Carne Asada
by Chungah
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Juicy, tender authentic carne asada! Made with the most flavorful easy marinade, marinating overnight. Cooks so fast on the grill or stovetop!
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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 to 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 high heat (about 450°F) 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) and 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, guacamole and warmed tortillas.
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 to 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 in a cast iron grill pan or a large cast iron skillet (especially during those winter months when it’s too cold to grill out).
The meat may not have been marinated long enough, it could have been overcooked (going past medium – an internal temperature over 140°F) or it was sliced incorrectly with the grain. Let the meat rest for at least 5 minutes, and always slice against the grain, perpendicular to the fibers.
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 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 3-6 minutes per side, reaching an internal temperature of 125-130°F for medium-rare. Let rest 5 minutes.
- Thinly slice steak against the grain and serve with reserved 1/2 cup cilantro mixture.
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 orange and lime juice is best. While bottled orange and 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).
- Scorching hot and fast is the way to go. Carne asada should cook hot and fast. Preheat the grill to high heat, about 450°F, searing 3-5 minutes until charred and crusted, reaching an internal temperature of 125-130°F for medium-rare. Anything past medium (140°F) will be dry.
- 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.
- Dice for tacos. Once sliced against the grain, cut the steak crosswise into smaller cubes for tacos (or burritos!).
- 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?
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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!!!
It’s marinating in the fridge right now! I could drink this marinade it’s that good! Can’t wait until the steak is cooked!
Made it last night exactly as directed and it brought tears to my eyes…it’s THAT GOOD. I would eat an old shoe if it was marinated in this. Thanks for a great recipe.
Great recipe, but really LOVED the old recipe too. Any chance the old recipe is posted somewhere for use?
I used VERY THICK Chuck Eye Steaks, marinated and seared on grill for a couple minute, then cut into 1/4 inch cubes added more of the marinate and cooked on high heat in a frying pan. Used as Taco meat. Came out perfect and gave a grilled flavor to it. Chuck Eye Steak is a cheaper version of Rib Eye and has a good fat content which adds a lot more flavor than flank steak.
Thank you so much! This was perfection!
You are so talented! I love seeing your site in my email – I know that something delicious is waiting for me. You are my go-to for Damn Delcious meals/ideas/ mouth watering pictures and just pure gastronomic pleasure. Don’t go away – you have a faithful following.
SERIOUSLY the best. SO easy and we put the steak and sauce on street taco size tortillas with a little red onion and OH MY GOSH we were in heaven. This marinade was NOT too spicy whatsoever (though it might be with the jalepeno.) Damn Delicious is my favorite food blog!
This looks wonderful. T-bone steaks were in sale for $4.99/lb, much cheaper than their flank steak. I think I will try them with this instead of freezing them for later.
Love, love this recipe! Girl, you are the bomb!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!❤❤❤