Carne Asada Street Tacos

Street tacos are always a favorite of mine.  Any variety – fish, chicken, steak, or pork – is fine by me.  These Carne Asada Street Tacos are simple to make and never disappoint.

“Carne Asada” is simply steak (usually skirt, flank, or flap) that’s been marinated in a mixture of juice, garlic, herbs and spice, then grilled to impart a wonderful charred flavor.  Once the meat is cooked, it’s sliced thin and served.

Since I’m still apartment dwelling for the next several months with no outside bar-b-que, I made the steak for these carne asada street tacos on a grill pan, in the kitchen, on an electric stove (ugh!).  If that’s your only option then that’s what you have to do, but it’s not the best choice.  If you have a bar-b-que,  I recommend cooking the steak on the grill.  It’s just so much better that way.  One tip for those using a grill pan in the house – drain the meat from the marinade.  It’s hard to get a good char on the steak if it’s too wet from the marinade.

I bought freshly made corn tortillas from the Mexican market where I got my carne asada steak. I prefer fresh homemade tortillas and they’re easy to make and taste so much better!  Typically, carne asada street tacos, or at least the ones I’ve devoured in Baja and SoCal come with just the steak, some cilantro, a little diced onion and lime.  However, I believe you should eat your tacos any way you like them and we, Americans, like to add stuff to our food.  I added a little crumbled Cotija cheese and a slice of avocado.  If you want them a little spicier, add some hot sauce or pico de gallo.

One last thing. Unless you’re one of those people who like their steak cooked well and can’t eat it any other way, you really should cook the steak no more than medium rare.  It’s juicier that way and since you’re not putting any additional sauce on these Carne Asada Street Tacos, you’ll want them juicy.  I’m still getting use to cooking on an electric stove and cooked some of these too long for my liking. They were still awesome and the marinade is delicious!  I hope you’ll give them a try.

Carne Asada Street Tacos

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 lb flank or skirt steak*
• 12 corn tortillas

For the Marinade

• 3 limes, juiced (if your limes aren’t particularly juicy, add another one)
• 1 orange, juiced
• 1/4 C. oil (I used olive oil)
• 5–6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 jalapeño, finely chopped (remove vien and seeds if you don’t want it too spicy)
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. chile powder (I like chipotle chili powder)
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• several grinds of fresh black pepper
• 3/4 C. chopped fresh cilantro (about a large handful)

Garnish – choose what you like

• chopped cilantro
• diced white onions (grilled onions would be yummy too!)
• lime wedges
• avocado slices
• pico de gallo
• crumbled Cotija cheese or Queso Fresco

Instructions

1. Combine marinade ingredients in small bowl and mix well.
2. Put steak and marinade in zip lock bag and let steak marinate for a few hours.
3. Remove steak from marinade. Grill steak to desired doneness (preferably medium rare).
4. Remove from grill and let steak rest a bit, then slice against grain into thin strips.
5. Fill warmed corn tortillas (use two per taco) with some steak, top with additional cilantro, onions and squeeze of lime.

Notes

*I bought “carne asada” steak at a local Mexican market. It’s sliced very thin and cooks up quick! You can use flank or skirt steak. Adjust cooking time according to thickness of steak.

For a more non-traditional street taco add other toppings like avocado, cheese or pico de gallo. If you want more spice top with your favorite hot sauce.

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