Proteins (No Trompo)

I can’t miss tacos al Pastor. Al pastor is still Mexico’s favourite taco style. A 2026 survey put it ahead of carnitas and barbacoa (March 2026 Research Land study reported al pastor as Mexico’s favourite taco style at 29%, ahead of carnitas at 23% and barbacoa at 21%), and once you understand what happens when chile-marinated pork, charred edges, pineapple, salsa and a fresh corn tortilla come together, it isn’t difficult to understand why. They are top of mind indeed.

And no wonder why – the flavours, the textures, the colours and the vibrancy are all there in just one taco, but I wondered if all of them would work so well?! So, welcome to my Taco Lab!

Taco Lab #05: Al Pastor Without a Trompo – What Works, What Doesn’t

Just a quick historical detour – Al Pastor trompo was brought to Mexico by Lebanese immigrants who used to make shawarma at home. The recipe was quickly adapted to suit the Mexican palate, and the marinade (recipe below) usually features guajillo and ancho chillies, along with annatto seeds (achiote paste), which together give the protein a shiny, dark orange colour.

So, migration does a lot of good here. As Lebanese migration brought vertical-spit cooking to Mexico, it first evolved into tacos árabes, initially in the town of Puebla, and then connected to shawarma-style meat and flatbread. Later generations adapted the technique further: pork, Mexican chile marinades and tortillas entered the picture, and al pastor became widespread in the mid-20th century. If you want to know even a touch more, food historian Jeffrey Pilcher describes al pastor becoming a standard Mexican dish by around the 1960s. Al pastor is proof that “authentic” cuisine can itself be the result of migration, adaptation and cultural exchange.

I thought al pastor would be one of the easiest taco styles to adapt.

Make a good red chile and achiote marinade, put it on a different protein, add pineapple, onion and coriander, give it some heat — surely you’ve got an al pastor taco?

Not quite.

I’ve now tested this idea with pork, chicken, fish, oyster mushrooms, jackfruit, tofu, seitan and even cauliflower. Some combinations were genuinely excellent. Some were perfectly edible but didn’t really feel like al pastor. And at least one should probably never be repeated.

The biggest thing I’ve learned is that al pastor is not simply a marinade.

The marinade gives you chile, acidity, spice and that unmistakable achiote character. But the taco only really comes alive when you also get the right texture, enough fat or juiciness, fierce heat and, most importantly, caramelised edges.

So for Taco Lab #05, the question is: What actually makes a filling work al pastor-style, especially when you’re cooking at home, far from Mexico, without a trompo?

Tacos al Pastor Recipe: Classic Pork + My Tested Variations

My experiment: I will use the same basic al pastor logic, but different fillings / proteins.

For this controlled experiment I use these constants:

• chile + achiote marinade
• high heat
• corn tortilla
• grilled pineapple added afterwards
• onion + coriander
• similar salsa logic

And my variables are:

• fat
• structure
• moisture
• ability to char
• marinade absorption

Just to add a very important point here: I wasn’t trying to prove that oyster mushroom, tofu or fish can somehow become pork. That isn’t particularly interesting to me. And quite silly, don’t you think?

I wanted to know which parts of the al pastor system could survive when the main ingredient changed.

So I kept the basic logic reasonably consistent: guajillo, ancho and achiote in the marinade; proper corn tortillas; strong heat; grilled pineapple added separately; onion and coriander; and salsa as the taco needed it.

What changed in every taco was the filling. And that exposed something much more interesting than I expected: different proteins react completely differently to the same marinade.

• Some absorb flavour but lose texture.
• Some maintain texture but don’t carry enough flavour.
• Some caramelise beautifully.
• Others simply become wet.

That made this less of a marinade test and much more of a texture-and-char experiment.

Pork Al Pastor

The classic option, which is used at classic taquerias with trompo; the result is succulent meat with those distinct caramelised edges. It goes brilliantly with charred pineapple pieces and zesty or spicy salsas.

Chicken Al Pastor

Many countries prefer chicken as their best protein, and I obviously wanted to try how it works. Unfortunately, if you follow the same logic and recipes and replace pork with chicken, the results aren’t that great. The chicken turns out to be mushier, as I think pineapple very quickly affects the chicken. But if you marinade chicken for a much shorter duration, the flavours won’t stick that much. So the result is either a bit mushy or a bit flavourless.

Fish Al Pastor

Don’t raise your eyebrows yet. Now, this is a non-orthodox protein for this taco, but I decided to try. Obviously, I’m not suggesting using trompo, but simply to marinate the fish and then quickly pan-fry it. I’ve started with tilapia, which is incredibly easy to work with, and it cooks in less than 7 minutes. I found it beneficial to use an al pastor marinade, which masks that slight off-putting tilapia flavour and makes the fillet quite tasty. I’ve also tried red snapper, and it was very good with meatier fish as well. 

Here is my take on the tilapia al pastor, with a quick slaw (my fave slaw recipe here), lime mayonnaise (thanks to Masienda and Vitamina T cookbook, I now know that mixing juust 1/2 cup of mayo with the juice of 1 lime gets me that zesty crema I found working so well here), just a touch of avocado-onion-cilantro topping and a few proper double-cooked chips. 

The result is not fish and chips, not Baja fish (no batter) either, and obviously it’s not a trompo al pastor. But! It’s amazingly vibrant, delicious and satisfying. To the point that I’ve finished it at midnight, and I had real good conversation with myself about cooking another batch. Suffice to say, I highly recommend!

Vegan Ingredients and Proteins for Al Pastor

As I mentioned earlier, I still haven’t figured out what could be done so vegan birria could be flavourful (yes, I know there are many recipes online, but I’ve tried many and none were really to my satisfaction), so I wanted to check how another top Mexican preparation, like Al Pastor, can work. Oh and do try vegan Tinga, it works amazingly with mushrooms or jackfruit.

What worked for me: oyster mushrooms and jackfruit. They were both (I’ve made two separate preparations) delicious, offering texture and enough spicy kick.

What did not work for me that much: tofu and soy chunks. I’ve featured tofu al pastor tacos earlier on in my tofu tacos article. They aren’t a bad idea, but in comparison with the other options, they lack texture and are somewhat similar to my chicken observations: marinating for a short period of time gives a flavourless result, longer time makes the whole substance mushy.

You can try slicing seitan, marinating and then frying, so you get the crisped texture you want, but I also found it sort of lacked in flavour.

Oh, sometimes common sense must tell you not to follow some crazy suggestions from bloggers – no cauliflower al pastor, please. These two flavour profiles of a cruciferous vegetable and tropical and spicy al pastor marinade are just not a match at all.

What works with al pastor marinade? My tests

Pork: 5/5: benchmark; fat + char + marinade work together. Use cuts like pork neck.
Oyster mushroom: 4.5/5: excellent texture and crisp edges. Reduce vinegar.
Jackfruit: 4/5: absorbs flavour well, softer texture (more like pulled pork).
Red snapper: 4/5: surprisingly strong combination.
Tilapia: 4/5: marinade improves an otherwise fairly neutral fish.
Chicken: 2.5/5: difficult marinade/texture balance.
Tofu: 2.5/5: takes flavour but lacks the textural contrast.
Seitan: 2.5/5: useful texture, less successful flavour.
Cauliflower: no, not at all, I’m afraid. 

Pork wasn’t really competing with the others. It was my control, that flavorsome version that showed me what the alternatives were trying to reproduce: rendered fat, intense marinade, juicy interior and crisp caramelised edges.

Al Pastor Tacos: Recipe and Homemade Method

What do you need:

• 1 kg protein (I’ve used pork below)
• 2-3 slices of pineapple
• chopped onion-coriander topping 

Marinade

• 1 tsp guajillo chile powder
• 1/2 tsp ancho chile powder
• 1 tsp achiote powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 medium onion
• pinch of ground cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 cup white vinegar 

Method

Combine all ingredients and cook on a low heat for 20 minutes so the chillies are activated and fragrant. Do not skip on achiote – it won’t be a traditional al Pastor otherwise. I ordered mine via Amazon and got it forwarded.

Cool down so it is safe for the blender, and turn it into a paste. Add a touch of orange juice just to get the blades working.

For classic pork Al Pastor, cut the pork into fairly thin strips (about 1 cm) and cover with marinade. Keep in the fridge for at least 3 hours, but overnight is better.

When you are ready, get the griddle on a high heat, make sure your oil is sizzling and then add strips. Fry for just a few minutes on each side and then cover and let it rest for at least 5 minutes.

My Pineapple Tip

Please note that many recipes use pineapple chunks or pineapple juice in the marinade. I do not. I feel pineapple in the marinade really affects the texture of the protein and I prefer simply to add grilled pineappple to a finished taco.

Al Pastor Taco assembly 

1. Prepare fresh tortillas (here is how to make tortillas at home, and here is which masa harina to choose).
2. Get your salsas and toppings ready. I’ve tried both salsa verde and salsa taquera for this taco, and they both work. Salsa verde would work better with fattier proteins, as it cuts through fat much better. Salsa taquera would work where you don’t need to add the freshness and tartness, but an additional layer of flavour or contrast. I loved a tiny bit of it with mushrooms and jackfruit.
3. Grilled protein is ready. I have used thin strips of grilled pork as they are. But you can also opt for cutting it into bite-sized pieces, especially if your pork was cut a bit thicker than mine.  
4. Top with small chunks of grilled pineapple. 

The result is sheer vibrancy of textures, flavours and contrasts of spicy, sweet, sour and tropical. 

Don’t forget to drizzle some lime juice, and you’re off to delight yourself and your loved ones, regardless of which Al Pastor Tacos you’ve decided to make – classic, vegan or fish. Provecho!

What I Learned Making Al Pastor Without a Trompo

I cook Mexican food far from Mexico, and a full-size trompo is not exactly standard kitchen equipment. So my question became: which parts of al pastor can I realistically reproduce at home, and which ones can’t I? I cannot perfectly copy the continual roasting, basting and shaving of a proper trompo. What I can reproduce is the contrast I am looking for: very thin pork, a concentrated chile-and-achiote marinade, fierce heat and those slightly caramelised, almost burnt edges. I’ve found that the last part matters enormously. Soft marinated pork is pleasant; pork with properly charred edges suddenly starts tasting like the taco I was trying to recreate.

The Al Pastor Test That Surprised Me Most

I initially assumed that once you had a good al pastor marinade, changing the protein would be relatively straightforward. It wasn’t. Pork remains the benchmark because the fat, thin slicing and high heat all work together. Oyster mushrooms and jackfruit surprised me in a very good way because both give the marinade something to cling to while maintaining an interesting texture. Fish was another surprise: tilapia became considerably more interesting under the chile-achiote marinade, while meatier red snapper worked even better. Chicken, tofu and seitan were much less convincing. This is now one of my rules with tacos: a great sauce or marinade cannot rescue the wrong texture.

Cooking Mexican Food Far From Mexico

One of the reasons I keep testing recipes like this is that “just buy the right Mexican ingredient” is not particularly useful advice when you live thousands of kilometres from Mexico. Achiote was one of those ingredients for me: I eventually ordered it online and had it forwarded. Dried Mexican chiles can require the same kind of planning. But once guajillo, ancho and achiote became regular ingredients in my cupboard, al pastor stopped feeling like something I could only eat in a Mexican taquería. That is really the point of much of my cooking here: understanding which ingredients are essential, sourcing those properly, and then adapting the equipment rather than adapting away the flavour.

Why I Don’t Automatically Put Every Protein “Al Pastor”

Testing these variations also made me more sceptical of the tendency to put an al pastor marinade on absolutely everything and call it a taco al pastor. The marinade is only one part of the equation. Texture, fat, heat, caramelisation, tortilla and toppings matter just as much. Oyster mushroom makes sense to me. Jackfruit makes sense. Fish can be brilliant. Cauliflower? I tried to understand the logic, but the flavour and texture simply don’t come together for me. Sometimes experimentation teaches you what to make again. Sometimes it teaches you what not to put on the internet as another “easy al pastor hack”.

Taco Lab #05 Conclusion

Al pastor is not a marinade. It is a system of marinade + fat + texture + fierce heat + caramelisation.

I absolutely loved the classic pork al Pastor, and I will definitely repeat the oyster mushrooms, jackfruit, tilapia and snapper versions.

The surprise winner: oyster mushroom

If pork was the predictable winner, oyster mushroom was the result I found much more interesting. It doesn’t imitate pork particularly closely, and I don’t think it needs to. What it does have is structure. The edges can crisp and caramelise while the centre stays juicy, so the chile-achiote marinade gets the contrast it needs.

I will also do some additional work on seitan, as this wheat protein features heavily in CDMX plant-based taquerias. I just found it slightly underwhelming. But I’ve got some ideas what and how to test it further.

Similarly, I wanted to see if tofu will work, but it wasn’t that great. Yes, tofu was named as a protein source #1 in the world now, for its sustainability and protein contents. But I felt like I liked it more in Tinga marinade and sauce (see my Tinga recipe here).

And one really important adjustment that I made here: I finally got my own answer to the question ‘Should pineapple go into the marinade?’

My result: pineapple belongs on the taco, not in my marinade.

The Failures Taught Me More Than the Winners

The easiest mistake with al pastor is assuming that a powerful marinade will do all the work. As you can see, my chicken and tofu tests were the clearest examples of why it doesn’t.

Both can take the flavour of the marinade, but neither naturally gives me the combination of fat, juicy interior and crisp exterior that makes pork al pastor so satisfying. Leave them in an acidic marinade too long and texture becomes another problem. Marinade them too briefly and the flavour can remain frustratingly superficial.

That doesn’t mean tofu or chicken al pastor is impossible. It means simply replacing pork gram-for-gram isn’t enough. You have to redesign the cooking method around the ingredient.

And that leads to my Taco Lab rule from this experiment:

Taco Lab Rule #05: A great marinade cannot rescue the wrong texture.

For al pastor, think beyond flavour: you need something that can carry the marinade, survive fierce heat and develop caramelised edges.

If it can’t do those three things, change the technique or choose another taco.

Follow my Taco Lab: I’m constantly testing tortillas, salsa, taco techniques, ingredients and also new flexitarian and plant-forward taco ideas so you can build better tacos. Follow me; I’ll test some of these rather than pretending I already know the answer.

See my previous Taco Lab tests here.

[Taco Craft | Salsa Magic | Proper Tortillas]

Here are my most used and loved tools and ingredients for joyful Mexican cooking:

Masa harina for tortillas: Masienda, Bob’s Red Mill, Maseca

Chillies: Chipotle, Ancho, Guajillo, Tajin

Tools: Tortilla Press, Ninja blender, Global knives.