Marinated flank or skirt steak is grilled to perfection for the best Authentic Carne Asada recipe. This tender, grilled meat is full of authentic Mexican flavor.
Marinated flank steak is grilled to perfection for the best Authentic Carne Asada recipe. This tender, grilled meat is full of authentic Mexican flavor. This recipe is based off of one from the world renowned chef of Mexican Cuisine, Rick Bayless. It has been altered so that the average home cook can easily make it at home.
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 a flavorful piece of beef you can eat plain, on a taco, burrito, or anything else you can think of. It’s so good it is often eaten plain, like the fine steak it is.
What kind of meat do you use for carne asada?
Carne asada is traditionally made using skirt steak or flank steak. The two cuts are very similar and can be used interchangeably. The two meat cuts do have a few differences. Flank steak is a more lean option and has a great, intense meaty flavor. Skirt steak also has an intense meaty flavor but does have more tough fibers than flank steak. It should only be cooked to rare or medium-rare, otherwise it may become unpleasantly chewy. Both need to be cut against the grain.
PRO TIP: 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 these 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 it from being chewy.
What should I serve with Carne Asada?
- Restaurant Style Mexican Black Beans
- Authentic Mexican Rice
- Mexican Street Corn
- Slow Cooker Carnitas
- Homemade Mexican Churros
What if I don’t have a grill? Can I make carne asada indoors?
If you don’t have access to an outdoor grill, you can always cook your carne asada indoors on the stovetop. A stovetop will work the same way as a grill. Heat a large heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) over high heat. Cook the meat for about 5 to 7 minutes per side, or until the desired level of doneness is reached.
TIPS AND TRICKS
- Be sure to cut against the grain.
- The written recipe calls for marinating in a plastic bag. You can also marinate in a bowl. Just make sure the meat is covered.
- If you are one of the people in the world who don’t like cilantro, simply leave it out. Do not replace it with something like parsley.
- There are thousands of ways to prepare something authentically. This version of carne asada is cooked authentically on the grill and has an amazing amount of flavor.
- When using an outdoor gas grill, heat it to high heat, somewhere around 500 degrees before grilling this meat.
- Cooking time is an estimate and depends on the thickness of your meat. Use a meat thermometer for accuracy.
This is an excellent recipe. I made the marinade exactly as directed, marinated the flank steak for seven hours and grilled it on my Weber. I served the thinly sliced steak on soft flour tortillas with thinly sliced oven roasted peppers (orange, red and yellow) and onions and topped them with homemade pico de gallo. Dang woman… this was great.
I tried the recipe. It was really nice. There is a sourish tinge but not too empowering. Recipe is easy to understand and execute. We had it this with wrap, l lettuce and sour cream. Yumz. Will be making this again definitely. I wasn’t able to find jalapeno when I made this the first time. Also my children can’t take too much heat. I am wondering if the jalapeno makes this spicy and anythg else I can replace w jalapeno? Thank you ❤️
Delicious dish
Awesome!! Great easy and quick idea!!
Excellent recipe. I use it for pork lion, chicken breasts or turkey breasts.
Hi. Thank you for the recipe. I followed the recipe and marinated the steak longer than 2 hours but I felt the steak was lacking in flavor. I’ll definitely try it again but make a few tweaks to it.
Thank you,
Mary
Used this recipe twice and was a hit both times. Followed the recipe but cut back on the vinegar by preference. I also used flap steak which was a great choice. I’ll try that for fajitas next time because it’s a good meat. It made for good left overs the next day. Highly recommend this recipe blend.
Made this with ingredients exactly as written, using flap steak, which is much thinner and tougher than flank steak, so I marinated it for 24 hrs., and cooked it for a shorter time than recommended. It was delicious and tender (provided you follow the important direction to cut it in thin strips across the grain). I’m pretty wimpy when it comes to spiciness but the jalapeño didn’t kick it up enough for me to notice. Definitely recommend this recipe!
Made this a few nights ago. So very good and easy. Thanks for the recipe!
This is my favorite Carne Asada marinade (I have a few recipes). It’s good stuff!!!