Who wants grilled Carne Asada? Marinate and grill the beef, slice thinly and serve warm with tortillas, avocados and pico de gallo. Use skirt steak or flank steak for the best carne asada. Great for carne asada tacos!
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
Carrrrne asada! Do you remember the Superbowl commercial with the two lions? For months after it aired, I couldn’t say “carne” without rolling the rrrrrr.
What is Carne Asada?
Carne asada is the thinly sliced, grilled beef that’s so often served in tacos and burritos. You can also serve it plain, with rice and beans on the side.
Although almost any cut of beef can be thinly sliced for carne asada, it’s usually done with either flank steak or skirt steak.
How to Make Carne Asada with Flank or Skirt Steak
Flank steak is a lean cut and must be cooked raw and thinly sliced across the grain to tenderize it. Skirt steak is well marbled with fat, and while it still needs to be cut across the grain, it’s inherently tastier and more tender, and can be cooked longer without suffering.
Carne Asada Marinade Options
The marinade we use here has olive oil, soy sauce, lime juice, vinegar, some sugar for sweetness to balance the acidity of the lime and vinegar, and lots of chopped garlic, jalapeño, and cilantro. Perfect for tacos!
Serve with tortillas, avocados, and salsa.
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Check out this recipe for Carne Asada
Other meat options to use
By definition, carne means meat, but the word is so associated with beef that most people associate carne asada with grilled beef. This recipe calls for flank or skirt steak, but you can also try using flap or chucked beef.
More topping ideas
If you’re using the carne asada for tacos, try these extra ingredients to top it off.
- guacamole
- Cojita Cheese
- Quark
- Grilled Green Onion
- Caramelized Onions
- sour cream
- Sliced jalapeno
How to save and reheat this recipe
Refrigerate leftover carne asada slices in a tightly sealed container for 3 to 4 days. Heat them up on the stove by heating a little olive oil in a pan. Add the slices, stirring occasionally, until heated to 140°F.
Or heat them in the air fryer at 350F. Check every 3 minutes or so until heated to 140F.
More Mexican recipes to prepare
- Mexican tostadas
- carnitas
- Spicy grilled chicken tacos
- Green chili
- Pozole Rojo
From the editors of Simply Recipes
roast meat
If you don’t have a grill, you can use a well-seasoned griddle or large cast-iron skillet on the stovetop. Heat on high to sear, then reduce heat to finish cooking. Be sure to use your stove vent as searing the steak this way can smoke the kitchen!
If you like, reserve a few tablespoons of the marinade before adding the steak to the marinade to drizzle over the finished carne asada to serve.
Instead of using pre-ground cumin, toast and grind whole cumin seeds if you have any.
ingredients
Marinade:
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1/3 Cup Extra virgin olive oil
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1/4 Cup soy sauce
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2 tablespoon lime juice
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2 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
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2 tablespoon sugar
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1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
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1 teaspoon ground cumin
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4 garlic cloves, chopped
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1 Jalapeño Chili peppercored and chopped
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1/2 Cup finely chopped fresh coriander leaves and stems
Steak:
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1 1/2 to 2 lb edge or skirt steak
Fixings (optional):
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Chopped avocado
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lime wedges
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corn or flour tortillas
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Sliced thin radish
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Sliced thin salad
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Pico de gallo salsa
method
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Marinate steak:
In a large non-reactive bowl or casserole dish, combine olive oil, soy sauce, lime juice, vinegar, sugar, black pepper, and cumin. Stir in the chopped garlic, jalapeño, and cilantro.
Place the steak in the marinade, turning a few times to coat thoroughly.
Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 1 to 4 hours or overnight (marinate for at least 3 hours if using flank steaks).
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Preheat grill:
Preheat your grill for high direct heat, reserving a portion of the grill with fewer charcoals (or gas flame) for low, indirect heat. You know the grill is hot enough when you can’t hold your hand over the grill grate for more than a second.
(You can also use a cast-iron griddle over high heat if cooking on the stovetop.)
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Sear Steak:
Remove the steak from the marinade. Lightly brush off most of the cilantro and garlic chunks (do not brush off the oil).
Place on the hot side of the grill. Grill the steak for just a few minutes until well seared on one side (the browning and searing add great flavor), then flip the steak and sear the other side.
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Move the steak to the cool side of the grill:
Once both sides are well seared, place the steak on the cool side of the grill, with the thicker ends of the steak closer to the hot side of the grill.
Test with a meat thermometer on the thickest part of the steak, or use your fingers (see The Finger Test for Checking Meat Doneness). Pull the meat off the grill at 115°F to 120°F for Rare, 125°F Medium Rare, 140°F for Medium. The meat continues to cook in its residual heat.
Note that lean flank steak is best cooked raw, while rump steak can be cooked well without losing moisture or flavor since it has more fat marbling.
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Tent with foil and let it rest:
Place the steak on a cutting board, cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes.
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Cut the steak across the grain:
Use a sharp, long-bladed knife (a bread knife is great for slicing meat) to slice the meat. Pay attention to the grain of the meat and cut perpendicular to the grain. Angle your knife so your slices are wide and thin.
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(Optional) Serve with Grilled Tortillas:
Heat the tortillas (corn or flour) in a dry skillet or on the grill for 30 seconds on each side, until toasted and pliable. Alternatively, you can reheat tortillas in the microwave: only heat one or two tortillas at a time, place the tortillas on a paper towel and microwave on high for 15 to 20 seconds at a time.
(Optional) Serve with pico de gallo (fresh tomato salsa), chopped avocados, and other side dishes.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 495 | calories |
| 34g | Fat |
| 7g | carbohydrates |
| 39g | protein |
