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How can I make this Al pastor spicier?


My partner and I love this recipe from Carlsbad Cravings, but everytime we order Al pastor from a local mexican restaurant its got a stronger heat. I love the sweet of the pineapple, but I really want to heat this dish up a bit.

Can anyone recommend some authentic ways to spice this dish up?

[Chicken Al Pastor – Carlsbad Cravings](https://carlsbadcravings.com/chicken-al-pastor/#wprm-recipe-container-63156)

by Ok_Tumbleweed_731

10 Comments

  2. OldStyleThor

    Increase the amount of chipotle? Add Cayenne?

  4. Cali_kink_and_rope

    Add a few shakes of red pepper flakes. Problem solved

  5. exquisitopendejo

    I don’t know dude, maybe I’m used to it but pastor isn’t spicy itself. The spiciness comes from the salsa.

  6. honvales1989

    Add chipotle or make a good spicy salsa to go with it

  7. SeaKaleidoscope8482

    Made.this slsa.

    10 dried chile de.arbol
    2 dried chile guajillo
    1 tomato
    Salt
    Pepper

    Place chiles and tomato on water and boil them for 10 min or until chiles are soft.
    Put everything in a blender and add salt and pepper and small portion of the water used to boil them.
    Blend and place the salsa in a container.

    Make your tacos al pastor as you normally do and put some salsa over and eat.

    Be careful this salsa is going to be VERY HOT.

  8. palalah

    The pastor is not spicy it has adobo the spice comes from the salsa

  10. fu_gravity

    As has been mentioned, Al Pastor is seasoned well but not overly spicy on it’s own.

    BUT… the way to add spice to any adobo-based marinade/sauce is to add chili de arbol to your dried chili soak. If you want it A LOT hotter, add 10 chili de arbol to that recipe. If you want it moderately hotter, add 4-6.

    Also, and this is just me, but that recipe is lacking some major chili variety. I’d add an ancho or two for the sweetness as guajillo is just “earthy” and “red flavored”.

    And if you need it hotter still, fortunately you still have a big bag of chile de arbol, you can make Salsa Taqueria, a tomatillo+chili de arbol sauce that packs a punch and is a mainstay at most taco stands. I won’t recommend any recipes as every place has their own, but if the sauce receta doesn’t have at least 8-10 chile de arbols in it, pass.

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