by Judy
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Street tacos are always a favorite of mine. Any variety – fish, chicken, steak, or pork – is fine by me. These Carne Asada Street Tacos are simple to make and never disappoint.
“Carne Asada” is simply steak (usually skirt, flank, or flap) that’s been marinated in a mixture ofjuice, garlic, herbs and spice, then grilled to impart a wonderful charred flavor. Once the meat is cooked, it’s sliced thin and served.
It’s best to grill the steak for these carne asada street tacos on a hot BBQ. If that’s not an option for you, use a cast iron grill pan in the kitchen. One tip for those using a grill pan in the house – drain the meat from the marinade. It’s hard to get a good char on the steak if it’s too wet from the marinade.
Use corn or flour tortillas, whichever you like best. I like to make fresh homemade tortillas They’re easy to make and taste so much better! Typically, carne asada street tacos, or at least the ones I’ve devoured in Baja and SoCal come with just the steak, some cilantro, a little diced onion and lime. However, I believe you should eat your tacos any way you like them. I added a little crumbled Cotija cheese a slice of avocado and some pico de gallo.
- 1 lb flank or skirt steak*
- 12 tortillas (corn or flour)
For the Marinade
- 3 limes, juiced (if your limes aren’t particularly juicy, add another one)
- 1 orange, juiced
- 1/4 C. oil (I used olive oil)
- 5–6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 jalapeño, finely chopped (remove vien and seeds if you don’t want it too spicy)
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. chile powder (I like chipotle chili powder)
- 1/2 tsp. oregano
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- several grinds of fresh black pepper
- 3/4 C. chopped fresh cilantro (about a large handful)
Garnish – choose what you like
- chopped cilantro
- diced white onions (grilled onions would be yummy too!)
- lime wedges
- avocado slices
- pico de gallo
- crumbled Cotija cheese or Queso Fresco
Instructions
- Combine marinade ingredients in small bowl and mix well.
- Put steak and marinade in zip lock bag and let steak marinate for a few hours.
- Remove steak from marinade. Grill steak to desired doneness (preferably medium rare).
- Remove from grill and let steak rest a bit, then slice against grain into thin strips.
- Fill warmed tortillas with some steak, top with additional cilantro, onions and squeeze of lime and any other desired garnish.
Notes
*I bought “carne asada” steak at a local Mexican market. It’s sliced very thin and cooks up quick! You can use flank or skirt steak. Adjust cooking time according to thickness of steak.
I like to grill my tortillas to heat them up on the grill and get those nice grill marks!
For a more non-traditional street taco add other toppings like avocado, cheese or pico de gallo. If you want more spice top with your favorite hot sauce.
