What Is Carne Asada?
The term carne asada refers to grilled steak (typically skirt or flank steak) that has been sliced thinly. You can eat the steak as a main dish or serve it inside tacos, burritos, quesadillas, on a salad or more.How to Make Carne Asada Tacos
1. Marinate. Mix marinade ingredients in a large bowl or bag. Place steak in marinade and leave it covered, in the refrigerator for 2-5 hours.2. Grill the steak. Place steak on the grill and cook for about 3-5 minutes per side, or until medium rare or medium.
Pro Tips
- Grill the steak on high heat. Flank steak is such a thin cut of meat that you want to be able to sear the outside of the meat, without overcooking the inside. So, make sure your grill is hot before placing the meat on it.
- Rest the steak. As with most meat, you want to let it rest after grilling to allow the juices to settle in the meat, making it juicier and more tender. If you cut into it directly off the grill, without waiting, you will loose a lot of the juices.
- Cut across the grain. That means, notice the directional lines in the flank steak grain and slice perpendicular to them. If you cut along the grain then the meat will be tougher and chewier to eat.
Servings Ideas
- Fresh pico de gallo or 5-minute salsa is a MUST for serving!
- Corn tortillas are the BEST to use for these, but you could use flour tortillas if you like. Heat my corn tortillas on a griddle or skillet for a few minutes on each side. You could also throw them on the grill for a few seconds.
- Authentic Mexican rice
- Refried beans
- Mexican corn (Elote or Esquites)
- Charro Beans
Variations
- Keto carne asada: omit the tortilla and serve the carne asada in a lettuce wrap.
- Burrito style carne asada: wrap the steak, pico, and rice inside a large flour tortilla. Fill with any other desired toppings. Serve with rice and beans.
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Carne Asada Tacos
Serves 5- 1 1/2 pounds flank steak
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 limes, juiced
- 1/2 of an orange, juiced
- 10 white corn tortillas warmed
- Pico de Gallo, or salsa
- avocado
- Valentina hot sauce optional, for topping
- Mexican Rice
In a mixing bowl, stir together the marinade ingredients.
Place flank steak in a bowl or large ziplock bag and pour marinade over steak.
Seal/cover and refrigerate, allowing the steak to marinade for 2-5 hours. Remove steak from the refrigerator 20 minutes before grilling.
Heat grill to high and brush the grill grates lightly with oil. Lift steak from the bag of marinade, allowing excess marinade to drip off.
Place steak on the grill and cook for about 3-5 minutes per side, or until desired doneness (depending on whether you like yours medium rare or well done).
Transfer steak to a cutting board, cover with aluminum foil and allow to rest 5 minutes. Cut the steak, against the grain, into very, very thin strips.
Notes
Serve with:- Authentic Mexican rice
- Refried beans
- Mexican corn (Elote or Esquites)
- Charro Beans