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Get ready for a tasty twist on the classic al pastor taco – Pineapple Pork Tacos cooked on a griddle with a homemade pineapple pepper marinade! Sure to be your new favorite griddle tacos!

If you’ve ever had really good, authentic street tacos, then you know that they’re typically very simply dressed with raw onion, sliced radish, and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro. And like most street tacos, the magic of these pineapple pork tacos is in the homemade marinade.

These pineapple pork tacos are made with a delicious marinade of Mexican flavors and sweet pineapple juice, similar to the beloved Mexican street food, “al pastor”.

Now, I know that you can’t make authentic al pastor on the griddle, because the pork is traditionally cooked on a spit and shaved off in thin slices. But with a homemade marinade of pineapple juice, Mexican peppers, and spices, we can get darn close!

*By the way, if you’re looking for other Mexican recipes for the griddle, then be sure to check out these smoked pork carnitas and my favorite steak fajitas recipe!

Here’s how to make flavor-packed pineapple pork tacos on the Blackstone or other flat top grill to satisfy your street taco cravings:

pineapple pork tacos

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Ingredients for Pineapple Pork Tacos

For the Tacos:

Most of the ingredients for these pineapple pork tacos are included in the marinade, so once you’ve got the marinade done, you only need a few simple ingredients.

  • pork butt – If you can’t find a boneless pork shoulder (Boston Butt), then you can use the bone-in cut and just remove the bone as you’re prepping the meat.
  • pineapple – I recommend using fresh pineapple over canned, because it will char nicely on the griddle.
  • corn tortillas
  • toppings for pork tacos – I used diced white onion, sliced radish, and chopped cilantro.

sliced radish, diced onion, diced pineapple, and chopped cilantro

For the “Al Pastor” Style Marinade:

This pineapple pepper Mexican-style marinade is similar to authentic al pastor, a beloved Mexican street food dish. Some of the ingredients may be difficult to find, but I’ll give you some pointers:

ingredients for pineapple pork Mexican marinade

  • pineapple juice
  • orange juice
  • chicken stock
  • apple cider vinegar
  • spices – You should already have these common Mexican spices in your spice cabinet: cumin, corriander, oregano, all spice, salt, black pepper.
  • bay leaves
  • onion
  • garlic – You can use jarred minced garlic, but smashed garlic cloves are preferred.
  • canned chipotles in adobo – You only need 2 peppers out of the can, so you can freeze the remainder in a small Ziploc bag to save for future Mexican recipes.
  • achiote paste or powder – If you have a Mexican market nearby, check there for this specialty ingredient. If not, you can find it on Amazon here (this is the type that I used).
  • guajillo chiles – My local grocery store had these in the Hispanic foods aisle. They come dried in a zip-top bag, so you can keep the leftovers for other recipes.
  • dried ancho peppersI found these on Amazon as well.

How to Make Pineapple Pork Tacos on the Griddle (or in a skillet)

Good food sometimes takes a little extra time and love. But the results are worth it! These al pastor-style pork tacos were some of the best tacos to come off our griddle. Here’s how to make them:

Making the Pineapple Pork Marinade

This pineapple and pepper Mexican pork marinade does require a bit of effort, but once your ingredients are measured out, the process is fairly easy. And the flavor of the homemade pineapple marinade is something that you just can’t get in a store-bought sauce.

To start, sauté the sliced onions in the bottom of a saucepan with a bit of oil. Once the onions have a nice char (that’s flavor!), add in the smashed garlic cloves to warm and release that flavorful garlic oil. After a few minutes, add the rest of the marinade ingredients to the saucepan like this:

pineapple juice, peppers, spices, and chicken stock in a saucepan

Allow the mixture to simmer on low for about 10 minutes so that all of the flavors can marry together. Then, remove the pan from the heat and allow the liquid to cool down so that you can blend the ingredients into a sauce.

When the pineapple pepper mixture is cool, add to a blender cup and blend on medium speed until you have a smooth, thick sauce.

blending a pineapple pepper Mexican pork marinade

Marinating the Pork

While the pineapple juice and peppers are simmering on the stovetop, prep the boneless pork butt for your griddle tacos. Simply cut the pork into slices that are about 1/4″ – 1/3″ thick, and then dice into cubes like this:

cutting boneless pork butt into small dices

As you’re cutting the pork, remove any excess fatty parts or bones because you won’t want to bite into those while you’re eating the tacos. If you make your own sausage or broth, you can even freeze the trimmings in a Ziploc bag to save for later.

When the pork is cut and the marinade is blended, it’s time to marinate the meat. Just position a strainer over the bowl of diced pork, and pour the blended marinade in to strain out any chunks of peppers or bay leaves.

straining pineapple pork marinade

Use a spatula to scrape and press the mixture through the strainer if needed. Then, mix the pork in the marinade so that all pieces are coated, and refrigerate covered for about 4 hours.

Cooking the Pineapple Pork Tacos on the Griddle

After the pork has marinated in the fridge, it’s time to cook your delicious griddle al pastor!

For this Mexican pork recipe, you’ll want your griddle fairly hot to get a nice char on the individual pieces of pork. My idea was to try and develop a char on the pork to mimic the char that you get on the outside of al pastor from it roasting on the spit. To do so, your flat top grill temperature should be about 450-475 degrees F.

Once the griddle is preheated, add the pork pieces to the griddle with a “spider” (restaurant speak for the wire strainer utensil down below). You don’t want a lot of excess marinade on the griddle, because then your pork will steam more so than char. So the wire strainer helps to drain the pork a bit before you add it to the griddle.

cooking marinated pork al pastor on a Blackstone

As you’re adding the marinated pork to the flat top grill surface, be sure to spread it out a bit so that each piece can develop a nice char, aka each piece needs its own “landing zone” – if you’ve watched any of my YouTube videos, then you know that I preach this when it comes to griddle cooking. Then, let the pork cook untouched for about 5-6 minutes.

After that time, your pork should have a nice crust on the bottom side and you can sauté it together and move it to the side of your griddle to make room to cook the cut pineapple. The sugars from the juices in the marinade will continue to caramelize and the sauce will thicken and coat the pork to look something like this:

marinated pork and pineapple cooking on a griddle

Once the pineapple is nicely golden and a bit caramelized, transfer it to a bowl. Then, when the pork is done cooking, it’s time to build your pork pineapple tacos!

For my pork street tacos, I chose to keep my warm pineapple separate from the cooked pork for an extra pop of color. You can also add the pineapple pieces to the cooked pork, but then the fruit will turn the same rich brown color.

I topped my pork street tacos with some raw diced onion, chopped cilantro, and thinly sliced radish. A squeeze of lime and a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce would also be fantastic toppings for your tacos.

And here’s the finished dish… beautifully vibrant in color with a sweet and slightly spicy flavor!

pineapple pork street tacos

Want another delicious griddle street tacos recipe? Check out these Easy Fish Tacos on the Griddle (and the BEST Mango Pico de Gallo!). Or for another fantastic (and easier to make) Mexican marinade, visit my post on the best steak fajitas… these fajitas also have a homemade marinade with pineapple juice, and it is fantastic!

pineapple pork tacos

Pineapple Pork Tacos with Homemade Marinade

Created by: Neal

Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes
6 people
Get ready for a tasty twist on the classic al pastor taco – Pineapple Pork Tacos cooked on a griddle with a homemade pineapple pepper marinade! Sure to be your new favorite griddle tacos!

Ingredients
  

  • 4-6 lb pork shoulder cut into ⅓-½" cubes
  • 2-3 cups fresh pineapple diced
  • corn tortillas
  • diced raw onion, sliced radish, chopped cilantro, lime, and/or hot sauce for topping pork tacos

For the Marinade:

  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil
  • ½ white onion sliced
  • 5 cloves garlic smashed
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • ½ cup canned pineapple juice
  • ½ cup orange juice
  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup water
  • 3 guajillo chiles deseeded
  • 2 dried ancho peppers deseeded
  • 2 chipotles in adobo (2 peppers from the can)
  • 2 tablespoons achiote paste or powder
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • ½ tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon corriander
  • 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
  • ½ teaspoon all spice

Instructions

  • Make the marinade. Saute sliced white onion in a medium saucepan with 1 tablespoon cooking oil. When onion has developed a nice char, add smashed garlic cloves and brown for about 1-2 minutes. Then add the dried guajillo and ancho peppers and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add the remaining marinade ingredients, stir together, and cook on low heat covered for about 10 minutes. Then remove from the heat and allow the liquid to cool.
  • Pour the marinade liquid (with the peppers, onions, bay leaves, etc) into a blender cup. Blend until smooth.
  • Pour the marinade into a wire mesh strainer to strain out any chunks. Then pour the strained liquid into a large bowl with the cut pork. Stir so that the pork is covered in the marinade. Marinate the pork in the fridge for 4 hours.
  • Heat griddle to about 450-475 degrees F. Add about 1 tablespoon of cooking oil to the heated surface and spread it around in an even layer with your spatula.
  • Add the marinated pork pieces to the heated griddle, straining as you go so there is not too much moisture on the griddle. Spread out the pork to ensure that each piece of pork is in contact with the griddle surface. Cook pork untouched on the first side for about 5-6 minutes, or until a nice crust develops. Then, sauté the pork together, cook an additional 2-3 minutes, and move to the side of the griddle to make room for the pineapple.
  • Add the pineapple to the griddle and sauté for about 4-5 minutes, or until a nice golden color develops and the sugars are slightly caramelized. Then, remove pineapple from the griddle.
  • When pork is cooked through, transfer to a serving bowl.
  • Build the pineapple pork tacos. Add pork and pineapple pieces to warm corn tortillas. Top with your favorite taco toppings and serve.

Video

Notes

  • To make your pork easier to dice, put it in the freezer for about 1 hour ahead of time.

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