This al pastor sauce is the easiest sauce to make and keep in the fridge for when those al pastor cravings hit!
The first time I tried al pastor was in Mexico, at this tiny stand nowhere near the beach. It wasn’t a wander into a random taqueria kind of story though – I had did some hardcore research and decided that this particular stand was known as the best tacos al pastor in all the land. Mike and I went, not really knowing anything about it.
We ordered two tacos and then proceeded to order 10 more. They were that good. Juicy, smoky, savory rotisserie grilled pork, topped off with just the thinnest slice of roasted pineapple. We were hooked. From then, al pastor has been one of my favorite tacos. We eat them all the time now, both at taquerias and at home.
This is an easy 6 ingredient recipe that you can throw together in 5 minutes (minus the pepper soaking time). Traditionally al pastor is for pork, but there was a buy one get one free sale on drumsticks and I love drumsticks. They came out juicy and full of flavor. Perfect on their own, but even better tucked into tortillas.
Easy 6 Ingredient Al Pastor Sauce
makes about 1 cup sauce
- 8 dried guajillo peppers or dried red pepper of choice
- 8 garlic cloves
- 1 small can chipotle in adobo
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1.5 tablespoon salt
Bring a small pot of water up to a boil over high heat and remove from the heat. Put the guajillo peppers in the water, making sure that they’re fully submerged. Let soak for 10-15 minutes, or until very soft. Remove from the water, pull off the stems, open and deseed.
Place the peppers, garlic, adobo, rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth. Use to marinate meats or fish.
Easy Oven-Baked Chicken Al Pastor Recipe
serves 2
- 5-6 chicken drumsticks
- 1/2 batch al pastor sauce, see above
- 1-2 cups roughly chopped fresh pineapple
- 1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
- cilantro, to serve
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
- warmed tortillas, to serve
Marinate the drumsticks in al pastor sauce for 30 minutes or overnight.
Heat the oven to 375°F and bake with half the pineapples for 45 minutes until cooked through (160°F). Turn the oven on broil and crisp up for 2-3 minutes, checking often.
Top with remaining pineapples, thinly sliced onions, and cilantro. Serve as is, with lime, or shred and serve with warmed tortillas.
WOW! This recipe looks so tasty. Got to try this soon!
Hey Stephanie, what’s the best way to view your posts chronologically? You know, in case we miss a few and/or don’t want to add anymore clutter to the inbox with a subscription email. The widgets are a bit confusing in terms of order, especially the feature one at the top.
hey cheryl!
if you click on “recipes” you’ll get all the recipes in chronological order and if you click on the “read older posts” waaaaaay down at the bottom of the page, it’ll bring you to all the chronological posts (recipes, travel, friday finds, etc) after what’s on the front page. hope that helps!
Awesome. Thank you!
I made this for dinner with thighs instead of drums and wanted to thank you for the recipe – it was delicious! I am a huge fan of your work, and look forward to your fall and holiday recipes every year.
thank you so much for the wonderful words jessica! yay for chicken and for fall!
your site is marked as malicious now. might want to do something about that
thanks, it’s fixed!
This was really delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe. It was good for two batches of 5-6 chicken thighs. I did 425 degrees for 30 minutes instead since the first batch came out a little overcooked.
hi amy,
glad it worked out for you! good thing you managed to adjust the second batch! it’s so hard to judge the timing of chicken thighs, they come in all sizes
Thank you for this spicy, fruity, take on tacos al pastor. Loved that it was with chicken instead of pork. Will definitely make again.