With grilling season getting closer and closer, it is never to early to cook over some hot Cowboy Charcoal. Been craving some al pastor lately, but wanted to switch things up. Decided to try making some Skewered Shrimp Al Pastor instead! Come check it out below.
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What is Al Pastor?
Al Pastor is a style of cooking inspired by Lebenese immigrants that moved to Mexico. Their use of spit style cooking with doner kebabs & gyros combined with the flavors of Mexico to make Al Pastor. The most famous dish that comes from this is Tacos Al Pastor!
Traditionally, this style of cooking uses thin slices of pork as the meat source that is marinated overnight in a combination of dried chiles, seasonings, pineapple juice and achiote paste. It is then layered onto a spit, called a trompo, trimmed for excess fat and then placed over an open fire in a vertical style spit.
It is slowly roasted until the orange color turns bright orange with charring, and then is thinly sliced off to make tacos. They are some of the most delicious tacos you could ever have.
How will we Make Skewered Shrimp Al Pastor
For our cook, we are not using pork, but we will be using really hot Cowboy Charcoal. We are going to blend a similar al pastor marinade and then set the shrimp into that marinate to sit for 30-60 minutes. We do not want the shrimp to over-marinate as they will begin to “cook” from all the acid in the juices. This will make them too soft. Just let it sit for about 30-60 minutes, and you will be in perfect shape.
Next, we will skewer the shrimp al pastor in our own style of a trompo so they still get that residual heat from the hot coals. Place them over the fire to cook for about 4 minutes per side or until they are done. Pull them off and top with lime juice & cilantro to finish.
Time to Eat
This little ode to a classic Mexican fire cooked dish is one of my favorites. Add these shrimp to tacos to make Shrimp Tacos Al Pastor if you like. This will feed a crowd and still keep them coming back for more!
Skewered Shrimp Al Pastor
Ingredients
Shrimp & Toppings
- 2 lbs of Shrimp
- Lime Juice garnish
- Chopped Cilantro garnish
Marinade
- ½ cup of Pineapples cubed
- ½ cup of Onions cubed
- 1 Orange juiced
- 5-6 Garlic Cloves
- ¼ cup of White Vinegar
- 2 tbsp of Chipotle Paste
- ¼ cup of Cilantro
- 1 tbsp of Achiote Paste
- 1 ½ tbsp of Ancho Chile Powder
- 1 tbsp of Cumin
- 1 tbsp of Pepper
- 1 tbsp of Salt
- 2 tbsp of Oil
Instructions
- In a blender, add all the ingredients for the marinade and mix until thoroughly blended. Pour marinade over the top of shrimp and let sit in fridge for between 30 minutes to 1 hour. (Do not let marinade for more than 1 hour or shrimp will be too soft).
- Using Cowboy Charcoal, fill a full chimney of coals, light and let preheat for 15 minutes. Pour coals into grill and place into one pile for direct cooking.
- Pull shrimp out of fridge, take out of marinade & discard leftover marinade. Add shrimp to skewers and lay over hot coals for 4-5 minutes per side or until the flesh is white & no longer translucent.
- Once done, pull shrimp off, garnish with lime juice + chopped cilantro and enjoy!
Video
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What are the measurements for the ingredients in the marinade?
They’re contained in the recipe card, which can be found at the bottom of the article.
What’s the recipe for the sauce?
Are you referring to the marinade? The ingredients are included in the recipe card within the article post.