Carne Asada
The famous Latin American grilled beef! Marinated in a wicked Carne Asada marinade that infuses and tenderises the beef, this is beautiful made with any cut of beef suitable for quick grilling but is traditionally made with flank and skirt steak. Use for tacos, burritos or serve on rice, or try a salad! This recipe serves 5 - 6, because it's sliced thinly a bit goes a long way.
Servings: 6
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!
Notes
1a. This recipe is suitable to use for any quick cooking cut of beef. It is traditionally made with skirt and flank with are terrific secondary cuts of beef that have more flavour than mainstream steaks like rump and scotch fillets.
In Australia, flank and skirt are still quite good value - due to demand, prices have soared considerably in the states, my friends are always complaining! Ask your butcher (they are not yet sold at supermarkets here in Australia) or find skirt at Harris Farms (NSW and QLD only, part of the Curious Cuts range, bavette would also be brilliant with this).
1b. OTHER PROTEINS: This is essentially a Mojo marinade and it is fantastic with chicken, pork and fish. Marinating times: Chicken thighs/drumsticks/breast: 12 - 24 hours, pork tenderloin: 3 - 12, thick pork chops: 3 - 24 hours, pork roast: 24 hours (double the marinade recipe for a 1 kg / 2 lb pork roast). Fish/prawns (shrimp): 15 minutes.
2. Click here for a diagram for how to cut against the grain. To do this, look for the direction of the meat fibres then cut 90 degrees across them. This is how to ensure that every slice is nice and tender.
3. Adapted from this Tyler Florence Tacos Carne Asada recipe.
4. Nutrition per serving, assuming 6 servings, 1 kg/2lb of beef. It's probably over what it actually is because it's impossible to estimate how much oil in the marinade is actually absorbed into the beef.
