This recipe for grilled carne asada is ideal for tacos, burritos, or even salads.
A perfect carne asada begins with choosing the correct cuts of beef, followed by marinating the steak and grilling it over high heat, ideally charcoal.
Contents
- What steak to use for carne asada?
- How to make grilled carne asada
- Carne Asada Recipe
- FAQs
- How to grill carne asada?
- How long does it take to grill carne asada?
- What cut of meat is best for carne asada?
- How is carne asada supposed to be cooked?
- Should I close the grill when cooking carne asada?
- Should I cut carne asada before grilling?
- Do you cook carne asada on high or low heat?
- What cut of meat do Mexican restaurants use for carne asada?
- How do you know when carne asada is ready?
- What are the two types of carne asada?
What steak to use for carne asada?
Carne asada translates roughly to grilled meat, which isn’t very precise. Carne asana is often used to describe marinated and grilled meat.
Carne asada meat is often thin-cut, similar to flank or skirt steak, and has a very heavy-grained texture and powerful meaty taste that is wonderful and assertive and ideal for this recipe.
For this carne asada dish, I used both skirt and flank steak from Vermont Wagu. Both are long and thin, and share many of the same qualities.
You may use either skirt or flank steak, or a mix as I did. If you can’t locate either, use sirloin steak instead.
How to make grilled carne asada
To create carne asada, marinade the beef for at least several hours before grilling it over high heat.
1. Marinate the steak
The marinade in carne asada adds taste and moisture while also tenderizing the meat.
Oil, lime juice, chili powder, salt, black pepper, cumin, fresh garlic, and oregano are the foundations of the carne asada marinade. I also like to season mine with orange juice and soy sauce.
If you want to be a bit more daring, leave off the chili powder and instead add entire dried chilis. Toast any combination of guajillo, pasilla, ancho, or chipotle chilies before adding them to the blender.
In a food processor, combine all of the marinade ingredients and pulse until smooth. Not a puree, but a somewhat lumpy texture.
In a non-reactive dish, combine the meat and marinate (save some for serving).
Put it in the fridge to marinate for at least a couple of hours, but overnight is the ideal way to get the most out of the marinade.
2. Grill over charcoal (if you can)
If you want the greatest carne asada, nothing beats the smokey charred flavor of hot charcoal cooking.
I used my Burch Barrel smoker and some Fogo charcoal. In our roundup of the finest fire pits for cooking, we go into the Burch Barrel in further depth. You may use any charcoal barbecue, or a gas grill would suffice.
When you cook over hot coals, the fluids drip down and touch the hot coals, causing puffs of smoke that rise up and lick the meat, giving it a flavor that cannot be replicated in a frypan.
Charring food is all part of the Maillard process, which involves a chemical interaction between amino acids and reducing sugars to produce the characteristic taste of browned food. Let us not mistake burning with charring up the flesh somewhat.
I lighted a chimney starter by filling it with lump charcoal. I threw the charcoal into the basket after it was completely ashed over to provide the ideal cooking surface for the steaks.
When the grill is hot enough, place the steak on it and sear both sides. Because of the oil in the marinade, there will be a lot of smoke and occasional flare-ups, so simply keep turning the steaks.
Remember, we want charred steaks, not burned ones.
This will take 6-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the steaks and the temperature of the coals.
When the internal temperature of the steak reaches 130F, remove it from the smoker and set it aside for 5-10 minutes to rest.For the best results, use a reliable meat thermometer and test the temperature many times since the steak is so thin that it might be difficult to obtain an exact reading.
This relaxes the steak fibers and redistributes the liquids throughout the meat.
The ultimate product is more superior, and the steak will not get cold since it is still cooking when it comes off the grill.
3. Slice and serve
After the grilled beef has rested, slice it across the grain. Because flank and skirt steak have long, lean fibers, you should examine which direction they run and then cut against the grains.
This ensures that the carne asada meat is soft and flavorful.
When it comes to serving carne asada, I try to keep things simple. Warm a few tortillas on the grill before serving the meat with a sprinkle of the leftover marinade, sliced jalapeo, a squeeze of lime juice, and a few cilantro leaves.
