At Sonora Potts Point, tacos al pastor are more than a dish—they’re a declaration.
Born on the streets of Mexico City and reimagined with our Australian ingredients, our version keeps the soul of al pastor alive: bold marinades, hot fire, and no shortcuts. No kebab machines. No gas grills. Just machete, plancha, and soon—a custom-built charcoal BBQ rig, spun by hand, designed specifically for this one iconic dish.
🌶 What Is Al Pastor?
Al pastor is Mexico’s answer to shawarma: pork marinated in chili, achiote, and pineapple, traditionally cooked on a vertical spit, and sliced directly onto tortillas. At Sonora, we’ve taken the core principles—fire, flavour, freshness—and made it our own.
We’re doing it with:
- Deep marinades built from dried chilies, vinegar, and spice
- A machete, not a motor
- Local ingredients, garden herbs, and just enough smoke
🐖 Our Pork Al Pastor Marinade (Restaurant Version)
This is the real deal. Our house marinade for pork is thick, smoky, acidic, and built for open fire. While it will evolve again once the BBQ is installed, here’s the current version we’re using:
🔪 Sonora Pork Al Pastor Marinade:
- 2 onions, sliced and roasted dark
- 24 cloves of garlic, roasted
- 15 ancho chilies, rehydrated in 700ml boiling water and deseeded
- 15g Mexican oregano
- 45g ground cumin
- 300g achiote paste
- 600g chipotle in adobo
- 500g cider vinegar
- Chili soaking water (as needed to blend)
Method:
Roast onions and garlic until caramelised. Rehydrate the chilies and remove seeds. Blend all ingredients smooth, adding chili water for consistency. The result is a flavour bomb ready for fire, plancha, or oven.
💡 Home Cooking Tip:
Try this marinade on smoked speck or braised pork hocks—they already bring that smoky depth, and the marinade clings beautifully. Just grill or roast until it starts to crisp and caramelise. Pair with charred pineapple and warm tortillas.
🐟 Fish Al Pastor: Sonora’s Seafood Twist
Not all al pastor needs to be pork. Our Fish Al Pastor is a lighter, citrus-forward take—built on the same fire-and-fruit balance, perfect for flaky fillets or even grilled prawns.
Here’s the recipe, as promised:
🐠 Sonora’s Fish Al Pastor Marinade (For Home Use)
- 100g neutral oil
- 40g garlic
- 2g Mexican oregano
- 3g ground cumin
- 3g black pepper
- 5 whole cloves
- 2 dried chipotle chilies
- 2 guajillo chilies
- 2 ancho chilies
- 160g fresh pineapple
- 80g apple cider vinegar
- 100g achiote paste
Method:
- Soak chilies in boiling water until soft. Remove seeds.
- Cook garlic and spices in oil until aromatic.
- Add pineapple, vinegar, and achiote. Bring to a boil.
- Blend everything smooth, adjusting texture with chili water if needed.
Use this to marinate fish for 30 minutes, then grill, sear, or roast. Top with fresh herbs, citrus zest, or Sonora-style salsa.
🔧 Coming Soon: Hand-Spun Charcoal BBQ
We’re currently building a custom charcoal BBQ spit—traditional, vertical, and powered by hand. It’s still in development, but once it’s fired up, we’ll take al pastor to a new level with:
- Live-fire theatre at the table
- Proper flame-cooked pork
- Rotating specials using Australian cuts and Sonora garden produce
📸 Follow our progress on Instagram @sonora.potts.point and be the first to try the new tacos when the fire gets lit.
🌮 Craving Tacos Yet?
We’re serving both pork and fish al pastor now—topped with charred pineapple, machete-cut meat, and house-made salsas.
Pair them with a mezcal margarita, stay for happy hour pricing, and know that something bigger is on the way.
🔗 More From the Sonora Blog:
- Tequila vs Mezcal: What’s the Difference?
- Cinco de Mayo 2025: Mezcal, Mariachi & Mayhem
- The Taco Tuesday Curse (and Why We Don’t Do It)
- How Tacos Al Pastor Took Over the World – Eater
Need this post turned into a printed recipe card, email blast, or kitchen signage teasing the BBQ launch? Just say the word and I’ll draft it up.
