Tender Carne Asada Recipes

EASY CARNE ASADA STEAK WITH CITRUS MARINADE

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, combine marinade ingredients: soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, cilantro, garlic, jalapeno, cumin, chili powder and pepper. Whisk well.
• Place steak in a large flat dish with side - I love using Pyrex glass baking dish with a lid.
• Pour marinade on top and toss steak gently to coat an all sides.
• Cover and refrigerate for 4 - 24 hours. I tried both and both times we had flavorful steak. Of course, longer marinating, more flavor. Don't exceed 24 hours.
• Preheat grill to 500 degrees F or medium-high heat.
• Grill covered for 5 minutes per side for medium rare, longer for more done. Play it by ear and grill like you would steak. Because skirt steak is quite thin, inserting meat thermometer in it while on the grill isn't the best method to check for level of doneness, I found. Instead I like to cut with a knife right on the grill or on the plate.
• To grill indoors, use well seasoned cast iron grill pan.
• Let meat rest covered with foil for 5 minutes to allow juices settle.
• Thinly slice and serve in carne asada tacos with avocado corn salad, Instant Pot rice and beans, or healthy mashed potatoes. Why not!? :)

CARNE ASADA RECIPE

Steps:

• To a small plastic bag (or sealable container), add Spice Mix and whisk to combine. Set aside.
• Add Marinade Ingredients to a large freezer bag and whisk to combine. Add 3 tablespoons Spice Mix to Marinade and whisk to combine. Add steak and seal bag, removing excess air. Marinate in the refrigerator 4-12 hours.
• When ready to grill, mix remaining Spice Mix with 2 tablespoons olive oil to create a Spice Rub.
• Discard marinade and pat steaks dry with paper towel (just so steak is not wet, not to remove marinade/spices). Rub steak evenly all over with Spice Rub and let rest at room temperature for 30-60 minutes.
• Grease and preheat outdoor grill to medium-high heat. Grill steak for 5-6 minutes per side, or until an internal thermometer reads 130-135 degrees F for medium rare or around 140 degrees for medium. Grill time will vary depending on thickness of your steak and desired level of doneness.. *If you like your steaks rare then use HIGH heat so you can get the charred outside in less time.
• Remove steak and let rest 10 minutes before thinly slicing against the grain on a diagonal.

CARNE ASADA

Steps:

• In a dish large enough to hold the steak, whisk together the soy sauce, lime juice, vegetable oil, sugar, cumin, chili powder, and garlic.
• Using a fork, poke holes about an inch apart all over the steak on one side only. Place the steak in the marinade and turn to coat evenly (it doesn't matter which side is up). Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours, turning the steak at least once.
• Lightly oil the grill grates and preheat the grill to high. Grill the steak, covered, for 5 to 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let the meat rest on a cutting board, tented with aluminum foil, for about 5 minutes. Slice thinly against the grain and serve.
• Note: You may need to buy 2 separate flat iron steaks to get 2 pounds. Even if you're able to find one large steak, it's best to cut it in half into two smaller steaks -- they will cook faster and you'll have more surface area to char on the grill (we fight over the charred end pieces!).

TENDER CARNE ASADA RECIPE

Steps:

• Seasonings: In a 9x13 pan or large dish, add the soy sauce, garlic, lime juice, oil, sugar, cumin, onion powder, and chili powder. Use hand whisk to incorporate well. Set aside.
• Coat: Using paper towels, dab off all excess moisture from beef. Use fork to poke holes throughout beef. Place beef in the pan with marinade. Evenly coat beef on all sides, ensuring every bit of beef is well coated (if you have two steaks, ensure even coating on both.) Cover with cling wrap. Chill 3-9 hours.
• Tenderize: During the last 30 minutes of marinade time, evenly press mashed kiwi onto all sides of beef, making sure every part of the beef has a bit of kiwi on it. Cover and chill no more than 30 minutes max.
• Cook: grease the grill; heat on high until smoking hot. Grill steak just until both sides are nicely charred and browned, and interior is medium rare. Cook time will vary, depending on thickness of steaks. Usually, once the exterior is nicely charred, skirt/flank steaks should be done, as they are thinner cuts.
• Rest: Transfer steak to cutting board and let it rest for 5-10 minutes, without slicing. Then, slice very thinly against the grain (perpendicular to the grain) and serve immediately with your choice of toppings.

BEST EVER CARNE ASADA MARINADE

Steps:

• Combine soy sauce, olive oil, vinegar, orange slices, lime juice, orange juice, Worcestershire sauce, cilantro, garlic, black pepper, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine.

CARNE ASADA (JUICY SKIRT STEAK + MOJO MARINADE!)

Steps:

• Start by choosing your cut of beef. See notes for more details. If you can find outside skirt steak (call a real butcher!) then definitely use that! Make sure whatever cut of meat you choose is well marbled with fat. Fat=flavor.
• Make the marinade. In a blender, add 1 tablespoon orange zest, 3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice, 3 tablespoons lime juice, 1/4 cup olive oil, 3 tablespoons Maggi seasoning (or soy sauce), 5 cloves garlic, 1 small bunch cilantro leaves, 2 tablespoons oregano, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 teaspoons cumin, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper.
• Place 2 ounces dried ancho chiles (usually about 4-5 chiles) on a plate and microwave for about 30 seconds. Use scissors to snip off the stem at the top, and dump out all the seeds. Tear the chiles into a few strips. Microwave again for another 20 seconds or so to make them nice and pliable. Add the chiles to the blender and blend well until everything is combined. It's okay if it's a little chunky, the pieces of chili that don't get blended will become soft and pliable as they sit in the marinade.
• Reserve 1/2 cup of the marinade and store in the fridge.
• Unroll your outside skirt steak. Use a sharp knife to chop the meat into 6 inch long steaks, slicing WITH the grain. (You can skip this step if you like. I find it's easier to grill smaller steaks but if you want to try to fit a 2 foot long behemoth on your grill, be my guest. I also like chopping into smaller steaks because some sections are thinner or thicker than others, and we want everything to cook evenly. You can take a super thin section of steak off the grill way earlier than a thick section. Individual steaks also make it way easier to slice against the grain later.)
• Place the steaks in a large casserole dish or in a ziplock. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon kosher salt on top of the steaks, flip each one over, then sprinkle the other teaspoon of kosher salt on the other side. Make sure you are using kosher salt. (if using table salt, use less.) Salt makes the meat even more tender in addition to enhancing the flavor.
• Add the marinade on top of the steaks and stir and flip around to coat. Seal the bag or cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
• Before grilling, prep all your garnishes: Make the Pico de Gallo. Prepare the salsa. Make the guacamole. Slice the radishes. Chop the cilantro. Slice the limes into wedges. Use a fork to break up the queso fresco and add to a bowl. Set out the sour cream and extra mojo marinade. This steak cooks quickly, we want to be ready!
• Preheat your grill to high heat, abut 450 to 500 degrees. Let it preheat for at least 20 minutes.
• Remove the steaks from the marinade. You can either toss the marinade, or you can transfer it to a small pot and bring to a boil for about 3-5 minutes then serve with the tacos. It's so good, I don't like to waste it.
• Use paper towels to pat each steak dry. It won't be perfect, but the drier they are when they hit the grill, the more browning effect we will get. Let the steaks sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes while your grill preheats.
• Just before you are ready to put the steak on the grill, oil the grates. I like to add a little olive oil to a bowl, use tongs to dip a paper towel in it lightly (don't soak it) and rub the grill grates where the steak is going to go.
• Brush each steak lightly with a neutral oil so they don't stick.
• Place your steak on the grill and shut the lid (if using a charcoal grill, you can leave the lid off). Set a timer for 1 minute, then check each steak. If there is significant browning, it is ready to flip. If not, let cook 1 more minute. Flip each steak (thin steaks first) and shut the lid and set another timer for 1-2 minutes depending on the thickness of the steak. As a general rule for outside skirt steak, once the meat is browned on both sides, you can safely assume that the steak is cooked to about medium rare in the center. If you are nervous, use a meat thermometer and take it off the heat when it registers about 115 degrees F. (It will continue cooking while it rests.)
• Remove the meat from the grill and place on a cutting board. Tent with foil and let rest about 10 minutes.
• Char the tortillas. Brush each tortilla with a little bit of oil. (I actually stirred together about 1 teaspoon of the mojo marinade with 1/4 cup of oil and brushed the tortillas with that. It's optional.) Char the tortillas on the grill for about 30 seconds per side. If you see the tortillas start to bubble, that's when it's ready to flip it/take it off heat. Line a plate with a tea towel and wrap each tortilla with the towel as it comes off the grill.
• Slice the carne asada into very thin strips. See photos. Make sure you are slicing AGAINST the grain. You should see a pattern of little squares and rectangles on a cross section of the meat if you are slicing it correctly. Use a sharp knife to slice the steak into very thin strips, on the bias against the grain. "On a bias" means you should be cutting at a 45 degree angle, not straight up and down like you would slice bread. (This increases the surface area of each bite, and shortens the muscle fibers, enhancing tenderness.) "Against the grain" means that your knife should be cutting the meat perpendicular to the lines of muscle ("grain") that you can see on the steak. See photo.
• Assemble the tacos. Layer two charred tortillas on a plate. Top with strips of carne asada, Pico de gallo, salsa, guacamole, radishes, cilantro, lime wedges, queso fresco, sour cream, and extra (cooked) mojo marinade, if desired.