Al Pastor Tofu Skewers
This site is littered with recipes that have both a meat version and vegetarian counterpart. That's very much by design because these recipes are born out of my cookouts, and I want to make sure all of guests, whether they're a meat eater or not, get to partake in as much of the menu as possible. This has led me to often double up the recipes I'm most excited about and try to craft an appropriate meatless offering. At one such Meatwave last summer, I was really stoked about these al pastor skewers, so I made a double batch of the marinade and divided it between pork and tofu, and both ended up delivering the goods.
My al pastor skewer recipe took into consideration some less-than versions of this dish I had eaten previously. The issue that I took with them was that the sauce used for al pastor felt like it really needed the entire taco experience to feel complete and on its own, it felt a bit flat. So I tried to address this in two ways and the first was using more chiles than a standard al pastor recipe to amp up the multi-layered peppery character.
After steeping the dried peppers, I bloomed the spices, garlic, and achiote paste is a hot pan. Next I added the standard vinegar and chipotles, but also made my second major adjustment by also incorporating pineapple juice. My hope was that a boost of fruity sweetness would deliver a more well rounded flavor in the end, and to ensure there was enough contrast to the chiles, I also added in some dark brown sugar before giving all of the marinade ingredients a whirl in the blender.
I lean on tofu a lot when making these variations of meat based recipes, so much so that it feels like a crutch at this point, but it also almost always work. That's thanks to the fact that tofu is ready to take on any flavor you toss at it, and the extra-firm variety grills up like a champ. I originally wanted to cut the tofu up into smaller pieces to try to mimic the texture of al pastor better, but worried going small would prevent the tofu from staying on the skewer, so stuck with larger blocks that I knew would work based on past experiences.
After I divided up the tofu bricks, I gently squeezed out some excess moisture by applying pressure to the tofu while nestled between two paper towels—this helps the exterior brown faster, giving it a little crispness in the end. I then placed all the tofu in a bag, poured in the marinade, and gently tossed the bag until all the tofu looked like it was coated in the sauce.
I let my tofu marinate overnight, but this sauce is so flavor packed that just an hour should suffice if you're short on time. The next day is when I threaded the tofu on skewers, interspersing stacks of red onion and pineapple to provide an al pastor experience a little more akin to what you would get in a taco.
On the grill, I applied a two-step cooking method that has been working well for me with tofu. It started with placing the skewers over indirect heat, which is when the coals are all situated on one side of the charcoal grate and then the food is placed over the side of the grill that has no charcoal underneath. I then covered the grill and let the tofu cook until the exterior looked like it was drying out enough to start to brown in spots.
At this point, the tofu had firmed up a could be moved around with little fear of it falling off the skewer. The interior of the tofu was also still pretty moist, so my next step was about enhancing the browning and char without drying out the tofu more, which was done over direct heat. The high heat quickly gave the tofu more color and added crisp spots too, which was exactly what I was looking for.
Now since tofu is such a blank slate, recipes tend to turn out tasting pretty different from their meaty counterparts, and that was true here. For the meat skewers I had aptly chosen pork, and the flavor of the meat factored into the overall final taste. Tofu, on the other hand, had little flavor to start off with, so the marinade popped even more. Those chiles were front and center with smoky, fruity, and earthy notes, but the addition of pineapple and sugar were key to keeping the heat in check and creating a balance that formed and pleasing whole. With the marinade being more prominent, I also felt like the grilled pineapple and onion played an important role in these skewers, adding extra flavor and textures that stood out more than on the pork variation. Sometimes when I start out with the same recipe being divided into two like this, I wonder if there will even been a need to tackle both as unique posts, but the answer in the end is almost always a yes, and these tofu al pastor skewers just further cemented my past experiences.
