Carne Asada Tacos

Flank steak! When done right it’s such a great, cheap cut of meat. When done wrong it’s tough in your mouth and you have to chew, chew, chew just to enjoy it.

When we were at the beach we (and by we I mean me) really wanted to grill up some asada for tacos and a steak ‘n egg breakfast at some point. My thought was, when you’re at the beach you want to keep your cooking simple. What’s more simple than letting a piece of meat sit in delicious juices for hours on end and  then cooking it for a grand total of 8 minutes?!

Nothing, I say! Nothing!

This recipe is a mash up of Mark Bittman’s and Guy Fieri’s asada marinades. Most asada marinades are comprised of the same elements but these two each brought something special to the table. Like tequila.

A couple notes: these recipes will tell you they can marinate for as little as two hours. It’s not that two hours isn’t going to do the job…it will…it just won’t do it as well as, say, overnight. So let the flank steak hang out in the fridge while you sleep.

Second…DONT FORGET to cut the steak against the grain!! So many people cut the steak with the grain and that’s just a cardinal cooking sin. Flank (and skirt) steak are so tough, everything you do in the preparation down to the slicing is to break down those tough fibers. The acid in the marinade helps with this, slicing against the grain helps more!

I hope you enjoy the asada as much as we did. Especially when done on a charcoal grill, the smokey, charred flavors make this meal.

Enjoy!

Carne Asada Marinade

Adapted from Mark Bittman and Guy Fieri

4tbs rough chopped garlic

1/2c lime juice

1/2c lemon juice

1/2c tequila

1/4c soy sauce

1 handful rough chopped cilantro

1tsp ground cumin

1tsp sugar

1tsp salt

1tbsp pepper

1.5-2lb flank steak

Combine all the seasonings and juices and meat in a gallon plastic bag or a shallow dish. Marinate the steak for 2 hours…or overnight. Ideally, I’d say you want overnight. This gives the citrus juice plenty of time to tenderize the meat. You’ll want to let this sit on the counter at room temperature another half hour or so before slappin’ it on the grill.

Grill or broil 3-4 minutes on each side or until browned/charred or until done! Let rest on a plate or cutting board for a few minutes, lightly covered with tin foil.

Slice against the grain of the meat. This is important since this cut of meat can be tough, you want to break the fibers up into smaller manageable lengths….like cutting pasta (which is a sin…don’t you ever cut pasta). Use as sharp a knife as possible…this will make things much easier.