Epic Latin American beef! Carne Asada marinade is made with garlic, coriander / cilantro, lime juice, orange juice, vinegar and olive oil which infuses the beef with flavour and tenderises. Use it to make Carne Asada Tacos, burritos or serve it with rice. Whatever way you serve it, you will be in grilled beef heaven!
Carne Asada
When we talk South American grilled meat, Carne Asada is the first thing that pops into most people’s minds – I think. Maybe I’m wrong. Well, it’s the first thing that pops into my mind. 🙂
“Carne Asada” means “grilled beef” in Spanish, but the dish we know as Carne Asada is so much more than just a plain grilled beef. Marinated in a wicked citrusy, garlicky, coriander/cilantro mixture, it infuses beef with flavour and tenderises it too, making it perfect to use for secondary beef cuts like skirt and flank.
Mind you, I say secondary cuts – and they are still considered secondary cuts here in Australia (we’re a bit slow on the Latin American / Mexican front) – but they are as pricey as prime cuts in some parts of the world. Skirt and flank, the two most common cuts used for Carne Asada, have a stronger beef flavour than mainstream steaks like rump and scotch. Hence becoming increasingly popular around the world = hiked up prices.
Fellow Australians, get your fill of skirt and flank steak before the trend catches on like it has in the US and the prices get jacked up. It will be just like beef cheeks – 10 years ago, they were an undiscovered gem that was incredible value. I blame shows like Masterchef and My Kitchen Rules for making beef cheeks trendy – now they cost as much as some steaks!
Having said that though, the marinade for this recipe is brilliant for any type of quick cooking cut of beef – though it seems a waste to use on expensive aged steaks. 🙂
What to use Carne Asada for? Think: Tacos, burritos, salads (sub the chicken in this Mexican Salad!), with rice. Anything that doesn’t require cooking – like quesadillas, enchiladas – because otherwise the beef will be overcooked by the time you’re done. Because that’s the #1 rule with Carne Asada – don’t overcook the beef!!!! – Nagi xx
PS If you’re worried about overcooking the beef, err on the side of caution and uncook it. You can always slap it back on for a bit but you can’t undo overcooking!
PPS When I’m unsure, I don’t hesitate to cut an incision in the middle of the beef. And remember that it will cook a bit more while it rests so take it off before it is cooked to your taste.
PPPS LOOK HOW JUICY IT IS!!!! ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
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Carne Asada
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml orange juice
- 1/4 cup / 65 ml lime juice (about 2 limes)
- 1 cup finely chopped coriander / cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup / 65 ml olive oil
- 1 jalapeno (fresh), finely minced
- 2 tbsp white vinegar (any clear or clear-ish vinegar will be ok here e.g. white wine vinegar, cider vinegar)
Cooking:
- Oil
- 750 g - 1.2kg / 1.5 - 2.5lb skirt of flank (I used a 900g/1.8lb skirt) (Note 1)
To Serve as Carne Asada Tacos:
- Tortillas
- Avocado Slices
- Pico De Gallo or Tomato
- Coriander/cilantro leaves
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Place the Marinade ingredients in a large ziplock bag and mix. Add beef and massage through the bag to coat evenly. Seal then marinate for 1- 8 hours (12 hours max, otherwise meat gets over marinated and can be mushy).
- Take the skirt steak out of the fridge 20 - 30 minutes before cooking to bring to room temperature.
- Brush BBQ with oil and heat on high until smoking (or use a large skillet over high heat and turn the fan on!).
- Cook skirt steak for 3 minutes each side for rare, 4 minutes for medium rare. For flank, cook for 4 minutes each side for rare and 5 minutes for medium rare. Don't cook beyond medium - chewy beef!
- Remove onto a plate and cover loosely with foil. Rest for 5 minutes then slice thinly against the grain (Note 2).
- Serve with tacos, in burritos or on rice!
Recipe Notes:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Carne Asada recipe video!
LIFE OF DOZER
When he gets in trouble and is booted out of the house, it never lasts very long. You wouldn’t be able to hold out either!
Just made this for dinner with your coconut cilantro lime rice, some simple roasted carrots and your guacamole. The entire meal was AMAZING. Your recipes are my absolute favourite! Any time I don’t know what to make for dinner, your blog is the first place I come. I’ve yet to be disappointed. Thanks for a wonderful dinner!
PS. your guac recipe is the best- I went and ordered a pestle and mortar just for that recipe and am so happy I did.
PPS. I also come here to see Dozer! <3
😂 You basically made my entire week. It’s been a busy, tiring one but you just lifted me!!! N xx
Do you think I could put the marinated meat in the slow cooker? I have done so with a chimichurri sauce before and it turns out perfectly but I wasn’t sure if I could duplicate it with this delicious marinade!
Hi MP! Sorry to say this recipe really needs the char from a BBQ or stove 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi! Thanks for yet another reason why you are my favorite food blogger! Somehow, you make these recipes so approachable, don’t know how, but you do! Just an FYI : for my beef tacos, I always try to buy a cut that has an “open” grain where the muscle fibers are a bit loose. It’s a bit hard to describe, but, for example, comparing a round steak with a skirt steak. Here in Boston, MA, my best bets would be hanger steak (so popular at restaurants that It’s hard to find!, skirt steak (easy), Sirloin flap (VERY popular here and easy to find), and Flat Iron steak (my personal fave). If you can find any of the above, count yourself lucky! They are all tender when cooked fast and hot, and all have great, beefy taste!
Oh!! I know EXACTLY what you mean about loose fibres, that is such a good tip, I didn’t consciously make that association 🙂 There’s a fantastic cut of beef called bavette which I think is also know as sirloin flap and it is like skirt steak but thicker. It’s terrific, and you can see how loose the fibres are – so I know what you mean! N xx
Nagi – Your Carne looks like it’s cooked perfect for my taste. It looks as Dozer is diving through his “small” door so as to grab a slab.
Great post, we make this with beef, pork and chicken using a very similar marinade. Main difference would be that we add add a bit more garlic and Chipotle Pepper.
Oooh I like the addition of chipotle. And YES I make this with chicken too! For pork, I normally use a mojo marinade which is pretty much the same 🙂 N xx
Why don’t I buy beef more often??? This looks delicious and I wouldn’t mind grilling this right now even though the temp is quite high outside. Well, maybe I’d let/make someone else to do it for me lol! 🙂
Yes! Delegate, delegate! 🙂
Hi Nagi,
I’m doing a Mexican themed party and basically using all your recipes, I’m trying to do most of the prep today. Any chance I can make the marinade only 1 day before I add in the beef?
Hey Nagi!Being an older fart,in comparison to yourself;I have always bought the cheapest cuts of meat for grilling.4 kids,carnivores…Just marinate the slab fir a day,or maybe 2;as is already in the TRIPLE DIGITS in Arizona!UGGHH!Have not wanted to grill,is like am grilling myself just being outside!Anyway,a good marinade,with a balance of flavors and acidity will tenderize the toughest meat.Thanks hun,Dozer😂
AGREED! PS I feel ill at the thought….. it’s that expensive???? YIKES!!!
Nagi, as always, this recipe looks great! I love carne asada. Do you have a good chimichurri recipe to go with this? I’m daydreaming about a carne asada with chimichurri and caramelised onions sandwich right about now.
Yes yes YES!!! –> https://www.recipetineats.com/skirt-steak-with-chimichurri-sauce/ A friend of mine made loads of this for a wedding party! 🙂 Was so honoured! N xx
Hi Nagi,
Quick question ……. plain white vinegar – or white balsamic vinegar ?
I’m making this tomorrow night ! We finally have summer temps here in Minnesota – perfect weather for grilling !
I love ur blog & of course, Dozer!
Thx so much !
Hi Betsy! Plain white vinegar 🙂 But actually, it is not a major ingredient and could be substituted with any clear vinegar. Hope you loved it Betsy, jealous to hear it’s warming up over there, it is getting coooooold over here! N xx
Wow Nagi, that is DELICIOUSE! Watch out for Dozer( don’t blame him). As for washing a car just like when my windows are washed it will RAIN, YOU CAN BET SAFELY THAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. Everyone is laughing when I say time for Windows and friend would say: what for when it’s going to rain…., ha, haaa.! Have nice week.
I burst into laughter when I read this because it is now POURING here in Sydney so what was the point washing my car?? 😂
Well, when you live in Tucson, Arizona, carne asada marinate is like oatmeal to the rest of the world.
So you have it for breakfast? 😂
I’m glad its not just me that has a problem with “cheap” cuts of meat suddenly becoming expensive cuts of meat. It was the same with one of my other hobbies. I used to enjoy going in charity shops and to car boot sales and buying really cheap “antiques” only to find that occasionally I had something worth a few quid “”£’s”. Then along came all the TV programmes about antique buying such as “bargain hunt” which I think you get down under and suddenly everybody new what they were selling and the bargains were gone. The same with cookery programmes. Breast or neck of lamb used to make such nice stews and casseroles. Or one of my favourites, belly pork, slices or joints. Half a dozen nice slices for a pound. Then, just a couple of weeks ago when I was doing my main shop in Tesco’s supermarket I thought I fancied some pork so I looked at my usual cheap favourite belly pork slices and at some boneless pork loin chops. I was shocked when I realised that the pack of 5-6 small belly slices were nearly a fiver while a pack of quite thick big loin chops were going at £2.50 to £3.00 for eight chops. I bought the chops but even with marinade I don’t think there were as tasty as belly. No nice fatty crackling for one thing. Why do all these antiques experts and these top chefs have to go on TV and give away all the secrets about bargains? Why can’t the chefs stick to cooking their expensive flavourless cuts of “good for you” meat and leave the tasty cheap meat to us low income, flavour loving, don’t give a monkeys about “good for you” folk? One week fat’s bad for you. The next it’s the best thing since sliced bread. Anyway Nagi, your beef looks delicious but can we please have more recipes without chilli in them? I like chilli but it doesn’t like me since I had to have my gall bladder out. If I do one of my chow mein “type” meals I put the slightest bit of sweet chilli sauce in it but too much and I soon know about it. Enough moaning for now. Give Dozer a big hug for me. I can’t imagine him ever doing any thing naughty.
I was sniggering the whole time reading this message, you’re hilarious Phil!!! Literally wiping tears out of my eyes! As for the chilli in this – skip it. It’s barely there, it’s very subtle. The main flavour is garlic and citrus, I think you’ll love it, and try it on one of those cheap loin chops, this is like a Mojo marinade which goes FANTASTIC with pork. If they’re thick cuts you can leave them in for 24 hours. PS Remind me to share about that time Dozer dove across the coffee table to do a face plant on a cheese platter and swiped the entire wedge of the MOST expensive cheese on the platter. Oh yes, he can be naughty.
Yes same here in UK on cheap cuts and oh dear the price of oxtail would make you cry. So how would this be with rump?
SAME HERE!!!! What is it with oxtail being so expensive?? The only thing I know what to make with it is the soup stock for Pho!!!
Mouth-watering deliciousness!
This is my favorite way to eat the meat. Living in Miami, I have the opportunity to try excellent carne asada. Uhmm
AGREED!!! You are so lucky, Miami has the BEST Latin American food. I seriously did not do much other than eat and flop on the beach when I was in Miami. N xx
D. looks very ashamed there!
Ha! You think? I don’t see any shame at ALL. 🙄
Your steak looks so delicious and was it the steak that caused Dozer to misbehave! I wouldn’t be able to resist that sweet face either! And why is it that dirty cars NEVER get pooped on?? I think the humongous birds lie in wait for a clean car to drive by!! Now, that piece of meat wouldn’t last long at our house. It would be a competition who could get to it first. Hugs and a pat on the head for Dozer! xoxo
I KNOW! My car has been filthy for 6 months and never got a bird poop on the windscreen. Go figure! PS Hug and pat passed on as requested. N xx
I’ve always used a carne asada marinate on a chunk of pork for my ramen….just adds a different twist. And, no matter what the meat will be used for, the marinate always gets a glug of fish sauce.
Oooh I love that idea Fred! I’ve always thought making the pork slices that traditionally go on ramen was a bit of a pain (don’t tell my mum I said that! 😉 ) N xx
Your Carne Asada looks amazing! Do you think this would work with chicken?
Hi Tamala – thank you! And YES to chicken – this marinade is fantastic with chicken and pork. I’ve popped some notes in the recipe for how long to marinade. N xx
With chicken it’s called ‘Pollo Asada’ and is at least as popular as beef/carne asada, though I much prefer carne asada. Puerco (pork) Asado is completely different, generally stewed, not grilled.
You credit Latin America and South America for these tastes, but really they come only from Mexico. Some other countries, like Cuba, have dishes with the same names, but are bland and dull compared to their Mexican counterparts.
If your are travelling south, once you leave Mexico the food gets rather boring until you get much further south, like Argentina or Brazil.
The Philippines also has asada and adobo, but they are soy sauce and vinegar, rather disgusting when compared to the Mexican versions, which only share a name.
If quality Skirt and Flank steaks are still affordable in Australia, you should be buying them and grilling them as often as possible! They’re great with this marinade, but if you don’t have time, all they really need is salt, pepper and garlic powder sprinkled on generously immediately before placing over the hottest coals you can get. And as you say, don’t overcook.
I honestly did not know it originally came from Mexico! I did my usual research out of interest and I did know Carne Asada was a Mexican dish but didn’t realise it originated from there. I LOVE knowing that Pollo Asada is popular too, I can’t wait to share one. And believe me, I get skirt and flank far more often than any other cut of beef!
I don’t know that ‘Carne Asada’ originally came from Mexico, as in the Spanish language it simply means ‘grilled beef’. But, as far as I’m concerned, the only Carne Asada worth eating, is the Mexican version, one of which you’ve posted above.
For those that can’t get quality flank, skirt, hanger, flap etc., You can cheat, and do what the Mexican fast food places do. Take lesser quality meat, cut into small pieces, boil for 30 minutes with a lot of salt and garlic, and then char/sear/brown it on the griddle as people place their orders. Not as good as your recipe, but more practical and convenient, and more suitable for things like burritos, where the other flavors would drown out the great flavors of your recipe. As you suggest, your recipe is best served up simple so you can really savor the beef. My favorite is fresh corn tortilla’s (make your own if you have to) with onion, coriander/cilantro, and squeeze of lime.
WOAH WOAH….. that cheat trick. That’s what they do?? That’s such a good idea, I never thought to boil cheap beef cuts in some sort of seasoned broth then finish it on the stove. My mind is boggling at the possibilities….and it could be made ahead couldn’t it? So cook beef until tender then store then flash pan fry with seasonings to use in all sorts of things!
I want these! Enchiladas are on the near meal plan for me, but I am going to have to give your recipe a try!
Now THAT’s a compliment – changing your meal plan! 😉 N xx
You read my mind! I made this, this weekend, but first looked on your blog for a recipe. It turned out great.
Love Dozer!!!
He is a cheeky bugger! 😉 N xx
Hi Nagi. I’m drooling on my keyboard just looking at these pictures. Your steak is cooked absolutely perfect, just how I like it. I really like skirt steak, but you are correct that the prices of what used to be lesser cuts of meat have skyrocketed here in the States. I can actually buy prime steaks for less than skirt or even short ribs which is insane. I just refuse to pay those prices and only buy them if they are on sale for much less. It’s a matter of principle for me.
You are a sucker for a rare steak, aren’t you Dorothy! It cracks me up that a dainty lady like yourself likes big hunks of meat!
Nagi. Dear girl you are sadly mistaken if you think I am a dainty lady! On the rare occasion that we go out if I order beef I tell the server “rare as you dare”. I am a definite carnivore and only cook beef well done if it is pot roast or short ribs. I have two rules, hot and fast or low and slow. 🙂
THAT’S MY RULE TOO!!!! 😂