Looking for really good Carne Asada recipe

IndyGal,

 

There is another thread out there on carne asada, but I remember posting in it regarding cooking technique, and I don't remember if there is an actual recipe there.  At any rate, it is one of my favorite things to prepare on the grill, whether to serve with rice, tortillas, or grilled veggies.  The lime/orange flavor you picked up on could have been sour orange, which I know some recipes call for.  If you really liked that flavor you can usually find sour oranges at your local latin market - cuban style mojo marinade is another recipe where sour oranges really add that extra zing. 

 

But I digress, especially because my carne asada recipe doesn't use sour oranges!

 

You can use flank or skirt, but I prefer skirt.  I don't like slicing it ahead of time for two reasons - first, it increases the surface area for the marinade to penetrate which can be a good thing, but with such a strong flavored marinade, it could overwhelm the actual beef flavor.  Second, I really like the char and additional flavor imparted by grilling the meat, which you can't really do once it's sliced.  I will suggest trimming/cleaning the skirt pretty thoroughly before putting it in the marinade.  This is what I was recommended in the other thread on carne asada and it worked like a charm.  It allows you to cook it super hot super fast to a nice medium rare and not have a lot of un rendered fat getting in your way.

 

Now for the marinade.  There are probably endless variations out there but after a good bit of tweaking and delicious experimentation, this is mine:

 

1/3 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 limes juiced

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garlic pdr

1 tsp onion pdr

1 tsp chili pdr

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

1/2 cup beer

2 jalapenos sliced

3 cloves garlic sliced

 

That's it - put your trimmed skirt in the marinade for as long as your patiene will allow - I like a good 4-6 hours usually.  Before grilling, make sure to wipe the steak clean of any bits of garlic or jalapeno as those will burn on a hot grill - not tasty in my opinion. 

 

Hope you like it!  Let us know how it turns out and if you come across any delicious modifications to this recipe, let me know cause I'd love to give it a try!

http://www.cheftalk.com/t/46070/carne-asada

All carne asada u find in the carnicerias is either ranchera (skirt steak) or dios mio ( chuckeye roll). Most Ppl like to use ranchera for grilling but I have used dios mio on the grill before and it works just fine. Keep in mind ranchera will cook to medium in seconds and dios mio will take a bit longer to render down the fat. Mostly taquerias just put salt on their asada but a good simple marinade is a hoppy beer ( like an IPA) and fresh lemon juice, let it sit for 2-4 hours then salt the meat and grill. The beer and lemon not only put a great flavor but also tenderize the meat.

Threads like this are the reason I came here, thank you all.

 indygal,

 i do pickled red onions 2 ways...the fast and dirty way with vinegar, salt, and sugar which takes about 1/2 hour from start to finish or the other, dare i say more 'authentic' mexican way with the addition of garlic, oregano, cumin, bay leaf and black pepper which takes not that much longer.......i like both ways

the fast and dirty way you ask? put halved sliced red onions in a bowl...cover with very hot water and vinegar(cider), then stir in sugar and salt and stir to dissolve...let sit 30 minutes, then drain....done

the more authentic method is to boil the water with the sliced onions, garlic and salt for a minute...drain,put onions in a bowl and add seasonings, vinegar and cover with water.  when they turn bright bright almost neon pink you're good to go(an hour or 2).....drain

do you need specific measurements? will send along if you do, but if you saw it on rick bayless's show, just google him.... isn't he just the best? what fun, fun, fun fun food mexican cuisine is...no wonder those people are always smiling!!!   hope you're good...hope this helps

joey

chicago terry's rick bayless recipe is pretty much the one i use...do you have that book indygal? old but good...also i really really like his 'mexican everyday'

Edited by durangojo - 9/8/12 at 11:06am

I have an early, now out of print Rick Bayless cookbook with a pickled onion recipe in it. 

 

It's very easy and wonderful on fish tacos. I always double it as written here.

 

 

1  small red onion, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick

1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds (I always roast mine first)

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican)

2  garlic cloves, peeled and halved

1/4  teaspoon salt

1/3  cup cider vinegar

 

 

1. Blanch the onion slices in boiling salted water for 45 seconds then drain and place in a medium sized bowl.

 

2.  Coursely grind the peppercorns and cumin seeds in a mortar or spice grinder and add to the onions. Add the remaining ingredients plus enough water to barely cover. Stir well and let stand for several hours until the onions turn bright pink.

 

Covered and refrigerated the onions will last several weeks.

 

 

From: Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen