Carne Asada Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are carne asada ingredients? ›

Beef

Carne asada / Main ingredient

In Central and South America, we call pretty much any barbecued or grilled meat asado (or carne asada). The BEST cuts for the Mexican version of the dish we all know and love are either skirt steak or flank steak. Personally, I prefer skirt steak (pictured).

By slicing against the grain, you effectively break down the muscle fibers, making the meat more tender and easier to chew. This technique is particularly important for cuts of meat that may otherwise be tough, such as flank steak or skirt steak.

Don't over-marinate.

The carne asada marinade is highly acidic which means you don't want to marinate the steak as long as you would in a marinade without as much citrus. Don't marinate much longer than 12 hours or the muscle fibers can break down and become mushy.

Some of the simplest ways you might see traditional carne asada served is an array of thinly sliced meat with rice and beans on a plate. Simple and delicious, the meat, rice, and beans make the perfect trio. Sometimes, carne asada can enhance other dishes, too.

Use tongs to flip the steak, and sear the other side for 2-4 minutes until browned. Cook to about 130 degrees F. Let rest 5-10 minutes, then slice against the grain and serve.

Sear for 3 to 5 minutes per side (charred on the outside but still pink on the inside, especially with flank steak). If you want to use a meat thermometer: Pull the meat off the grill at 115-120°F for rare, 125°F for medium rare and 140°F for medium.

It'll only take about 10-11 minutes to cook the skirt steak for medium rare. Flip it half way through the cook process so it gets a good char on both sides. To serve the skirt steak, portion it into 3 pieces and slice thin across the grain.

Carne Asada Tacos, on the other hand, are usually served street taco-style, with corn tortillas, sliced beef, diced white onion, chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Skirt steak is the cut of choice for carne asada throughout Southern California and it's my favorite too. But if you can't find it, you can substitute flap, flank, hanger, or top round (London broil). Skirt is the flattest of the cuts, so it doesn't take long to marinate or cook.

What's the difference between fajitas and carne asada? ›

The confusion lies with the fact that fajitas and tacos both have meat inside tortillas with toppings such as salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, cheese, and sour cream. “Fajitas are the actual filling. Traditionally, it was carne asada, a skirt steak. It's cut into strips because it's a tougher cut of meat.

It's simple. If the food you're grilling is ¾ inch thick or less, don't put the lid down. If it's over ¾ inch—you guessed it—cover that sucker up.

Heat on high to sear and then lower the heat to finish cooking. Make sure to use your stove vent, searing the steak this way can smoke up the kitchen! If you want, before adding the steak to the marinade, reserve a couple of tablespoons of the marinade to drizzle over the finished carne asada to serve.

Carne asada is meat that has been marinated and grilled. So, technically if you marinate and grill some ground beef you would have carne asada.

Carne asada, which in English means "grilled meat," is beef. For this Mexican dish, one-inch-thick steaks are marinated in lime juice and seasonings, grilled, and then cut into thin strips.

The vibrant red color is from the achiote used in the recipe.

Carne asada tacos are delicious flank steak, Mexican-inspired street tacos! Just load up your tortilla with juicy steak bites, avocado, onion, cotija cheese, and fresh cilantro. I think we've firmly established (through the numerous recipes on this website) that I'm a lover of Mexican food.