Carne Asada

Carne Asada – The quintessential Mexican beef dish that is marinated and seasoned then grilled to perfection.

Carne Asada might be my go-to dish when I hit most Mexican restaurants. It’s high in protein, lower in fat than say my other favorite, the smothered burrito.

This fabulous meat is traditionally made with skirt steak, that inexpensive, thin piece of beef that when marinated properly and grilled….well, let’s have a moment of quiet reflection for how delicious it is.

I live in a small town. I have several grocery stores in my valley. It was 6-ish on Saturday evening when I hit the market to pick up my groceries for the grill fest that was to be Sunday. I figured everyone was going to do burgers, steaks, dogs, and chicken.

I thought skirt steak would be abundant.  Plus, we have several Mexican grocery stores (LOVE THEM) and they sell the marinated skirt steak all ready for grilling; my assumption being if people were grilling carne asada, they’d go there and get the ‘ready’ meat. So, yeah, it’s 6 or so, I grabbed all the things I needed and hit the butcher.

No

Skirt

Steak

NONE

No hanger steak either, which works great in a pinch.

But there was a flank steak…thicker, but I have decent knife skills, I can cut it.

Oh, yeah, I’m too lazy for that, forget cutting.

This carne asada doesn’t have the traditional look that you might be accustomed to, but the flavor is all there, that I promise. In  hindsight, how I used this meat (you’ll see tomorrow), having the flank vs the skirt steak turned out to be for the best.

Carne Asada

Course: Dinner/Grilling

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: Beef, Carne Asada, Gluten Free, Grilling, Steak

Servings: 6

Author: Michelle De La Cerda

The quintessential Mexican beef dish that is marinated and seasoned then grilled to perfection.

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Ingredients

• 2 lb skirt , flank, or hanger steak

Marinade (Mojo)

• 6 garlic cloves; minced
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 jalapeño; chopped
• 2 limes; juiced
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp cumin

Green Onions

• 2-3 green onions per serving/person
• Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Mix all the marinade (mojo) ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Add the steak to a large container or zip seal bag.
3. Pour the marinade over the meat and work it into it.
4. Seal.
5. Rotate the marinade every 15 minutes for the next hour.
6. Heat grill.
7. Once grill is hot, remove the meat from the marinade and grill on each side 3-7 minutes, depending on the thickness, for a medium-rare cook.

Green onions

1. Trim the root and the ends of the onions.
2. Toss with oil.
3. Place foil directly on the grill
4. Put the green onions, in a single layer directly on the foil.
5. Rotate the onions, allowing for evening cooking; about 10 minutes.

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