Chipotle’s Chicken Al Pastor Is the Best Protein They’ve Ever Added. Here’s Why It Works.
Image courtesy of Chipotle Mexican Grill / PR Newswire
Chipotle adds a new protein roughly once every few years. Chicken Al Pastor is their latest, and after multiple visits: this is the most interesting protein they have ever offered.
What Al Pastor Actually Is
Al pastor is a Mexican cooking tradition rooted in shawarma technique brought over by Lebanese immigrants in the 1930s. Traditionally pork, marinated in dried chiles, achiote, and pineapple, cooked on a vertical spit. Chipotle uses chicken and adapts the process for their kitchen, but kept the core flavor components: ancho and guajillo chiles, achiote paste, and pineapple. The result is smoky, slightly sweet, and genuinely complex in a way their standard chicken is not.
How It Tastes
In a bowl with white rice, black beans, fresh tomato salsa, and lime, the al pastor chicken is exceptional. The pineapple note cuts through cheese and sour cream in a way that elevates the entire bowl. In a burrito it works even better — the tortilla traps all the marinade juices.
The Verdict
This is not a marketing gimmick with a trendy name. The flavor is authentic, the technique is thoughtful, and it genuinely changes every bowl or burrito it goes into. Order it before it rotates off the menu.
