Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Carne Asada


Carne Asada, which is actually roasted or barbequed beef is thinly sliced and is served either with spanish rice or tortilla and accompanied with fresh guacomole, grilled onions, black beans, sour cream and fresh salsa. The most popular kind of meat used for this dish is Flank Steak and marinated for couple of hours in such ways as rubbed with olive oil and sea salt or with spice rubs such as lemon and pepper or garlic salt and lime juice.


Source:  Simply Recipes


Ingredients


2 pounds flank or skirt steak
Olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

    Marinade
    4 garlic cloves, minced
    1 jalapeƱo chile pepper, seeded and minced
    1 teaspoon freshly ground cumin seed (best to lightly toast the seeds first, then grind them)
    1 large handful fresh cilantro, leaves and stems, finely chopped (great flavor in the stems)
    Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
    2 limes, juiced
    2 tablespoons white vinegar
    1/2 teaspoon sugar
    1/2 cup olive oil

Method


 Lay the flank steak in a large non-reactive bowl or baking dish. Combine marinade ingredients and pour the marinade over the steak. Make sure each piece is well coated. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-4 hours.


Preheat your grill over medium-high flame (you can also use a cast iron grill pan on high heat for stove-top cooking). Brush the grates with a little oil to prevent the meat from sticking. Remove the steak from the marinade. If you are cooking indoors, you may want to brush off excess marinade as the bits may burn and smoke on the hot pan. Season both sides of the steak pieces with salt and pepper. Grill the pieces for a few minutes only, on each side, depending on how thin they are, until medium rare to well done, to your preference. You may need to work in batches. Remove the steak pieces to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the steak across the grain on a diagonal.
(Optional) Serve with warm tortillas (flour or corn). Warm the tortillas for 30 seconds on each side in a dry skillet or on the grill, until toasty and pliable. Alternatively, you can warm tortillas in a microwave: heating just one or two at a time, place tortillas on a paper towel and microwave them for 15 to 20 seconds each on high.



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