Carne Asada
by Chungah
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Cilantro, olive oil, soy sauce, orange + lime juice, garlic, jalapeno and cumin make for the easiest and most flavorful marinade. SO SO GOOD.
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Why you’ll love this carne asada recipe
- Easy, simple, flavorful marinade. A simple marinade of cilantro, olive oil, soy sauce, orange juice, lime juice, garlic, jalapeño and cumin will tenderize the meat and lock in moisture, infusing it with so much bright citrus-y, zesty flavors to yield the juiciest, most tender flank steak.
- Make-ahead friendly. Marinate the steak ahead of time, preferably overnight, for the easiest, most effortless prep. It will come in so handy for quick, weeknight meals or entertaining weekend company, ideal for all occasions.
- Quick-cooking. This recipe is perfect for a quick, fast sear on a hot grill or cast iron grill pan to get that favorited charred crust, cooking in just minutes!
- Versatile recipe. Carne asada has so many uses – as an entree with rice, salsa and guacamole or stuffing tacos, burritos, quesadillas or even everyone’s favorite nachos.
What is carne asada?
Carne asada, translated to “grilled meat” in Spanish, is thinly sliced steak marinated in citrus juices and then grilled or seared for that smoky, charred flavor.
What cut of meat is used for carne asada?
Carne asada is typically made with flank steak, skirt steak or flap steak, all absorbing marinades exceptionally well.
- Flap steak: a slightly thicker cut with loose, open-grained texture (less stringy), and has more marbling (fat) than skirt and flank steak
- Flank steak: wider and flatter cut of meat that is leaner than skirt steak, and much more accessible in grocery stores
- Skirt steak: has a higher fat content than flank steak, and crisps up incredibly well on a hot grill for those charred edges
key ingredients in carne asada
Carne asada gets its signature flavor from a bright acidic (citrus-heavy) marinade – this helps tenderize the meat, gently breaking down the tough muscle fibers to yield juicy steak.
- Meat: flank, skirt or flap steak
- Citrus and acid: fresh orange and lime juice, and soy sauce (the secret ingredient for deep umami)
- Oil: olive oil (to coat the meat to prevent sticking and to encourage the perfect, smoky char)
- Aromatics: cilantro and garlic
- Spices: cumin, salt and pepper
- Heat: jalapeño (optional)
How to make carne asada
- Prep the marinade. Combine the cilantro, olive oil, soy sauce, orange and lime juice, garlic, jalapeño, cumin and pepper. Save 1/2 cup of the marinade in the fridge for later.
- Marinate. Marinate the steak for at least 4 hours to overnight, not exceeding 8 hours or the meat will turn mushy.
- Prep the grill. Preheat the grill to medium high heat and scrape the grill grates clean to prevent sticking and to guarantee those perfect sear marks on the steak.
- Prep the steak. Discard the marinade and pat the steak dry using paper towels – this is key for that crust!
- Cook the steak. Add the steak to a hot grill (or cast iron grill pan) to sear the meat quickly, reaching an internal temperature of 125-130°F for medium-rare.
- Let it rest. Let the steak rest for at least 5 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute.
- Slice. Thinly slice the steak against the grain, perpendicular to the direction of the muscle fibers to keep the meat tender.
- Serve. Serve warm with the saved marinade alongside rice, beans, corn salsa and guacamole.
MAKE-ahead, STORING AND FREEZING carne asada
Make-ahead
The marinade can be made 1 day in advance, or the steak can be marinated up to 8 hours.
Leftovers and reheating
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, reheating in the oven at 250°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through.
Freeze before cooking
Transfer the marinated meat to an airtight, resealable freezer bag. Label, date and freeze up to 3 months. To cook, thaw overnight in the fridge and cook as directed, adding a few more minutes of cook time as needed.
Freeze after cooking
Let cool completely. Transfer the meat to an airtight, resealable freezer bag. Label, date and freeze up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, reheating in the oven at 250°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through.
what to serve with carne asada
Tools For This Recipe
Cast iron grill pan or large cast iron skillet
Carne Asada: Frequently Asked Questions
Flank steak, skirt steak or flap steak are all solid options here.
Because this is a citrus-heavy marinade, marinate 4-8 hours, preferably 8 hours. Marinating longer than 8 hours will lead to mushy steak.
Patting the steak dry will allow for a better sear and crust. If there is too much moisture (marinade) left on the steak, the meat will steam instead.
Carne asada can be grilled over high heat or on the stovetop on a cast iron grill pan or a large cast iron skillet (especially during those winter months when it’s too cold to grill out).
Carne asada can be served as a platter with tortillas, rice, beans, and various toppings, or diced into bite-sized pieces for tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, salads, quesadillas or nachos.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Carne Asada
Video
Ingredients
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ pounds flank steak
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine cilantro, olive oil, soy sauce, orange juice, lime juice, garlic, jalapeno, cumin and 1 teaspoon pepper; set aside 1/2 cup of the mixture in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- In a gallon size Ziploc bag or large bowl, combine steak and remaining cilantro mixture; marinate for at least 4 hours to overnight, turning the bag occasionally. Drain the steak from the marinade.
- Preheat grill to medium high heat. Using paper towels, pat both sides of the steak dry; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Add steak to grill, and cook, flipping once, until desired doneness, about 6 minutes per side for medium rare. Let rest 5 minutes.
- Thinly slice steak against the grain and serve with reserved 1/2 cup cilantro mixture.
Equipment
Notes
- Use a hot cast iron grill pan. When opting to cook indoors, a heavy bottom pan, such as a cast iron grill pan or large cast iron skillet, retains heat much better than a nonstick skillet, allowing for even cooking, a better sear and smoky, caramelized flavors.
- Use reduced sodium soy sauce. Reduced sodium has less sodium and less salt without compromising flavor. The soy sauce will also add flavor, saltiness and umami to the marinade.
- Freshly squeezed lime juice is best. While bottled lime juice can work in a pinch, freshly squeezed is ideal here for its vibrant, stronger flavors.
- Avoid marinating for too long. The high acid content from the orange and lime juices can break down the muscle fibers if marinated for too long, making the meat mushy. Marinate the steak 4 hours to overnight, ideally overnight (about 8 hours).
- Let your meat rest. Let your meat rest for at least 5 minutes prior to serving, allowing the juices to redistribute – this will allow for maximum flavor and juiciness.
- Slice against the grain. Always slice perpendicular to the direction of the muscle fibers – this will shorten muscle fibers, leaving you with more tender (less chewy) pieces of meat.
- Double the sauce. Need extra sauce for tacos or burrito bowls? The sauce portion can easily be doubled or tripled for those saucy folks!
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
I plan on making this tomorrow after the steak marinates overnight. I’m skeptical that it will taste like the Carne Asada I had in Austin Texas when I lived there in the 80s. There was an old Mexican man that had a stand next to where I worked. He had a line of people there all day getting his homemade carne asada and he opened at 6am. Great memories of great food that I’m hoping this recipe tastes like!! The sauce will be the key!!
Using the marinade with the raw meat juice in it is a no no . Can be used if cooked, however.
I’ve been to the grocery store and bought the ingredients. I’ll marinate it overnight and have it for supper tomorrow night. I’m reminded of another wonderful flank steak recipe. With this other recipe you score the steak on both sides before marinating it. Not too deep, mind you. I thought this might be helpful. I’ll post a review, most likely Thursday.
I made this tonight for Cinco de Mayo. I was very skeptical of the good reviews. Surely it couldn’t be THAT great. I’ve been burned by recipes with 5 star reviews before. Holy cow it was really that good!!!! The juiciest steak I have ever had. We live in a major metropolitan area and frequently go out for Mexican. This carne asada was as good or better than any I’ve had in a Mexican restaurant. I followed the recipe exactly as written and grilled it over charcoal. Perfection. The only negative was that there was none left for leftovers tomorrow. We ate every last bit in under 10 minutes. My 8 year old daughter who eats like a bird had three large helpings. Trust me, you want to make this!
Simply the best! The flavors work. We grilled in our Ninja Foodi and used in tacos. Only regret was not slicing the meat small enough. Great recipe. Thanks for sharing! We marinated for 24 hrs.
Love this! I made this last night for my house and everyone loved it! I was in somewhat of a time crunch and used the cooked steak we had the night before, orange extract, and was able to let it sit for about 15 min but it still turned out wonderful. I’m definitely going to make this again along with your other recipes (pan sheet tacos tomorrow!!!).
Everyone loved this made tacos followed recipe exactly and it’s incredible !!! Will definitely made again. Now bookmarked for future. Damn delicious never disappoints. Thanks for the yummy recipes
My family loves this recipe and we have it a couple times a month minimum. It always comes out perfect, even if I don’t have orange juice or cilantro, I just make it without and still comes out amazing. We’ve made it for both of our families and everyone always asks for the recipe! Super easy and so delicious, won’t be looking for another carne asada recipe ever again.
I made this on a cold and snowy Valentines night in Vancouver. It was delicious. So fresh and tasty, but tender and flavorful.
It made Spring seem closer. Something about it really raised my spirits.
Thank you for making my day in the midst of this difficult lockdown!
Way too salty for my taste. I will try again but a lot less soy sauce. Even for low sodium it was still too salty. I did not salt the meat either.
Same here – I think I will need to use half the soy sauce since I prefer it not to heavy on the seasoning. Nevertheless a great recipe!
I made this for dinner this week, and it brought such a bright, fresh, summery flavor to a cold winter night! I also doubled the recipe and popped a second cut of beef with the marinade into the freezer. We can’t wait to have it again soon — delicious!!
This was delicious and very easy to make. Thank you!
First time making it myself. My butcher only had skirt steak, so I used that instead. It was easy and super delic! Thank you so much!
I followed the recipe pretty much to a T. I used a neutral vegetable oil so the olive oil would not interfere with the other flavors. Used 2 whole Serrano’s with seeds (didn’t have a Jalapeno) and full strength soy sauce. All other ingredients were to the recipe. Salt & pepper was 1/2 teaspoon each. Pulsed everything in the food processor to a nice consistency. Marinated 2 1/2 pounds of carne asada flap meet from 6pm Saturday night to noon Sunday in a Ziploc bag. Cooked over charcoal on the Weber for about 6 to 8 minutes over very hot coals. Tasted a thicker piece after resting the meat for about half an hour. Perfectly cooked, very juicy and had an excellent flavor. Will definitely use this recipe in the future.
Absolutely loved this. I made one with flank steak and one with freshly harvested snow goose. Shocking…but my guests completely ravished the snow goose. It was incredible
I made this last week for myself and my Grandchildren and it was a Huge Success!! The flavor was FABULOUS and for a change, BOTH of my Grandkids LOVED it! So much so thst we’re having it again toNIGHT! Brought back by Popular Demand!
And we’ll make it again and again for guests, I’m sure.
Turned out great. I love this marinade. I’ve done it twice now. I did it the other night and forgot I didn’t have an orange. I did half a grapefruit with a bit of honey (as oranges tend to be more sweet). It was equally fantastic.
This was so good. I didn’t have a fresh jalapeno so I reconstituted a dried chipotle to put in. I also cooked some rice up and fried it with some of the marinade, which was really good too. The marinade makes the steak so tender. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I have made a version of this for a few years that I absolutely love for chicken or beef. The only difference is my recipe calls for a teaspoon of canned chipotle in adobo sauce. It is a delicious add in! This is such an addictive marinade. Thanks for posting!
Keep up the great work
I made this with elk steaks- Marinated for 8 hours. It was so delicious! My husband said it was the best carne asada he’s ever had and my 7 year old loved it. Thank you for another great recipe!!