This easy and delicious marinade recipe makes Authentic Carne Asada. The carne asada is grilled to perfection and full of amazing Mexican flavors. This is a quick and easy carne asada recipe!
This carne asada is an easy and versatile dinner recipe. You can make it into carne asada tacos, carne asada fries, or add a few of your favorite veggies on a bed of lettuce and you have a carne asada salad.
The thing I love most about this carne asada recipe is the flavorful marinade and the fire-grilled char on the outside. BOOM!
What is Carne Asada?
The translation of carne asada literally means grilled meat. While that’s a very simple translation.
Carne aside is a thinly sliced, grilled or pan-seared beef served in tacos and burritos, and salads. Almost any cut of beef can be thinly sliced into carne asada but it’s usually cut from the skirt steak or flank steak
Carne asada means so much more than that to me and I’m sure, many of you. When I’m wanting carne asada, I’m looking for tender strips of flavorful beef marinated in my favorite Mexican flavors, grilled to perfection, and served in a fresh taco shell with a burst of flavor in every bite. What’s your favorite way to eat carne asada?
Where do I buy Carne Asada:
You can find carne asada in most grocery stores in the spring, and summer months. It’s one of the most popular meats around Cinco de Mio. If your grocery store doesn’t carry the pre-sliced carne asada, no worries, you can still make this recipe, flank steak or skirt steak work great too!
What kind of meat is carne asada?
Carne asada can be made from several cuts of beef. Almost any cut of beef can be thinly sliced into carne asada but it’s usually cut from the skirt steak or flank steak.
Skirt Steak vs Flank Steak
Skirt steak is a thin, long cut of beef from the diaphragm muscles of the cow. Skirt steak has even more intense beefy flavor than flank steak. It does contain more tough muscles than flank steak, though, so should only be cooked to rare or medium rare for the most tender texture.
Flank steak comes from the flank of the steer below the loin and sirloin. It sits in the abdominal area of the animal near the bottom. It helps the cow to twist and walk, so the muscle works A LOT. It is tough, lean and has long thick muscle fibers.
How to get tender Carne Asada:
Tenderize. It is particularly important to tenderize skirt steak, but you can also tenderize the flank steak. Use a tenderizing mallet or the bottom of a pan. Briefly pound the steaks on one side, turn them over and pound again. This, along with the marinade will help your carne asada be tender, juicy and full of flavor.
Do not overcook.
Grill the steak over a medium-high flame for 7 to 10 minutes until it reaches 130°F for medium-rare, 10 to 12 minutes until it reaches 140°F for medium. (The steak will continue to cook once you’ve removed it from the grill.) Transfer steak to cutting board and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.
If you are using the pre-cut carne asada from the store, be sure to cut the cooking times in half or even a third if the meat is thinly sliced before you cook it. Always use a meat thermometer to ensure you get your meat cooked to the proper temperature, in this case, medium rare.
What to serve with Carne Asada:
You can serve carne asada with or in all kinds of dishes. One of our favorite ways is to serve it with cilantro rice, roasted broccoli or this Cilantro Quinoa recipe.
What’s in Carne Asada Marinade?
This carne asada marinade has all the Mexican flavors you love,
Avocado oil, garlic, cumin, oregano, chili powder, jalapeno, cilantro, and fresh citrus juices. If you like your meat to be a little sweeter, add a few tablespoons of brown sugar and if you want it to be a little more smokey, add some smoked paprika too.
How to make Carne Asada Tacos:
Carne Asada Tacos start with perfectly grilled flank or skirt steak. Once you have that covered, the options are endless. We like to heat a little butter in a pan, warm the corn or flour tortilla, sprinkle a little cheese on the pan and crisp it up. Do that to both sides of your tortilla and you’ve really leveled up your taco game. Add some shredded cheese, sour cream, fresh salsa and a sprig of cilantro and you’ve got yourself the best carne asada tacos in all the land!
Here is another Carne Asada Recipe we love. It’s more spicy and sweet too. You can find it here...
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Flank Steak Skirt Steak, or pre-sliced Carne Asada (plan 1/3 lb of uncooked meat per person)
Carne Asada Marinade
- 2 Tablespoons Avocado Oil or any vegetable oil
- 2 Tablespoons Garlic Minced
- 1/4 cup Orange Juice
- 1 large Lemon Juice juiced
- 1 large Lime Juice juiced
- 2 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 large Jalapeno optional-seeded and minced (because it's cooked, it adds just a little spice)
- 1/2 bunch Cilantro Leaves Chopped, Optional-It adds a lot of flavor but if you don't like cilanto, just omit
Toppings for Carne Asada Tacos
- 12 small Taco Shells Corn Tortilla or small, 6" flour tortillas work great.
- 1/2 cup Shredded Cheese
- 1/3 cup Sour Cream
- 1/2 cup Fresh Salsa
- 1 large Lime cut into small chunks to individually squeeze on the tacos
Instructions
How to Tenderize the Carne Asada
- It is important to tenderize the steak. Use a tenderizing mallet or the bottom of a pan. Briefly pound the steaks on one side, turn them over and pound again. This, along with the marinade will help your carne asada be tender, juicy and full of flavor.
How to Make the Carne Asada Marinade
- Wearing rubber gloves to protect your hands, wash and then slice the jalapeno in half. Use a small spoon to scoop the seeds out. Discard the seeds. Dice the jalapeno into small chunks.
- Wash the cilantro and use a knife to cut into small pieces.
- In a gallon sized Ziplock bag, add the Avocado Oil, Minced garlic, orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, salt, pepper, minced jalapeno, and chopped cilantro leaves.
- Add the beef steak to the marinade. Let the meat marinade for 2-24 hours.
How to Grill Carne Asada
- If you're using the thicker flank or skirt steak, grill the steak over a medium-high flame for 7 to 10 minutes until it reaches 130°F for medium-rare, 10 to 12 minutes until it reaches 140°F for medium. (The steak will continue to cook once you’ve removed it from the grill.)
- If you're using the pre-sliced carne asada, lay the carne asada on the grill and cook on med-high heat for 2-3 min or just until the meat is seared. Use a meat thermometer to ensure you don't overcook the meat.
- Transfer steak to cutting board and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.
- Find the grain of the meat. (It will run one way. You are going to want to cut against the grain. If your grain runs lenght-wise of your meat, cut the meat width-wise)
- Serve this delicious carne asada on a tortilla shell with your favorite taco toppings.
Nutrition
Other Beef Recipes we love:
- Easy Slow Cooker Roast Beef
- Beef and Broccoli Teriyaki
- Sweet and Spicy Carne Asada
- Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos
- Asian Beef Kabobs
- Easy Chili Recipe–30 min
- Chili Lime Steak Bites
- Garlic Butter Steak Bites
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This easy and delicious marinade recipe makes Authentic Carne Asada. The grilled carne asada is perfection and full of amazing Mexican flavors. This beef recipe is quick and easy. Carne Asada recipe all day every day, yo!
[…] If you love quick dinner ideas, be sure to check out my 30 Minute Chili, the Best Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, and also this sweet and spicy Carne Asada. […]