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Tacos Carne Asada

When I grew up, what we called tacos was an American bastardization of the real thing. Fried shells, ground beef dripping with fat and “taco seasoning”, tortillas fried in oil, and the whole thing covered with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, “taco sauce”, chopped onion AND sour cream. Given my point of reference (completely ignorant) I was satisfied.

 Today the American standard has improved dramatically, but with few exceptions outside of Mexico, parts of San Diego and some excellent street carts, authentic Tacos Carne Asada can be hard to find.

 You can do far better yourself. The recipe here, similar to the recipe resulting from Jeffrey Steingarten’s extensive research, could change your whole outlook. Simple ingredients, simple preparation, killer taste. Prepare yourself.

 Ingredients

  • 2 lbs skirt steak (cheap and full of flavor)
  • ½ cup orange juice
  • 2 teaspoons cayenne
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper (medium grind if you have it)
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, diced or crushed
  • 1 diced yellow or Spanish onion (optional)
  • Your favorite salsa
  • Corn or flour tortillas

             Procedure

Mix orange juice, cayenne, pepper, oil, and garlic.  Marinate the skirt steak using a plastic bag or other convenient container.  3 hours will do but overnight works well. When you are ready to grill, take the meat/marinade out of the fridge (we want it at room temperature, more on that in another post). Light your grill (real hardwood charcoal is best, gas will do).  The trick is you want things really hot.  Skirt steak is thin and we are looking for a good crust (not char) on the surface.  Take the meat out of marinade and discard. Make sure you have some nice long tongs because when you first place the meat on the grill, all that oil is going to cause serious flare up.  That’s ok.  Turn every minute or so to prevent burning.  When it is done to your liking (just a few minutes), remove from the grill and set aside to set (cut too soon any steak loses its juice).

 Using your tongs, place two or three tortillas on the grill.  Turn after a few seconds, until they are warm and soft to your liking and have a hint of the flavor of the grill. You can heat them in a pan and waste the perfectly good fire and flavor if you want. NOTE: Tortillas are attracted to the slots in the grill surface like bread to a toaster. Get a grip.

If the tortillas get dry and crack when folded you’ve gone just too far.  You want the state just before this - tortillas are cheap so experiment to get the timing and the touch.

 Cut the skirt steak across the grain, about ¼ inch slices (a bread knife works surprising well for this cut of beef).  Place a few strips on your favorite tortilla, top with some onion and salsa. Roll or fold and enjoy!

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April 16th, 2009 | Category: Mexico, Recipes |

21 comments to Tacos Carne Asada

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