Tacos al Pastor and Taco History

Corn tortillas, ancient roots

The tortilla is ancient. Mesoamerican cooks developed nixtamalisation, cooking maize with lime to soften it, improve its nutrition and make dough, thousands of years ago. Folding food in a tortilla is an old idea, though the word taco for the dish appears in records only from the 1800s.

From shawarma to al pastor

In the early 1900s, Lebanese immigrants to Mexico brought shawarma, meat roasted on a vertical spit. Mexican cooks adapted it using pork marinated with dried chiles and achiote, giving it a red colour, and served it in small corn tortillas. A pineapple on top of the spit, called the trompo, adds sweetness. The result, tacos al pastor, became a Mexico City icon.

Tacos go north

Mexican food spread across the US Southwest and beyond. Glen Bell, who sold hamburgers in San Bernardino, learned about hard-shell tacos and opened the first Taco Bell in Downey, California, in 1962. Read our Taco Bell page for that story.

Ordering like a local

In Mexico City taquerias, al pastor is sliced straight from the spit onto a double layer of small tortillas, topped with onion and coriander, and finished with salsa and lime. Ask for con todo to get everything. Other favourites include carnitas, slow-cooked pork, and suadero, a tender beef cut.

Menu guide: taqueria favourites

Carnitas are pork slowly cooked in its own fat until tender and crisp. Barbacoa is slow-cooked beef or lamb, traditionally in an underground oven. Carne asada is grilled beef, and tacos de canasta are small tacos steamed in a basket. Fish tacos, battered and fried, are a Baja California classic popular across the US West Coast.

Did you know? In many Mexico City taquerias, the taquero can slice al pastor from the spit and flick a piece of pineapple onto your taco in one move, a skill that takes practice. Fast food chains have adopted al pastor flavours, but the spit-roasted original is still best at street stands.

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