Trompo

The trompo is the vertical spit on which stacked slices of marinated meat roast beside a flame, used in Mexico for tacos al pastor, tacos árabes, Monterrey's tacos de trompo and Tijuana's adobada. The name means spinning top.

History

Immigrants from the Middle East who settled in Puebla in the early twentieth century brought the vertical spit used for shawarma. Chilango credits Zayas Galeana, of an Iraqi family in Puebla, with building the spit that became the trompo; Texas Monthly describes the immigrants broadly as Lebanese. Lamb was replaced with pork and pita with a wheat tortilla-like bread, producing tacos árabes, served by the 1930s with chipotle salsa. The spit reached Mexico City soon after, where cooks shifted to a red achiote marinade and created tacos al pastor.

Construction

Pork slices are pressed onto the spit into a cone, often with an onion at the base and a block of pineapple at the top so that marinade drips down the meat as it turns. The taquero shaves thin, browned slices from the outside onto tortillas. Larousse defines the trompo simply as a stack of meat skewered on a tube placed beside the fire in taquerías.

Regional styles

Texas Monthly's taco editor José R. Ralat distinguishes several marinades: light vinegar, citrus and herbs in Puebla; achiote, sour orange and cinnamon in Mexico City; a paprika-heavy adobo in Monterrey, where taquero Julio Reyna introduced the style in 1962 under names such as tacos griego before tacos de trompo became standard; and Tijuana's pineapple-free adobada. A black pastor colored with Yucatecan recado negro also exists. Chilango notes that many taquerías skip the spit and griddle sliced marinated meat on a plancha.

Reviews

See also

• Tacos al pastor
• Tacos árabes
• Tacos de trompo
• Tacos de adobada (Baja California)
• Pineapple in tacos
• Achiote
• Plancha

References

1. "Trompo Tacos Are So Much More Than Tacos al Pastor". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
2. "La historia del taco al pastor es la versión taquera de Romeo y Julieta". Chilango. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
3. "Trompo". Larousse Cocina (Diccionario enciclopédico de la Gastronomía Mexicana). Retrieved 2026-10-10.