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Fire up the grill as we’re making the most amazing grilled chicken al pastor with slices of fresh pineapple and onions! It’s a fiesta flavor bomb of deliciousness!
Grab Your Ingredients
This is such an incredibly easy recipe that literally is only 6 ingredients. Now one of the ingredients you will need to order is honestly it’s incredible.
- Chicken – I went with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. You can go with 50/50 chicken breasts too but all chicken breasts can dry out unless you watch the grill closely as it may get done sooner.
- Seasoning – this is one you’ll have to buy but honestly, it’s worth it! Trompo King Al Pastor Seasoning
- Liquids – olive oil, fresh orange juice, and chicken stock
- Produce – large pineapple and 1 large onion
Watch The Video
Now one thing I wish I didn’t do was put the carrots directly on the bottom of the pan at the beginning. Even though I put liquid in the bottom, the carrots burned. That’s my own stupid fault.
I should have put them in about 35 minutes before the end of the cooking period. Lessons Learned
Stack It Up
- Sprinkle your onions and pineapple with Al Pastor Seasoning. To the skewer, add the top (or bottom) of an onion and push it down all the way on the skewer. I push mine all the way down. Typically I use a large onion that I cut in 3 equal sizes.
- Next, follow it with a slice of pineapple then a third of the meat.
- Repeat until the last piece is the onion on top.
- Pour over any liquid left marinade over top. (not pictured as I ended up adding it after I took the pic)
Chef’s Explanation of ‘Trompo’ Style Cooking
If you’ve ever seen gyro meat cooking, you’ll see it cooking/roasting on a vertical spit that spins. It’s typically cone-shaped and as it spins the heat cooks the cone or meats.
The Trmop King unit acts as the same way but minus the rotation part. By putting it in say a Big Green Egg (using indirect heat) or your home oven, you’re allowing the heat to circulate around the meat, cooking it in a similar fashion as say a gyro cone on a spit.
Into The Grill
Set the meat into the gril, close the lid and let it cook until the internal temp reaches 165F.
Remember, if you’re adding carrots, don’t do as I did in the video and the picture but rather add it 30 minutes before the end of the cook.
Grilled To Perfection!
So a few Chef tips here:
- Pour the liquid into the pan after you put it into/onto the grill.
- If adding carrots of chopped veggies, add them about 30 minutes prior to the end of the cook. Naturally if you’re using say whole potatoes of huge veggies, add them in a bit earlier. Size matters here folks.
- USE BBQ gloves to remove this. These gloves are THE BEST gloves I’ve ever had! I use these daily on my pizza oven that gets over 900F an my hands and arms are protected!
Grilled To Perfection!
Seriously, just look at that char on the chicken, the caramelation on the onions and pineapple!
This was absolutely EXCEPTIONAL!
No Grill? No Problem!
What I love about the Trompo King is you can also make this in the home oven. What I would recommend is putting this on the lowest shelf, removing the other racks, and first testing it out to see if the 12″ spike will fit height-wise. If not, switch to the 7″ one. That works perfectly! Some ovens aren’t tall enough or the heating element gets in the way. If it’s too tall, no worries, they have a smaller one that is perfect!
Or maybe you just want a smaller version all together. Then check out the Trompo King Mini Vertical Skewer is only 8.4″ tall!
Removing the Meat & Produce
The easiest way is to grab a sharp slicing/carving knife and just carve the meat, pineapple and onions off of the skewer.
Alternatively you could use gloved hands and pull all fo the stuff off of the skewer, place it onto a carving board and then slice/chop it up.
Ways To Serve Grilled Chicken al Pastor
Here are some of my favorites ways I’ve served this.
- Tacos – add the carved meat and produc to a hard or soft taco shell then add avocado, crema, cilantro, cheese and hot sauce
- Buritto – Stuff a flour tortilla with the carved meat/produce and add mexican rice, queso and sauce
- Nachos – layer it on torilla shells with cheese, jalapenos, avocados, fresh tomatoes and cilantro
- Protein Bowl – tihs is amazing for meal prep! Add it atop rice or cauliflower rice and your favorite veggies!
- Pizza – this with an enchilada sauce, cheese, radishes, avocado and a swirl of crema! It’s EVERYTHING!
Tell me how you’d serve it!
PrintGrilled Chicken al Pastor on the Big Green Egg
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2.5 hours
- Category: mexican, latin, grilled, bbq, nachos, tacos, salads, meat lovers
- Method: grill, bbq, oven
- Cuisine: mexican, latin, grilled, bbq, nachos, tacos, salads, meat lovers
Fire up the grill as we’re making the most amazing grilled chicken al pastor with slices of fresh pineapple and onions! It’s a fiesta flavor bomb of deliciousness!
Ingredients
- 4lb chicken thighs, boneless
- 4 Tbl al pastor seasoning
- 2 Tbl olive oil
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 whole onion cut in thirds, skin removed
- 1 large pineapple, skin removed and cut in thirds (leave the core)
Instructions
- Place the chicken, oil, seasoning, and oj in a plastic food storage bag or a lidded food storage pan (lid sold separately). Mix to combine, cover and place in the fridge for 15-16 hours.
- The next day, light the Big Green Egg, add in the convEGGtor, legs facing up, and add a grate. Heat up to 375°. If you do not have a Big Green Egg, set your grill for indirect heat.
- Place one of the 3 slices of the onion on a large Trompo King Vertical Skewer. Next, add one section of pineapple followed by a third of the chicken. Repeat one more layer. Next switch it up by adding the last round of pineapple, the rest of the chicken, and the last slice of onion.
- When the EGG is at temp, set the Trompo King Vertical Skewer stacked with all of that deliciousness onto the egg. Cook for 1.5-2 hours or until the chicken temp registers at 165°.
- Move the Trompo to a heat-safe counter and using a carving knife, slice and enjoy!
Notes
*time does not include overnight marinating
Keywords: Grilled Chicken al Pastor on the Big Green Egg , chicken al pastor recipe, trompo king chicken, trompo style cooking, vertical grilling, grilled chicken al pastor tacos, how to make al pastor chicken, #alpastorchicken #chickenalpastro #bgeteamgreen
Oh my gosh, this recipe is so easy and delicious. I love it so much!
★★★★★
Thank you so much Amy!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
This is genius, Lori. I love Tacos al pastor, but I always make them with pork. I’m in awe with the way you created the “chawarma” tower. Pinned1
★★★★★
Thank you! The Trompo King is what allows you to stack it like that. And I’ve made that as well on this tool!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Oh my, this grilled dish recipe looks amazingly delicious! The tender juicy texture with everything on it from fresh pineapple and onions will boost its flavor and taste! Looks like a masterpiece!
★★★★★
Thank you so much Jamie! The pineapple definitely makes the meal!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
My neighbor has a big green egg, and I gave him your recipe. We enjoyed it last night for dinner and it was ah-mazing!!
★★★★★
That’s so awesome; thank you!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Just got a big green egg and can’t wait to try this recipe. So far I just made a big old turkey but this chicken sounds and looks awesome!!
★★★★★
You will LOVE THIS!!!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
I’m not a chicken person, but I always search for chicken recipes for my family. This chicken al pastor was extremely good, plus super easy to make. Thanks for the recipe and the inspiration.
★★★★★
Thank you so much! If you love pork or even portabello mushrooms you can use that too!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
As someone who has lived in Texas for many years, I’m really over the moon with how tasty this chicken al pastor is. I’m watching my carbs so I ate it with a salad and the family had tacos.
★★★★★
Thank you so much! Loving the idea of it in a salad!!!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Ok so I have wanted an excuse to use my green egg this season and this was it. I love al pastor and this recipe was amazing.
★★★★★
There ya go! I use mine at least 3-4 times a week. I absolutely love it and this recipe!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
This was sooo tasty. We made it last night and I’m still dreaming about it today. AMAZING!
★★★★★
Thank you so much Mindy!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Wow! This is so cool… I’ve always wanted to make al pastor at home. I don’t have a Big Green Egg but I do have a barrel smoker. Can you use it on any kind of smoker as long as it has the height?
Thank you so much! Yes, you can absolutely do this in the smoker or even in your home oven!
Set the lit coal in, and let it heat up. You just need to have enough room to stand it straight up. The unit I use needs to be set down on a grate so if you have a grate that you can put inside the smoker that raises the bottom up away from the coals you can use that. If not you’ll need something like this Barrel Poultry Hanger – https://amzn.to/3Be7JCw
Best Kitchen Wishes!