When we at HuffPost Taste fall hard for a food, we want to know everything there is to know about it. Inspired by a love affair with pho, the iconic Vietnamese noodle soup, we learned the proper way to enunciate the controversially pronounced dish (it’s pronounced “fuh,” for the record). As serious chocolate fans, we’ve dug deep to find out what cocoa butter really is, and after an afternoon of nostalgic munching on Goldfish, one our favorite childhood snacks, we discovered they were labeled “soup crackers” and immediately got to the bottom of this surprising designation. (Were Goldfish meant to be “swimming” in soup all along?!) Thanks to Empellón Al Pastor, a new restaurant catching everyone’s attention in New York City, we’ve recently rediscovered the glory of tacos Al Pastor. You know what happened next. We started reading up on this Mexican pork dish, and we were surprised and delighted by the origins of Al Pastor.
Tacos Al Pastor come from Mexico, right? Yes, but that’s not the whole story. The method of cooking al pastor actually comes from Lebanon. It’s inspired by shawarma! Lebanese immigrants went to Mexico in the early 1900s and brought their famous technique of spit-roasting lamb with them.
The English translation of al pastor is “in the style of the shepherd.” Mexican shepherds adapted the Lebanese style of spit-roasting lamb to using pork, and al pastor tacos became a beloved Mexican food around the world. DESCRIBE WHAT IT IS.
The origin of putting a pineapple on top of the spit isn’t as clear as the shawarma-al pastor connection. According to Empellón Al Pastor, “where the addition of pineapple came from remains one of history’s most delicious mysteries.”
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