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Grilled Pork and Pineapple Tacos with Ancho Chile Marinade

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A vibrant summer recipe inspired by Tacos Al Pastor—these Grilled Pork & Pineapple Tacos feature an ancho chile marinade, charred pineapple, and roasted green chiles for a flavor-packed twist on tradition.

Ingredients

Units

for the marinated pork

  • 6 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
  • 6 cloves of garlic, peels left on
  • 2 t. high desert herbs or oregano
  • 2 t. kosher salt
  • 1 t. ground coriander
  • 1/2 t. ground black pepper
  • 1/2 t. ground Mexican canela or cinnamon
  • 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 c. olive oil or vegetable oil
  • 1 T. agave or honey
  • 1/4 pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced
  • 2 lb. pork shoulder or pork tenderloin, sliced into 1/4” slices

for the tacos

  • 5 fire-roasted New Mexico green chiles, ananehim, or poblanos, stemmed, peeled, seeded, diced
  • The remaining 3/4 of the pineapple, cut into wide slices
  • 1 medium white onion, minced
  • 1 bunch of cilantro leaves, minced
  • warm corn tortillas

Instructions

First, let’s make the marinade:

In a large skillet over medium heat, toast the chiles for around a minute on each side, pressing them with tongs or a spatula until their oils are activated (they will smell amazing!) and their skins soften. Place them in a bowl and cover them with hot tap water for 15 minutes, and then drain them. While the chiles are soaking, place the garlic in the hot, dry skillet and toast until the skins start to darken on all sides and then turn off the heat and transfer to a bowl. When they are cool enough to handle, peel the garlic cloves and add them to a blender. Also, to the blender, add the rehydrated chiles, dried high desert herbs (or oregano), salt, coriander, pepper, canela or cinnamon, apple cider vinegar, oil, agave or honey, and pineapple slices. Blend until smooth. Spread this marinade over the pork slices and refrigerate overnight.

Grilling and assembling the tacos

Heat your coals in the cauldron to a medium-high heat. Grill the pork until it’s cooked through on both sides, by sight or to an internal temperature of 145°F. Let rest, chop into pieces. Also, grill the pineapple until it has some nice char on both sides. Carefully transfer the pineapple to a cutting board, chop it, and add it to the bowl with the pork. Stir in the fire-roasted green chile. Serve warm tortillas, onion, and cilantro on the side.

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