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Al Pastor Pork Meatballs

Local, ground pork seasoned with garlic, cilantro, pineapple baked with a homemade chili-pineapple sauce.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

Meatballs

  • 2 lbs. ground pork
  • 1 cup finely diced pineapple from a 20 oz. can of sliced pineapple in 100% juice. drained
  • 1 lg clove garlic minced or crushed
  • 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup prepared pineapple-chili sauce
  • cotija cheese or queso fresco for serving optional

Pineapple-Chili Sauce

  • 1 cup pineapple juice from canned pineapple
  • 1 small yellow onion
  • 4 chipotles in adobo with sauce
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
  • 4 large cloves of garlic
  • 1 cup cilantro about 1 large handful; thick stems removed
  • 2 tsp sesame seeds
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • salt to taste about 1 tsp

Instructions

Pineapple-Chili Sauce

  • Drain canned pineapple and set aside. Reserve juice for sauce.
  • Place all ingredients for sauce in a high-powered blender and blend together until smooth. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Meatballs

  • Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
  • Pat pineapple slices with a few paper towels to remove as much juice from them as you can. The pineapple will release a lot of liquid while cooking so make sure to dry them out as much as you can before putting into the pork mixture.
  • In a large bowl mix ground pork with 1/4 cup of reserved pineapple-chili sauce, garlic, cilantro, diced pineapple, and salt.
  • Oil hands, and form pork mixture into balls that are about 1 inch in diameter. Place in a deep oven safe dish.
  • Place in oven for 10 minutes until meatballs have lightly browned on the outside.
  • Remove from oven and carefully drain excess liquid.
  • Pour the rest of the pineapple-chili sauce over the meatballs, and top with canned pineapple slices if desired.
  • Cook 12-15 minutes longer until pork is cooked through and no longer pink in the middle.
  • If pineapple has not browned you may set the oven on broil for the last few minutes of cook time.
  • Garnish with crumbled cotija cheese or queso fresco, and serve with tortillas or rice.