The "black al pastor" arrives in New York

2 places to find this unique Mexican delicacy this weekend

I walk through a bar and into a backyard in Greenpoint, and there it is: A blackened, spinning trompo of pork-meat, with 2 hunks of pineapple perched on top. As I’m staring at it, chef Carlos Barrera enters with a taco already prepared for me. “What is going on here?" I ask.

“It’s a recado negro al pastor trompo,” Carlos tells me. He points to Alan Delgado, the chef behind the upcoming restaurant Los Burritos Juarez, and says, “He got me some recado negro from Mérida.”

The recado negro, which is a spice paste from the Yucatán, is a new arrival to New York City. Outside of Corima, the Michelin-starred Mexican spot in Chinatown, it’s been almost impossible to find in the city. There are two reasons for its rarity: 1) The food of the Yucatán is not well-represented, if at all, in NYC and 2) It’s only made in the Yucatán, and not imported here.

“My mom sent me some through my aunt who came to my cousin’s graduation last week,” Carlos told me about sourcing the recado for his upcoming pop-up. “So I got super lucky.”

Recado is a Mayan word that’s used to describe spice pastes throughout central America. At Ix in Brooklyn, a “recado” refers to various Guatemalan stews that are derived from that paste, like pepián. But here, the recado is used as a marinade, then caramelized on the vertical spit. “Recado negro, it’s made with veggies but you burn them,” Alan tells me. “And then you soak the ashes, and blend them with vinegar and spices.”

The marinade makes the meat tangier than a traditional al pastor, and leaves a slightly gritty texture. I ended up eating it served on a corn tortilla, as well as inside of one of Alan’s incredible flour tortillas, with melted cheese.

If this was served anywhere consistently, it would be one of my top 3 tacos in New York. And almost immediately after talking with Carlos and Alan, I started to see recado negro being used elsewhere in Brooklyn. If you want to try it for yourself:

Carlos and Alan are building a trompo negro and popping up Saturday, June 7th at Sauced, from 12p to 3p. Find the details here.

At the same time in Williamsburg, Super Burrito will be popping up with their own tacos and burritos featuring recado negro. I stopped in to interview Luis Trejo, co-owner of Verdugo Hot Sauce, about his spin on the dish.

Behind the paywall: Why Super Burrito shipped their recado negro from Los Angeles, and a preview of my updated taco power rankings.