Carne Asada
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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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reasons to make carne asada
- Easy, simple, flavorful marinade
- Juiciest, most tender flank steak
- Great make-ahead recipe, marinating ahead of time
- Has so many uses, perfect as an entree with rice and salsa or stuffing tacos and burritos
what is carne asada
Carne asada, translated to “grilled meat”, is typically made with skirt steak, flap steak or flank steak, marinated in lime juice and then grilled or seared for that charred flavor. Carne asada can be served as a main dish with rice and beans, and can also be served as a filling for burritos, tacos and quesadillas.
tips and tricks for success
- 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.
- Use freshly squeezed lime juice. While bottled lime juice can work in a pinch, freshly squeezed is ideal here for its vibrant, stronger flavors.
- 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. 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!
freezing and storage
Storage
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Reheating
Reheat 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
Skirt steak, flat iron steak and hanger steak are all great options here.
Patting the steak dry will allow for a better sear and crust. If there is too much moisture (marinade), the meat will steam instead.
No grill, no problem. A cast iron grill pan or a large cast iron skillet will work beautifully here, especially during those winter months when it’s too cold to grill out!
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Carne Asada
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
Equipment
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.
- 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.
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This carne Asada recipe is nothing less than great! Both of my sons complemented how yummy the dish was and it was a such simple recipe to follow. Your recipes are so reliable with minimal failure rate. Thanks so much ChungAh,
I added about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and juice of half a lemon. It was an amazing meal! Definitely making this again.
I made this. It was amazing. So delicious. My boys gobbled it. The rating that matters in my house – it is a “do again”.
Dang this is good. Made it as written.
I used skirt steak and a Weber charcoal grill. Made a hot fire and because the skirt steak is so thin, only grilled for about 3 mins a side – perfect.
Fwiw we wanted leftovers so we got two 1 lb steaks – the marinade amount worked fine for the added meat.
I substituted Adolfo’s meat tenderizer instead of salt, added parsley, and chopped sweet onion. If you want it spicy keep some of the jalapeño seeds.
This recipe is no joke. Absolutely freakin’ delicious. Only had time to marinate in the refrigerator for a couple of hours but it still turned out spectacular on the grill. Will definitely make this again soon.
Holy guacamole, these were DAMN Delicious. This marinade absolutely killed. Used it for the carne and the pollo, served with tortillas, black beans, orange cilantro slaw and all the fixings. Thanks for grilling advice. We regularly have 7 adults and plenty of guests. 6 lbs of meat and barely any leftovers. Can’t wait to make it again!
Orange cilantro slaw??? That sounds amazing! Do you have a recipe for that?
YES!!!
Please share!
How much orange juice do you need
Can I cook this steak in the Instant Pot ?.I don’t have a grill.Thanks.Vesna
Vesna. Carne can be grilled in the oven if you don’t have a grill. Broil like any other, but remember, flank steak and flap steak (which is what my Mexican market sells for Carne Asada. Just remember, any of the very lean meats, like flank steak, should be grilled or roasted much less than steaks with higher fat content. stop broiling sooner rather than later (if you have to, make one slice, if it is TOO rare, then try some more, but once you’ve over broiled…it get tough.
Flank steak if not over coooked is a wonderful steak. And so is carne asada. There’s some in my fridge right now. We grill enough for lunches the rest of the week. 45 seconds in the microwave gives enough heat to make it great again.
I did not have flank steak as labeled on the package bought from a rancher and it was flap steak which I think is kinda of the samething. I also rotated it every couple of minutes while on the same side. Then flipped after 6 minutes. Did the same on the other side. Best thing I have tried. This is a must recipe. Better than any skirt steak.
My two housemates are Central American. Carne is the equivalent of an American hambuger for hosting a get-together. What you want is a very lean beef that you season and quickly grill (or, if you have no other options, oven broil.). Too well done and it gets tough. But seasoning well, and marinating for a sufficient length of time are the keys. Flap steak is the typical meat–carne–sold for carne asada, but many US groceries, esp. other than in the SW or big cities, may not carry flap steak, hence flank steak. So flank steak is fine. So is flap steak. The key is not to over cook, which makes it tough. We have carne in the reefer right now. We do enough on the weekend for the whole week if we grill. I put a piece in the microwave for 45 seconds and it is warmed again and quite reasonable for a midweek lunch or supper. One of my favorite meats. [PS: Carne serves the same place as a hamburger does in the US for having friends over for grilling. Come on over, and I’ll put a piece of carne on the grill, “Carne con cerveza” beef and beer. Means carne asada and beer or other soft drinks
Delicious. My opinion, but I re-use steak marinade all this time and drizzle once cooked. If you buy quality meat you do not have to worry as many eat rare steak which is basically raw. Would not recommend this for pork or chicken.
Yikes
Rare steak is not basically raw. It’s cooked to an internal temperature of between 130-140 degrees Fahrenheit but the outside surface is in direct contact with high enough heat to kill any bacteria that may be present. We can eat steak (a whole muscle cut) while still ‘pink’ in the middle, because most of the meat fibers are dense and as such, bacteria and viruses cannot penetrate too far into the tissue, and instead sit mostly on the surface. This is how these organisms can come into contact with the liquids and rubs in your marinades.
(Ground meat of any kind is an absolute ‘No’ as the process in which it’s ground mixes the meat and can lead to the bacteria tainting the entire batch from a single source of infected meat, which is another reason why you should only order/cook your burgers to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.)
If you are serving this used marinade to guests, it would be advisable to let them know you are reusing marinade that was in direct contact with raw meat (or omit serving it to them entirely) because some people are immunocompromised and and can suffer life threatening symptoms if exposed to illnesses such as E Coli, Salmonella, and Listeria which can all be found on beef products if mishandled.
(There is no definitive way for you to know if your store bought meat has been mishandled, whether it be by the slaughter house, the packagers, the transporters, the butchers, or the store you purchased it from.)
I get it, sometimes you make a marinade and it contains expensive ingredients or is just absolutely delicious and you don’t want to throw it out. If you must reuse your marinade after it has made contact with raw meat, it is advised to boil it first to ensure it’s safety. You can find more information about how to safely reuse marinades here:
https://tinyurl.com/USDABeefSafetyGuidelines
You can find this information under the marinating tab closer to the end of the index.
This was absolutely delicious (and is better than my old recipe), though I forgot to reserve some of the marinade for serving. I considered cooking the marinade after the meat came out, so we could serve it, but figured it would ruin the cilantro. Oh, well. I’ll remember next time!
I used this for a carne asada salad and it came out RIDICULOUSL!! So amazing that my husband and MIL who hate cilantro, LOVED it! Made the marinade as written and grilled it up to put on top my salad.
I used red butter lettuce, sliced red onions, sliced cherry tomatoes, grilled corn, black beans. Topped it off with a cilantro, lime, avocado dressing and cojita cheese…
The picture of this is beautiful and very appetizing but the recipe calls for draining the marinade and drying the beef before cooking. Did you boil the marinade then pour it over the beef?
set aside 1/2 cup of the mixture in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Hi there-
Any suggestions on what I can use if I do not have a grill?
You can broil it on high in your oven. You can also use a cast iron pan stove top. Either way, just try to get the steak as dry as possible before cooking.
Love it!
Outstanding! Very flavorful!!
Very juicy with medium rare steak.
I’m salivating. That does look damn delicious! Can’t wait to try this version.
This was a big hit. Before marinating overnight, I pounded the flank steak out flat with a tenderizing hammer and the end result, cooked on the grill, was very tender and juicy, much more so than I expected flank steak to be I left the cilantro out of the marinade because not everyone likes it and I was unsure about the group I was serving it to, and served chopped cilantro on the side instead. I didn’t have low sodium soy sauce so I used regular instead and just didn’t add any additional salt, and the amount of saltiness was perfect.
In the past when making carne asada I’ve just usually winged it with soy sauce, lime juice, chili peppers, and whatever cut of beef happened to be on sale, but this recipe helped me step up my game considerably. Definitely a keeper.
I made this as a sliced steak last night in cast iron skillet on stove. I liked it. Found the meat a little tough still even though marinated 10 hours and cooked very high heat. Marinade /sauce was flavorful but oily. Parts were cooked to med well (edges), inside was barely med rare. So…not sure yet.
Diane…flank steak and flap steak are both very lean cuts of beef, and if you overcook, they get quite tough. So, if you notice on the picture, it is still pink in the middle. Flap steak should be the same. I would perhaps not cook on very high heat. my housemate, who is Salvadoran, and does most of the grilling here. His recommendation is to cook on medium-medium high, no higher.
I made this and it was fabulous the next day! The second day with the second day of sitting go with the second day of meat. You will not be disappointed!!!