Carne Asada

Carne asada is becoming increasingly popular frequently found in Mexican restaurants. Many people are a little bit confused about it thinking it's a special cut of meat, but really it's just a very thin slice of beef, that is marinated in a citrus marinade and grilled quickly, then served with traditional Mexican sauteed vegetables such as onions and Peppers, salsa guacamole etcetera.

The real question is what slice of meat to choose. Typically , it's either a skirt steak or a flank steak. But these can be tough and not much less expensive than more tender cuts.. To overcome the toughness, the meat is marinated for 6 - 8 hours or overnight, and then often pounded.

Still, I'd recommend simply looking for a more tender cut, link a thinkly sliced rib eye. The flavor comes from the marinade and accompanying vegetables and salsa.

Total time: Cooking 10 - 15 minutes

Marinating: 6 hours

Yield: 10 servings for a 5 lb cut

Easy to make!

Ingredients

• Beef: as much as you need. 3lbs for 4 - 5 servings
  Traditional: Flank or Skirt steak
  Easier: thinly sliced ribeye
• 2 large sweet onions, sliced (1/8 to 1/4 inch thick slices)
• Sweet Peppers, red, yellow and Orange,  sliced (1/8 to 1/4 inch thick slices)

Marinade:

You can make your own marindae (below) or cheat and use Mojo, and add cilantro to it.

• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground paprika
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Condiments / sides

• Salsa
• Guacamole
• Avacado
• Sout cream
• Refried beans
• Rice

Equipment

• Dutch grill OR roasting pan with a lid OR roasting pan and large grill bag
• Cutting board, knife

Directions

Step 1 - Marinate the beef

Put 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large non-stick pot. Heat over medium-high heat, and before the oil starts to smoke or burn, add the beef loin. (Do not remove the string or netting that holds the loin together) .

Sear (brown) the beef on all sides (well you can't really do the ends). This will take about 10 minutes. While it is browning, slice the onions and add them to the pot.

Step 2 - Preheat the grill

Preheat the grill to 400 degrees F.

Step 3 - Get the onions and peppers sauteeing

In a hot fry pan with a little butter or olive oil. Cook until just soft. About 10 - 15 minutes

Step 4 - Grill the steak

At the same time as starting the onions/peppers, put the steak on the grill. You want it medium-rare, so about 5 minutes on each side.

Step 5 - Heat/cook side dishes

Get the beans, rice etc, heating!  Prepare the condiments.

Step 6 - Serve

just arrange it all on a plat!