al pastor

adjective

Of (tacos of) typically pork, or sometimes another meat or dish: grilled on a spit, and flavored with chiles, spices, and pineapple.

OriginSpanish al pastor →
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Meanings

adjectiveal pastor (not comparable)
  1. not comparablepostpositionalsometimescookingOf (tacos of) typically pork, or sometimes another meat or dish: grilled on a spit, and flavored with chiles, spices, and pineapple.

    She finished the al pastor taco and raised an eyebrow […]

    2018, Jasmine Guillory, The Proposal, Penguin, →ISBN, page 154
    3 more examples

    Fill up on some of the heftiest burritos in captivity, fashioned around grilled beef, chicken, greasy and indulgent barbecued pork al pastor, carnitas and the more exotic [things].

    1998, The Best of San Francisco and Northern California, Gault Millau, →ISBN, page 75

    Better yet are tacos or gorditas al pastor, with a depth of flavor to support the depth of red color in the chunks of pork.

    2006, Robin Goldstein, Rebecca Markovits, Alexis Herschkowitsch, Monika Powe Nelson, The Fearless Critic Austin Restaurant Guide, →ISBN, page 207

    Dishes highlight fresh seafood and include ceviche, seafood burgers, and specialty tacos like lobster and fish al pastor. An amazing cocktail menu—don't miss out on the potent Coco Loco served in a coconut.

    2018, Joshua Eden Hinsdale, Explorer's Guide Playa del Carmen, Tulum & the Riviera Maya (Fifth Edition) (Explorer's Complete), The Countryman Press, →ISBN
noun
  1. Meat or a meal (a taco, etc) which is served in this style; a taco al pastor.

    […] I'm an al pastor junkie; it's one of my favorite things. She takes a big cup of guajillo sauce, pineapple, a bit of chopped white onion, cumin,[…]

    2008, Guy Fieri, Ann Volkwein, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: An All-American Road Trip . . . with Recipes!, Zondervan, →ISBN, page 226
    1 more example

    A few weeks after a Fuel City taco fillup in Texas, I found myself back in Paris, with an al pastor craving that wouldn't go away. With nary a taco stand in sight, and certainly not a truck stop selling tacos, I decided to give it a go myself.

    2012, Ellise Pierce, Cowgirl Chef: Texas Cooking with a French Accent, Running Press, →ISBN, page 155

Origin

  1. Spanishal pastor
  2. Englishal pastor

From Spanish al pastor (literally “shepherd style”), because the dish is an adaptation by Mexican and Lebanese immigrant shepherds in Mexico of lamb shawarma.

More words from Spanish

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

al pastor. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/al%20pastor

MLA

“al pastor.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/al%20pastor. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “al pastor,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/al%20pastor.

Source: al pastor on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.