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Carne Asada is marinated and grilled beef that is thinly sliced for serving.
Mother Nature can’t make up her mind right now. We’ve bounced between warm, spring days and snow flurries all in the last week. But even so – we’ve been firing up the grill and Carne Asada is on the menu!
What is Carne Asada?
Carne Asada translates to “grilled meat” in Spanish. It’s typically prepared with flank or skirt steak, or brisket – although we prefer flank steak ourselves. All of these cuts of beef can be tough and stringy unless they are properly prepared – either with a marinade or long cooking times.
This Carne Asada recipe relies on an overnight marinade – which gives the flank steak a fantastic citrusy flavor, and also tenderizes the meat.
The best Carne Asada marinade
We combined a variety of savory, citrus and spicy ingredients into one fantastic marinade that can be used with just about any cut of beef including: orange juice, lime juice and zest, cilantro, garlic, jalapeno peppers, cumin, coriander, chili powder, oregano, and soy sauce – plus extra virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper.
Puree the marinade ingredients in a blender, then pour it over your flank steak – and let it marinate over night.
How to cook Carne Asada
The next day – about an hour before grilling – remove the flank from the marinade and rinse off the excess. Pat the steak dry with a paper towel and allow it sit at room temperature before grilling.
Then, fire up the grill – setting one half of your grill to a high temperature, and the other half to a low temperature. You’ll use the hot side to sear the Carne Asada – rotating the meat after a couple of minutes to get those gorgeous, seared cross hatch marks. Flip the steak and repeat.
Next, reduce the hot side of the grill to low, and move the steak to the already-cooler side of the grill to cook with the lid of the grill closed. Ideally, you’ll want to use a probe thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the flank steak – so you can tell when the steak has reached an internal temperature of 125 degrees F. (If you don’t own a probe thermometer, use the poke test)
Allow the steak to rest for ten minutes after taking it off the heat. Then slice against the grain into thin slices.
How do I serve Carne Asada?
Carne Asade is delicious served simply with chimichurri – a zesty, garlic, parsley and lemon sauce.
Or, serve it on warmed corn tortillas with a squirt of lime juice and some fresh cilantro. (No need to load it up with cheese and other toppings – the simple flavors of the beef and corn tortillas are fantastic!)
You may enjoy these other beef recipes:
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Carne Asada
Ingredients
4 pounds flank, or skirt or brisket (OK if two, 2-pound pieces)
Marinade
1 cup cilantro leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Zest of one lime
2 tablespoons fresh garlic, chopped fine
1 large jalapeno, stemmed and seeded
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
Other
Corn tortillas, for serving
Chimichurri, for serving
Cilantro leaves, for serving
Lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
Place the steak in a gallon zipper seal bag.
Place the marinade ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth.
Pour over the steak, seal and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.
After overnight marinate, rinse off and discard the marinade and pat the steak dry. Let sit at room temperature for one hour before grilling.
When ready to grill, heat one half of the grill to high and the second half to low.
Oil the grates on the hot side of the grill.
Lay the steak(s) over the hot side and grill for two minutes then turn 90 degrees and grill for two more minutes to get crosshatch grill marks.
Flip the steak over and grill for four minutes.
Move the steak to the cool side, turn the hot side down to low and close the cover and let the steak cook for up to 15 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 125 degrees F. (Use a probe thermometer inserting from the side into the thickest part).
Let rest for ten minutes then slice against the grain into thin slices.
Serve on corn tortillas that have been warmed and top with chimichurri and cilantro leaves with a lime wedge on the side.
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I love your recipes! DELICIOUS!
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we continue to enjoy your recipes and new format. richard
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