Tacos al Pastor

Tear the stems off the Guajillo chillies and Ancho chillies, shake out the seeds, then toast the pods in a dry pan over medium heat until they puff slightly and smell of raisins, about 1 min. Don't let them blacken or the adobo turns bitter. Soak them in just-boiled water for 15 min.

⚠ Tip: If they darken fast, pull the pan off the heat — burnt guajillo ruins the whole batch.

Drain the soaked chillies and blend to a smooth paste with Achiote paste, Pineapple vinegar, Garlic, Mexican oregano, Ground cumin, Ground cloves, Black peppercorns, Salt, Sugar and Orange juice. Blend longer than you think — it should be glossy, no flecks of chilli skin left.

⚠ Tip: A splash of the chilli soaking water loosens a stubborn blender; leave the sediment behind.

Slice the Pork shoulder across the grain as thin as you can manage, about 0.5 cm. Partly freezing it first makes this far easier.

⚠ Tip: Thin slices stack and shave like a trompo; thick chunks will taste like stewed pork.

Massage the adobo through the pork slices until every piece is stained deep orange. Cover and leave in the fridge at least 4 h, ideally overnight — five hours is the bare minimum.

Peel and core the Pineapple, then cut it into fat spears. Keep any juice that runs off — it goes into the pan.

Heat the oven to 200 °C. Pack the marinated pork into a tight loaf on a lined roasting tin, tucking pineapple spears through the middle of the stack. Press it down hard — the tighter the stack, the more surface caramelises.

⚠ Tip: Roast it in a small tin or loaf pan so the pork steams into one block instead of spreading out.

Roast the stack until a skewer slides in with no resistance and the edges are dark and caramelised, about 40 min. Spoon the rendered fat and pineapple juice back over it halfway.

Switch on the grill, turn the stack over and blast it until the top is blistered and charred at the edges, about 5 min. This is your trompo: char on the outside, juicy inside.

⚠ Tip: Stand right there — it goes from caramelised to carbon in under a minute.

Rest the pork for 10 min, then shave it off the block in thin slices. Scrape up the sticky, crisp bits from the tin and toss them back through the meat.

Warm the Corn tortillas on a dry comal or frying pan over medium heat until pliable and speckled, about 20 sec a side. Stack them in a clean cloth so they stay soft.

⚠ Tip: Cold tortillas crack when you fold them — keep the stack wrapped right up to the moment you eat.

Finely dice the White onions, roughly chop the Coriander and cut the Limes into wedges.

Get a heavy pan ripping hot. Throw in the shaved pastor and let it flash for only 30 sec — just enough to catch the edges, never to cook the meat through again.

⚠ Tip: Overcrowd the pan and the pastor steams grey. Do it in batches.

Double up the warm tortillas, pile on the pastor, then finish with White onions, Coriander and Salsa roja, with Limes to squeeze over. Eat standing up, two bites a taco, immediately.