My Air Fryer Tijuana Al Pastor Street Tacos recipe replicates the yummy sold on the Streets of Mexico. Seasoned Meat is cooked quickly underneath Fresh Pineapple slices. Use low carb tortillas or other tortillas.
Air Fryer Tijuana Street Tacos
If you have ever been to Mexico, you know about all the vendors on the streets and all the yummy food.
Big skewers of meat with a Pineapples on top, adorn every street corner. As the meat cooks, the juice from the Pineapple drips into the meat. Those are the best Al Pastor Tacos ever. The vendor then grabs some warm, freshly made Corn Tortillas and slices off some of the meat right into the Tortillas.
A little bit of Pico de Gallo is added and you are handed the Taco, with a slice of Lime. Before you turn on your Air Fryer, whip up my Mexican Homemade Pico de Gallo recipe, so that you have it all ready to go.
Cast of Ingredients for Air Fryer Tijuana Street Tacos
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What is Flap Meat?
- Flap Meat or Flap Steak, is a delicious cut of Beef. It comes from a bottom sirloin butt.
- In the New England area, you may see Flap Meat referred to as Sirloin Tips.
- Skirt Steak, in my opinion, tastes very similar to Flap Meat, however, I find that while I enjoy super rare Skirt Steak, the Flap Steak is a bit better with a slightly longer cook time.
I do love Skirt Steak and my Air Fryer Carne Asada recipe is incredible delicious! The Skirt Steak comes out nice and rare in the Air Fryer.
For this recipe, the meat is sliced thin, so that it cooks quickly and will get a nice char, from all the surface area. Make sure to use a very sharp knife, like the J.A. Henckels Classic 8 inch Chef’s Knife, so that you don’t cut yourself and you end up with nice and even slices.
If you can tell by the photo above, the meat is sliced on an angle and is about 2 inches by 4 inches and quite thin.
Freezer Alert Tijuana Tacos Meal
As you have probably noticed if you follow my blog, I like to buy meat when it is on sale and stock up. We then prepare various types of marinades and slice up the meat, if needed and package up the meat with the corresponding marinade into portions.
See my Pressure Cooker Beef and Broccoli recipe, for example. My Air Fryer Crispy Sumac Chicken is a perfect example of a recipe, that is so easy to make in advance, so that as it freezes, it marinates and continues to marinate, as it is defrosting.
They are securely sealed in our Foodsaver, labeled and tossed in the freezer for another day. Using a Foodsaver Bag (which also works for Sous Vide cooking) for marinading the meat helps too, as you can marinate the meat in a shorter amount of time.
Ingredients for Al Pastor Tacos
- Flap Meat
- Fresh Garlic
- Chipotle Peppers in Adobo
- Dried Oregano
- Ground Cumin
- Ground Achiote (a/k/a Ground Annatto Seed)
- Dark Brown Sugar or Surkin Brown Sugar Substitute
- Kosher Salt
- Fresh or Canned Pineapple Slices
Cover Meat with Pineapple Rings
How to make Air Fryer Tijuana Street Tacos
Since we are not on the Streets of Tijuana and the Air Fryer is only “yay” high, we will replicate the Pineapple that sits atop the skewer of Taco Meat by adding Pineapple on top of the sliced beef.
As the the Steak is cooking, the Pineapple Rings will begin to caramelize and make a great treat to go with the Tacos.
If you use extra Pineapple during the cook time, try sprinkling with Dark Brown Sugar and Air Frying and then place in a bowl with a scoop of ice cream. So much yum.
Air Fryer Mexican Street Tacos
Grab some Homemade Corn Tortillas or buy a bag of Corn Tortillas. (Yes, I know those are flour, but that is what Ed brought home instead of picking up fresh homemade at our local Northgate Market.) Warm them up and add the meat and a Tablespoon or two of Pico de Gallo. My Simple Corn Salsa is also delicious with these Tacos.
Slice a Lime and give a quick squirt over the meat and you are good to go!
Another delicious recipe, which hails from Baja California are my Air Fryer Baja Fish Tacos. With a drizzle of my Baja Fish Tacos White Sauce, you will think you are on the beach in Rosarito.
Kitchen Equipment and Essentials
- Ultrean 8.5 Quart Air Fryer
- J.A. Henckels Classic 8 inch Chef’s Knife
- Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
- Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
- Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
- di Oro Living Silicone Spatulas Set
- Rachael Ray Stoneware EVOO Oil Dispensing Bottle
- Porcelain & Bamboo Salt Box with Spoon
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Here is the handy printable recipe:
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Flap Meat (Flap Steak) (called Sirloin Tips in NE USA)
- 4 cloves Fresh Garlic finely minced
- 2 Tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar (or Low Carb Sub), divided
- 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
- 1.5 teaspoons Ground Cumin
- 1.5 teaspoons Dried Oregano
- 1.5 teaspoon Ground Achiote (Annato Seed)
- 1 teaspoon Chipotle Peppers in Adobo
- 1 can Pineapple Slices (or 1 fresh Pineapple cut into rings!)
- 10 fresh Corn Tortillas (or flour)
- or Street Tacos Tortillas
- or Low Carb Tortillas
Condiments
- Homemade Pico de Gallo
- 1 fresh Lime cut into wedges
Recommended Products
Instructions
- Slice Pineapple into Rings and core the center (or use a can of Pineapple Slices).
- Place sliced meat into a medium mixing bowl and add Chipotle, Adobo Sauce, Oregano, Cumin, Achiote, 1/4 cup Pineapple Juice (or 1/4 cup minced Pineapple), 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar and Salt. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.
- Preheat Air Fryer to 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Pull out Air Fryer Drawer and lightly spray Basket with Oil.
- Place Meat into Air Fryer Basket and cover with Pineapple Rings. Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar over Pineapple
- Cook at 390 for 8 minutes.
- Serve in warm corn or flour tortillas with Pico de Gallo and a Lime Wedge. Enjoy Pineapple on the side.
Nutrition
Pin it – Air Fryer Tijuana Street Tacos
Air Fryer Tijuana, Mexico Street Carne Tacos
I have a foodsaver as well but don’t know how to seal with the marinade. The liquid is pulled into the seal when trying to vacuum seal the bag. Please share!
Tabya, I keep my Foodsaver up on a cutting board, so that when I get ready to seal, the bag is below the Foodsaver, which pushes the food/liquid to the bottom of the bag. Jill
Jill…brilliant!