Tacos Árabes are pork tacos marinated with the spices and flavors of shawarma. The ultimate fusion meal, these tacos are one of the most well-known dishes to come out of Puebla, Mexico and was created by Iraqi immigrants. Plus, if you plan ahead and get the meat marinating, you can have dinner cooked and on the table in 30 minutes!
The Origin Story of Tacos Arabes
As many of the best dishes in the world, Tacos Árabes are the offspring of a delicious fusion of cultures. In his book, Mi Cocina, Rick Martinez explains that in the 1920s the Tabe and Galeana families emigrated to Puebla, Mexico from Iraq, and with them came their expertise for making shawarma.
The technique of roasting layers of meat and spices on a spinning vertical spit is what makes shawarma, well, shawarma. In Iraq they often used Lamb, but in Mexico they found pork to be much more readily available. In addition to changing the protein they cooked with, they also had to change the herbs and spices used.
The resulting dish tastes a lot like shawarma but served in a Mexican-style yeasted flatbread meant to resemble something between pita bread and flour tortillas.
Making It At Home
Most homecooks don’t have a vertical spit set up in their backyard (my apartment sure doesn’t!). So I needed to find a way to improvise. My testing and recipe development leaned heavily on a tacos arabes recipe from Mi Cocina by Rick Martinez.
The method he uses includes marinating thin pork shoulder steaks in a citrusy-onion mixture and relies on the cast-iron skillet to achieve a lovely char. Once cooked, and rested, the pork is then thinly sliced to resemble shaved shawarma meat.
To emulate a pillowy and chewy yeasted bread, I like to layer two flour tortillas together before filling with the juicy pork.
And finally, I found a few simple toppings—smoky salsa, Greek yogurt, raw onion and cucumber—was all these tacos needed to be a homerun.
Ingredient Notes
Pork
In order for the pork to cook through before smoking out your kitchen, you’ll want to use fairly thin boneless pork shoulder steaks. Look for 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch thick steaks. If they’re thicker, I recommend pounding them out a bit.
Mexican Oregano
If you can, try to use Mexican oregano. If not, marjoram or regular oregano can be used.
Chipotle Peppers
Canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are dried jalapeños that have been smoked and then rehydrated in a tangy and spicy tomato sauce. For this recipe you’ll need both the chipotle peppers and the adobo sauce it’s packed in. Look for chipotle peppers in the Mexican section of the grocery store or at any Mexican market.
Test Kitchen Tips
- To cut down on prep time, make the chipotle tomato salsa ahead of time and store it in a glass container in the refrigerator. Stored this way, the salsa will last up to 1 week.
- For more flavor and freshness, add some chopped fresh parsley or cilantro to the meat mixture right before serving.
A Quick Rundown of How to Make
Learn how to make Tacos Arabes below. Then scroll down to the recipe card for ingredient amounts and cook times.
Step 1: Marinate the Pork
In a large bowl or 9×13-inch dish, mix together the fresh lime juice and lime zest, garlic, bay leaves, oregano, thyme, coriander, cumin, kosher salt, and pepper. Add the pork shoulder steaks and the thinly sliced onion and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.
Step 2: Make the Salsa
Make this while the pork marinates, or, better yet do it a couple days ahead of time. Place the tomatoes, onion and garlic on a baking sheet and broil until they are charred all over, this will take about 10-15 minutes. If the garlic cloves start to burn, remove them and set them aside.
Blend the charred vegetables with some fresh cilantro, chipotles, adobo, honey, coriander seeds, oregano and some salt until it’s minced and you reach your desired texture.
Step 3: Cook the Pork
The first step here is to preheat your skillet. This is key to getting a nice char on the meat and evenly cooking it. Start by charring the scallions for a couple of minutes then set those aside.
Cook half of the pork (don’t crowd the pan!) in a drizzle of high-heat oil until it’s charred on the bottom, flip and then add in half of the marinade and sliced onions and continue cooking until browned on the second side. Transfer the pork and sauce to a plate and repeat with the remaining pork.
Step 4: Put It All Together
When you’re ready to serve, chop the charred scallions and thinly slice the pork. Toss everything together—the pork, scallions and cooked onion mixture (from the marinade). Then spoon the pork into a double layer of flour tortillas and top with the salsa.
I also like to add some diced white onion and slices of mini cucumber, but that’s totally optional.
Serve These With
In keeping with the Middle Eastern flavors, serve these arabes tacos with my Turkish Shepherd’s Salad. It would be a great addition to the actual tacos, not just served on the side!
A slather of Homemade Labneh on the tortilla would add a cool, tanginess to the tacos. All you need is whole milk Greek yogurt for it.
A simple White Bean Salad makes a great side dish and is in keeping with the fusion meal.
Tacos Arabes (Marinated Pork Tacos)
Description
Ingredients
Marinated Pork
- 3 limes
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano, dried marjoram or regular dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- Morton kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 boneless pork shoulder steaks, 1/2-inch thick (12–16 ounces each)
- ½ large white onion, thinly sliced
- 6 scallions, cut into 3-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
Chipotle Tomato Salsa
- 4 roma tomatoes
- ½ large white onion
- 2 large cloves garlic, peel intact
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves and tender stems
- 3 chipotle peppers in adobo + 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons honey, agave or granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
Assembly
- 16 small flour tortillas
- Thinly sliced English or mini cucumbers, optional
- Minced white onion, optional
- Lime wedges optional
- Labneh or Greek yogurt, optional
Instructions
Marinated Pork
- Zest 2 limes and juice all 3 limes. In a large bowl, stir together ⅓ cup lime juice, 2 teaspoons lime zest, garlic, bay leaves, oregano, thyme, coriander, cumin, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Toss the pork and onion in the lime marinade until completely coated. Cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours. (This is a good time to make the salsa.)
- Heat a large skillet, preferably cast-iron, over high heat for about 2 minutes, or until very hot. Cook the scallions in the dry pan until charred on both sides, 3–5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in hot skillet over high heat, add half of pork, and cook until pork is charred bottom side, about 3 minutes. Flip pork, add half of onion mixture and half of marinade, and continue cooking until browned on second side, about 3 minutes. Transfer cooked pork and onion to a large plate and repeat with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, pork, and onion mixture. Let cooked pork rest 10 minutes.
Chipotle Tomato Salsa
- Preheat broiler with rack set in upper-middle position. Arrange tomatoes, onion and garlic on a baking sheet; broil until charred all over, 10-15 minutes. (*remove garlic cloves if they start to burn at all.)
- Transfer charred vegetables, cilantro, chipotle, adodo, honey, coriander seeds, oregano and ½ teaspoon salt to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Pulse until minced, about 15 (1-second) pulses.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To Assemle
- Just before serving, chop scallions and very thinly slice pork. Toss scallions, pork and cooked onion mixture together. Serve pork mixture in double-layer flour tortillas with chipotle salsa, cucumber, onion, and lime wedges for squeezing.
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This recipe article was most recently updated on January 27th with step-by-step photos, and ingredient image and additional tips and information to guarantee success.
Other Taco Recipes to Try
- I am obsessed with my Chicken Barbacoa recipe. The tender shredded chicken is perfect stuffed into a tortilla with all the fixin’s.
- If you love a fun taco recipe, then you’ve gotta make Tacos Gobernador. They’re crispy shrimp tacos with a delicious tomato-y tang.
- Keeping with the theme of hybridizing dishes, check out my Harissa Lamb Tacos. They’re spicy, bold and totally savory.
Delicious with homemade warm flour tortillas. A mixture of wonderful flavors to delight the palate. Love the roast vegetable salsa as well. Thank you.
Hi Mary! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed these tacos. Warm homemade flour tortillas sound like such a treat!