Carne Asada is all about the marinade. You take a nice piece of steak, marinate it with some delicious flavors, and then head out to the grill for the ultimate flavorful piece of beef. This dish is lovingly adapted from the kitchen of one of the world’s most renowned chefs of Mexican cuisine, Rick Bayless, ensuring that while the techniques are adapted for the home kitchens of our audience, the deep, traditional flavors not only remain but shine. Whether you’re hosting a family dinner or a casual backyard barbecue, Carne Asada is designed to bring people together with every deliciously juicy bite.
Why Our Recipe
- Adapted from one of the world’s most renowned chefs of Mexican cuisine and made accessible to home cooks.
- We may adjust techniques, but we never sacrifice flavor, ensuring you get restaurant-quality results at home.
- Practical substitutes without compromising the dish’s integrity for when you can’t find everything at your local grocery store or want to play with the flavors.
Carne asada means “grilled meats,” but there’s a world of ways to prepare it across Mexico. Our recipe is influenced by the styles popular in regions like Jalisco and Nuevo León, where orange juice is used in the marinade to give the meat a tender texture and a burst of citrusy flavor. This isn’t just about the great taste you get from grilling; our focus is on a marinade that really brings out the rich flavors and tenderizes the meat to perfection. A great carne asada starts with the right cut of steak. Flank or skirt steak is perfect for soaking up the marinade and grilling up beautifully tender.
Ingredient Notes
- Flank Steak or Skirt Steak: Both cuts are ideal for Carne Asada due to their rich flavor and texture that becomes tender when properly marinated and grilled. Flank steak is slightly leaner, while skirt steak offers a more intense beef flavor. You can also beef things up with a sirloin or ribeye if you want to get fancy.
- Limes: Fresh lime juice tenderizes the meat and adds a little zesty zing. Lemon juice can work too.
- Garlic: quintessential and delicious. Measure it with your heart.
- Orange Juice: Adds sweetness and citrus notes that balance the lime’s tartness, also helping to tenderize the steak. If orange juice is not available, try substituting with grapefruit juice or a mix of lemon and pineapple juice for a similar effect.
- Cilantro: If cilantro is not to your taste (we know that for some people it tastes like soap), parsley is a trusty fallback.
- Salt and Pepper: Adjust according to taste. You can always add more after cooking.
- Vegetable Oil: Helps to bind the marinade and ensure that it adheres well to the meat, also aiding in the grilling process. Olive oil or avocado oil are excellent alternatives.
- Jalapeño: Use serrano or habanero for spicier meat, and use less jalapeno or substitute with a poblano pepper for less spicy.
- White Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar or additional lime juice can also be used.
What if I don’t have a grill?
Grilling carne asada on an outdoor grill adds that unbeatable smoky flavor, but not everyone has one handy. Don’t worry—you can still get fantastic results right on your stovetop. Just grab a griddle or a heavy skillet (cast iron is ideal because it holds heat so well). Crank up the heat high, just like you would with a grill, and turn on the fan on your hood. Place your marinated steak on the hot surface and let it cook for about 5 to 7 minutes on each side. This will give you a delicious sear and a well-cooked interior. Flip it just once to get that perfect crust. Cooking on a stovetop mimics the high heat of grilling, ensuring your carne asada is just as satisfying, with all the tender, juicy flavors intact.
Marinating Time
Minimum Time: At least 2 hours. This gives the marinade enough time to start working its magic on the meat, tenderizing it and starting to layer in the flavors.
Ideal Time: Overnight. Letting your steak marinate overnight will deeply enrich it with the marinade’s flavors and make it extra tender. Just pop it in the fridge before you go to bed, and it’ll be perfect for grilling the next day.
Maximum Time: 24 hours. Beyond this, the acids in the marinade can start to break down the fibers in the meat too much, making it mushy rather than tender.
Slice Against the Grain
When cutting your meat, be sure to cut against the grain. It is quite easy to see the grain running through the meat in both of flank and skirt steak cuts. It looks like lines. Do not cut parallel to these lines, always cut perpendicular to them. The grain provides a natural breaking point in the meat. If you cut against them then you end up with tons of breaking points in each piece which keeps is what makes it tender.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Freeze before or after cooking in an airtight container or resealable plastic freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before cooking or eating.
To reheat, use a skillet over medium heat and cook slices just until warmed through to retain tenderness. We don’t recommend microwaving.
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Omg that looks amazing
How long do you recommend cooking each side for well done?
15 to 20, but I can never recommend someone do that to a good piece of meat 😉
Do you cook this with the grill lid open or closed for 7-10 minutes per side? Just don’t want to over cook this.
Closed. Cooking time is an estimate and depends on your individual piece of meat and how thick it is. Use a meat thermometer for 100% accuracy.
If you like it Medium Rare, open lid, side one 7 minutes, do not move or poke. Turn it over and grill for 5 minutes. Remove let rest for 10 minutes covered. Perfection.
Is that leaving the grill on high? I noticed it the write up it said to heat grill to 500 degrees. How can this thin piece of meat take 7-10 min of high heat per side when I only grill a1″steak for 5 min per side and offset heat to medium after it’s been seared on high?
If you are using flank steak, it takes longer to cook than it looks like. Cooking time always depends on the thickness of the meat though so it’s hard to take a wild guess. Use a meat thermometer for accuracy.
My husband loves Carne Asada and this was the first recipe i have come accross that was authentic to the way he grew up eating it . I need Ideas for side dishes to serve with it though?
Mexican rice, plain rice, beans and tortillas are all my go-to classics.
Charro beans, cilantro & lime rice, guacamole dip or queso.
Grilled zucchini and asparagus. Grilled corn on the cob and stuffed jalapeños.
Taco Salad with Guacamole, nacho’s and tortilla soup.
Calabacitas (sauted zucchini, yellow squash, and corn with Hatch green chile and cheese). Burqueno style!
Ohhhh thank you! That sounds marvelous!
What if I forgot to get limes!?!? I really want to make this! I know there is no substitute for their deliciousness, but would it be worth it to make without? Thanks!
The limes are pretty important in this recipe!
Limes are very important. Flavor is unmatched . Thas just my opinion though. ☺
Plus I microwave the limes for 20 sec each then cut and squeeze for ALL the juice to release. Then use the leftover limes for water diffuser
By doing that you are taking all of the nutritional value out of the limes and essentially ruining them with the microwave.
What’s the longest you could marinate this for? 12 hours?
I wouldn’t recommend going over 2 hours unless you need to. The acid content on this is high enough that eventually you’ll break down the meat too much. That being said, I’ve also marinated this for 10 hours with successful results.
If you cut out the vinegar and replaced the salt with soy sauce you could probably go 3-4 hours with this. Much longer and the acid will start to chemically cook the meat and you’ll end up with a mushy mess.
Amy recommendations for cooking in the oven? It is getting too cold outside to use our grill…boo. Thank you!
You can use the broiler setting on your oven as a good indoor grill replacement. Instead of cooking over a flame, you’ll be cooking under one. Turn your broiler on high. Place the meat onto a broiler pan or a wire rack placed onto a pan for best results. Place this pan under the flame for about 4 to 6 minutes to give it a nice sear. Flip it over and broil again for 4 to 6 minutes.
Never to cold to grill i grill and smoke year around just cant get the flavor in the oven or broiler
My husband was from Mexico and l have known him to grill outside with Mesquite wood when it t was10 below here in NW Ohio. So It’s never too cold to grill outside, bundle up and take a little tequila for antifreeze! Viva Mexico!
I’m excited to try this recipe. I have a couple of questions….first, do you have to use flank steak? Is there another type of beef that can be used for it to be considered carne asada? And second…can I purchase the meat and put it in the freezer bag with the marinade and freeze it until I’m ready to cook it? And if so, do I then defrost it and still let it set for the 2-12 hours before grilling it? Thanks for your help~
I highly recommend using flank steak as it will produce the best results (in my opinion). You could also use skirt steak.
I am a former meat cutter
THEY ARE BOTH THE SAME MEAT!!
Shirt steak is ‘Flap Steak”. My butcher sells both shirt and flank, they come from different places on the cow.
I make it wait skirt steak, which is thinner.
Shirt steak is My Favorite. Much less expensive than skirt steak also.
Not to pick a fight but flank steak and skirt steak are not the same cut. The names are often interchangeably used because most people don’t know. Flank steak comes from the abdominal muscles on the lower abdomen of the beef. Sometimes its cut from this flap of muscle all the way to the hind end. Skirt steak comes from the diaphragm muscle inside the steer. When a beef is cut in half after butchering there is a flap of muscle on the inside on each side where the internal organs would be located. This is the diaphragm muscle. My dad used to have a farm butcher shop back in the 70’s and he regularly would just cut this out and grind it for hamburger. Nobody wanted it. Then he started getting Hispanic customers who would ask him to save this flap of meat for them.
That’s why he’s a “former” meat cutter.
Yes, not the same:
http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/11/12/76/2404238/7/1024×1024.jpg
I’ve made it with Flat iron steak and it was excellent! A little pricier but find it on sale.
Thank you!
My thoughts exactly
On the skirt & flank steak there both the same
I have been a meat cutter for over 30 years, flank steak and skirt steak ARE NOT the same piece of meat, although they are fairly close to each other in the animal.
??
They dont come from the same place, but both are excellent choices.
This cut of meat is also known as “churrasco”; very popular in other latinamerican countries, specially in Argentina. I, personally can do without the jalapeño
.
In México it’s arrachera that is primarily used to make carne asada.
And to answer your second question, I wouldn’t do that, but if you do it will marinate plenty during defrosting. Maybe even too much. The acid content is really too high to do what you are asking.
In California we use FLAP STEAK (Flank Steak) purchased at Vallarta (market for Mexican ingredients)
Having lived in San Diego and Mexico I know it as flap steak too.
I use flank steak or skirt steak. It’s all good. It’s a little difficult finding fresh cilantro right now.
It’s really really easy to grow if you have a little space of dirt somewhere. Even in pots inside a sunny kitchen window or on the balcony.
If you absolutely cannot find fresh cilantro in your produce dept you might use dried…it definitely does not give you the beautiful flavor punch of fresh at all and you might need to add extra……but it is better than going without….got to have cilantro in there!!!!
Could also try recaito in the produce section…it’s in a tube… It’s cilantro paste basically.
You can use flap meat , or if you go to a Mexican grocery store it’s called Ranchera . It’s cheaper and taste so so good.
It is “Arrachera”
I’m going to use Flat Iron Steak since it is more readily available.. But recipe sounds awesome…
Yes you can but bet it set before you free it,,then you can just cook it when it thaws.
I tried this today, and it was amazing. Turned out to have such a great flavor. It was a huge hit at our barbecue! Thanks a million!
I love carne asada! I grew up in Southern CA and I loved having it! Can't wait to try this. Pinned!
This looks amazing! I'm all about authentic Mexican!
When I cut Flank Steak I cut it on the bisa
You cut on the BIAS
The BISA is good too- – -try it sometime
?
On the bias IS against the grain, b t w.
Bias is diagonally not perpendicular across But still technically against the grain
It should best be cut perpendicular to the grain, at an angle to the cutting board (i.e. hold your knife straight across the grain, then tilt it 30 degrees off vertical before cutting). Both across the grain AND on a bias. This gives nice wide slices with short fibers.
Actually, it’s on an angle. Can be with or against the grain.
Cb is right and diagonal and at an angle is a matter of semantics, but it can’t be with the grain if it’s diagonal.
No Bias is against the grain, weather it’s fabric or meat. On an angle is on an angle
I cut on the cheese
try straight melted juice from can. those frozen cans. more concentrated
Are people using fresh Orange juice or a bottle of orange juice ????
I’ve always use bottle juice. Tried fresh squized, I can’t taste the difference.
I used from our carton.
how much?
As per recipe.
Great idea I will be using the frozen stuff
Going to make this. I’ve eaten at rick Bayless restaurant in Los Angeles. Excellent chef! I live in Hawaii now and there are no authentic Mexican restaurants here. I’m spoiled because I live majority of my life in Los Angeles
Try Surf n Salsa on the NS
Love surf n salsa
Yes there is authentic Mexican food in Hawaii now. I lived there for 17 years and got it first at Reuben’s in Hawaii Island, in Hilo. It’s on Kam Hwy around the corner from the farmers market. Also Ono Loco Taco, which has a full menu not just tacos, on Oahu is great. There are 2 locations, one across from Aloha Stadium in the Stadium Marketplace on Saltlake Blvd. The other is in Wahiawa on Kam Hwy near the Teddy’s Burgers, Walgreens on the Ewa side of the street. Reuben’s has great margaritas too in a variety of flavors. They have pitchers, ½ pitchers too as well as beers and a full bar. No alcohol at Ono Loco Tacos yet but beer is coming. I don’t have any financial interests in any restaurant but the only decent Mexican food I could get for years there was what I cooked. I was fortunate to live in Hilo for a year and fortunate to live on Oahu for over 10 years Ono Loco opened up 6 months before I moved back to México. ¡Provecho!
Try Guadalajara Grill. Food truck near Punaluu. Amazing, authentic. I’m born and raised in So Cal. You’ll love it.
Hit up Lucy’s taqueria in Hilo
Ann Caputo… On the Big Island my husband and I found a terrific surprise in Habaneros Grill in Kahalu’u; simply amazing flavors. I’m from the San Fernando Valley by the way.
I love Carne Asada, I even grilled this for a crowd of people @ my wedding!!! Never tried Chef Rick’s recipe but it will be on my list to make!!!