Carne Asada
Enough for about 8 over-loaded tacos, or 16 normal tacos!
Ingredients:
- 2 2 lb. flank steaks
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 tsps cayenne pepper
- 2 tsps ground black pepper
- 1 cup olive oil
Preparing the Flank Steak
Place the flank steak flat on a cutting board. Place one hand FLAT on the top surface of the meat. With your other hand, hold a long, sharp knife with its blade parallel to the counter, and very carefully slice the flank steak into 2 thin sheets of meat.
This works best when the meat has just come out of the refrigerator. If it’s too warm it will be more difficult to slice. If needed, place the meat in the freezer for about twenty minutes and then slice it. Set aside for half an hour or so to let it come to room temperature.
Preparing the Marinade
Prepare the marinade by mixing together the orange juice, cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, and olive oil. Combine by whisking with a whisk. Thirty minutes before grilling the meat, tenderize the flank steak by using a needle tenderizer like a Jacard, then immerse both pieces in the marinade.
The Grilling Technique
Equipment:
- Cast Iron Hibachi Grill (Amazon – Marsh Allen 30052 Cast Iron Hibachi 10 by 18-Inch Charcoal Grill)
You can use other grills, but make sure they can handle burning wood and high temps. The goal here is to get crazy hot temps extremely close to the meat to get a crisp exterior on the meat with a medium rare juicy inside. The hardwood lump charcoal and wood chunks impart the very high heat and add very important flavors to the meat. Your carne asada will not taste the same if you try to cook it on a gas grill or use charcoal briquettes. With the Hibachi you can get the grilling surface to within an inch of the hot coals. You can even set the grates right on top of the coals for maximum heat.
The blazing hot Hibachi grill.
- Hardwood Lump Charcoal (Home Depot 8lb bag $4.97)
- Hickory wood chunks and chips
- Charcoal starter chimney
- Covered Chef’s pan or other container than can keep the cooked meat warm. I put my Food Network Covered Chef’s Pan in my gas grill, heated it up to about 300º F then turned the grill off and closed the lid to retain the residual heat.
- Heavy, heat resistant glove to handle the starter chimney and the hot chef’s pan.
- Long metal tongs to turn the meat. Silicone tongs may not stand up to the very high heat.
NOTE: Do Not Use Charcoal Lighter Fluid To Start Your Charcoal! It will make the meat taste bad!
Preparing the Grill
Open the bottom vents on the charcoal grill wide open. Drizzle a little olive oil on some crumpled up black & white newspaper. Put it in the bottom end of the starter chimney. Set the chimney on the fire grate of the grill and fill it about 3/4 full with the lump charcoal. Put a few chunks of the hickory on top of the charcoal. Light the newspaper and sit back and wait. When the charcoal is ready you should see a steady column of heat coming out the top of the chimney and maybe a little smoke from the hardwood chunks. If you peer carefully down inside you should see white ash on the charcoal and some very hot flames roaring up through the lumps of charcoal. Very carefully pour the wood chunks and hot coals onto the fire grate and spread evenly. Put your cooking grates as close to the coals as possible and let them get wicked hot.
Grilling the Flank Steak
Remove one flank steak from the marinade and let the marinade drain off. Place the steak in the center of the highest heat. Cook for no more than three minutes so that the meat is well browned, crisp and maybe even charred in places, flip and cook for a couple minutes more until the bottom side matches the top. If your grill is hot enough, you may find that two minutes per side is enough. When ready, put the steak in your pan or pot, add two pats (2 tbsps) of butter and sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt or kosher salt. Repeat for the second piece. Discard leftover marinade.
Serving the Flank Steak
After the meat has rested about ten minutes, use a very sharp knife and slice each piece into 1/4 inch or thinner strips across the grain. Then chop the strips into small chunks with a maximum dimension of 1/4 inch. Some juices will have collected in the pan. Put the chopped meat back in the juices and toss to coat the meat in the juices. Put the lid back on until ready to serve.
Serve on warm corn or flour tortillas. Place a generous amount of chopped grilled beef on the tortilla, put 1 tbsp. of Salsa Ranchera, 1 teaspoon of Salsa Roja, and 2 teaspoons of Guacamole. Sprinkle it with salt and generous squeezes of lime, and wrap it for eating.
Quacamole
- 1 1/4 lbs. Haas avocados
- 1/2 small (2-inch diameter) white onion, cut into chunks
- 5 sprigs cilantro
- 3 tbsps. fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup water
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Peel, pit, and mash the avocados in a large bowl. Finely mince the onion & cilantro, add to avocados. Add lime juice and stir the guacamole thoroughly. Add water a bit at a time to create a soft, spreadable paste.
Yield: about 2 cups.
Salsa Ranchera
- 1/2 lb. white onions, peeled
- 1/2 lb. ripe, red tomatoes, unpeeled but halved
- 6 sprigs cilantro
- 2 tbsps. fresh lime juice
- 1/4 tsp. freshly grated lime zest
- 1 tsp. salt
Dice the onions and tomatoes into roughly1/4 inch cubes. You should wind up with about a cup of each. Chop the cilantro leaves into fine pieces. In a bowl, combine the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, salt, lime juice and zest.
Yield: about 2 cups.
Salsa Roja
- 1/4 cup dried chiles de árbol
- 1 small tomato (2 1/2-inch diameter), trimmed and halved
- 1/4 tsp. salt
Snap off the stems or tail ends of the chiles, remove as many seeds as possible and toast them in a dry, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until they are dark but not black. (If any remaining seeds fall out of the chiles as you toast them, just discard them. Those that remain in the toasted chiles are included in the sauce.)
NOTE: The vapors from this toasting process can be pretty potent! Make sure you have good ventilation.
Cut 1 small (2 1/2-inch) tomato in half, place in a small saucepan, cover with water, bring to a boil, and cook until it gives off an orange foam.
Put the toasted chiles in a blender, just cover with tomato cooking water, add the tomato halves and the salt, and puree until the only solids remaining in the sauce are the chile seeds.
Yield: about 1/2 cup.