Tacos al Pastor (a la Ohio)

So there's this great Mexican restaurant where I live and... ok if I'm going to be honest, it's not exactly a great Mexican restaurant, but as far as fake Ohio-Mex goes, this is much better than any chains, and it's really close to me. Anyways, they make a dish called Tacos al Pastor that I love. It's very simple: spicy seasoned steak with pineapples and chorizo on a corn tortilla, served with a spicy, vinegary sauce on the side. Even though they use canned pineapple instead of fresh (bleh), it's one of the best dishes I've ever had at a fake Mexican restaurant. Here is my take on it, using pork in place of the beef.

Marinade (Two Hours Before Dinner [HBD])

• 1 1/2 lb pork or beef*, diced to 1/4 inch or thinly sliced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
• 1/4 white onion, diced
• 1/4 c. crushed pineapple**
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbsp white vinegar
• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp chipotle flavored Tabasco sauce
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 3 whole cloves, toasted (or 1/4 tsp, ground)
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Place all ingredients (except the pork, obviously) into a blender or food processor and pulverize until you have a smooth, thin paste. If it's a little thick, add more vinegar a splash at a time. Marinate the meat with the paste mixture in a resealable plastic bag. Mine marinated for about 2 hours, which was plenty. You could leave it as long as overnight if you so desired.

*For the meat, I used one of my family's favorite cut of week-night pork, called the "pork loin country-style rib". I'm not really sure what it is, but it's part white meat, part rib meat, and 100% yummy. It's also pretty cheap. You could also use pork loin or beef loin.
**Fresh pineapple is miles ahead of canned, but if you can't get fresh, get the kind that's in juice, not the syrup. I actually ended up using canned for the marinade, because I had a little left over in the fridge and didn't feel like cutting up the real pineapple just yet.

Everything Else (0.5 HBD)

• 1/2 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, and diced to 1/4 inch
• 2 links of chorizo sausage
• 10 corn tortillas
• Cilantro, lime, and diced white onion for garnish

I first grilled the chorizo on the outdoor grill to give everything  a nice smokey flavor. (While you've got the grill fired up, grilled corn on the cob is a nice side dish for this meal).

My original idea was to sauté the meat along with the marinade, but once the onion and pepper hit the pan they let out all their juice, which ended up sort of stewing the meat. It turned out great, but if I did it again I would first drain the meat in a colander and try and get as much marinade off as I could. When the meat is about 75% of the way to completion (five minutes or so, depending on your dice, your pan, and your heat), add the pineapple and chorizo, stirring to meld all the flavors. You don't really need to cook the pineapple or chorizo, so as soon as your pork is done you are ready.

To serve, layer up a spoonful of the meat and pineapple mixture onto a corn tortilla. Top with cilantro and onion, adding a squeeze of lime if you like. Enjoy.

Update: Now with pictures!

Unfortunately I got a little rushed at the end and forgot to take pictures of the final product! I figured I could just take pictures of the leftovers but... there weren't any. The last picture is a depiction of just how much water sweated out of the marinade once it hit the pan. I've had this problem before with minced onions; they are relatively dry at room temperature, but once they are heated they just melt and then you steam whatever you are trying to cook.