Carne Asada Tacos
These are the best carne asada tacos! They are packed with incredibly flavor thanks to the marinade, which also helps to tenderize the meat. Serve with your favorite toppings.
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 597kcal
Equipment
- Grill pan if cooking indoors
- Grill if cooking outdoors
- Resealable plastic bag for the marinade
Ingredients
- 2 pounds flank steak excess fat trimmed
- 12 corn tortillas or 24 tortillas if stacking 2 tortillas per taco
- Pico de gallo homemade or store-bought
- Guacamole homemade or store-bought
- Lime wedges for serving
For the marinade
- Juice of 2 limes
- Juice of 1 orange
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
Marinate the flank steak
- In a bowl, whisk all the marinade ingredients until evenly combined.
- Add the prepared marinade and the flank steak into a large resealable bag, and seal the bag tightly removing any excess air. Marinate for 2 or 3 hours (maximum 4 hours) in the refrigerator. Ensure that the meat is thoroughly coated.
Grill the steak
- 20 minutes prior to cooking, remove the steak from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature before cooking. This will help cook more evenly.
- Cook outdoors (option 1): Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Remove steak from bag, shaking off excess marinade. Grill on both sides until for about 6-8 minutes for medium-rare to medium. For doneness accuracy, use a meat thermometer (see temperatures in notes below).
- Cook indoors (option 2): First preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Heat a few drizzles of oil over a large oven-proof grill pan over high heat, and sear the steak for about 4 minutes per side. Finish cooking in the oven for 4-5 minutes for medium-rare to medium, or see temperatures in notes below.
- Let the steak rest for 10 minutes. Then slice against the grain (perpendicular to the muscle fiber lines), and dice the steak into bite-size pieces.
Prepare the toppings
- Make the pico de gallo and the guacamole according to the linked recipe directions. You can also use any other toppings you may like.
Assemble tacos
- Warm the corn tortillas over the grill, open flame, or on a skillet for about 30 seconds per side, or until they are slightly charred around the edges and pliable.
- To build the tacos, add a few spoonfuls of the carne asada on a tortilla followed by the toppings. If desired, stack two tortillas per taco to make them sturdier. Serve with lime wedges. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use a resealable bag to marinate the meat. This ensures that every inch of the steak gets evenly coated for maximum flavor.
- Doneness temperatures: Rare 130 degrees F, Medium-rare 140 degrees F, Medium 145 degrees F (my choice), Medium-well 155 degrees F, Well done 160 degrees F.
- If desired, make the marinade 1-2 days ahead and keep refrigerated until ready to add it to the meat to marinate.
- Citrus: Use a combination of oranges, limes, or even lemons.
- Flank steak: Skirt steak, ribeye, or NY strip.
Nutrition
Serving: 2tacos | Calories: 597kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 91mg | Sodium: 699mg | Potassium: 1311mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 831IU | Vitamin C: 38mg | Calcium: 121mg | Iron: 4mg