GrillinFools
We marinate skirt steak in chipotle before grilling over lump charcoal. The best part of this recipe is the chorizo trick. We cook down some chorizo sausage and use the fat from that pan to oil the corn tortillas before crisping them up over the fire. Then we finish our carne asada tacos recipe by piling on the grilled skirt steak, pico de gallo, cotija cheese and cilantro. Did I mention the skirt steak is adobo marinated?
We absolutely love tacos at GrillinFools.com. Whether Nopales Tacos (nopales are prickly pear paddles), Big Mac Tacos (think a Big Mac, but in taco form), Tri Tip Tacos, or Breakfast Tacos cooked indoors on the stove (which I make for myself 2-3 times a week), we LOVE tacos!
Carne Asada Tacos Recipe Ingredients:
- 1 skirt steak
- 8 ounces chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 1 large resealable bag
- 1 pound ground chorizo sausage
- 16 corn tortillas
- Pico de gallo
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 1 cup fresh cilantro
- 3 limes, cut into eighths
- Cotija cheese (optional)
- Shredded cheese (optional)
What is Carne Asada?
Simply put, carne asada just means, ‘grilled meat.’ More traditionally, the meat is seasoned with a dry rub made mainly of cumin, oregano, onion and garlic with chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Lime juice is used to blend the seasoning together into a liquid marinade.
That’s all great, but I really dig chipotle/adobo so I went with my own version.
Marinate the Skirt Steak
Grab the big resealable plastic bag, and spoon in a little of that adobo which is the thick liquid chipotle peppers are canned in. That adobo liquid is loaded with flavor. Spoon a little into the bottom of the plastic bag:
Then drop the skirt steak into the bag and dump the rest of the of the chipotle/adobo over the top and seal the bag. Work the chipotle all around the skirt steak and set the bag in the fridge overnight.
How to Make the Carne Asada Tacos Recipe
Marinate the steak in chipotle overnight. The next day, prepare the grill for two zone grilling. One side cool and one side for high heat grilling with a target temp at the grill grate between 450F-500F. Place an oven safe skillet on the coals and add the chorizo. While the sausage is cooking, stir occasionally. When the sausage releases a good amount of fat, place the pan on the cool side of the grill. Then quickly sear the steak over hot coals and get some char on each side. Remove the skirt steak from the grill and slice across the grain into strips.
Set out the steak and the rest of the toppings on a table to set up a taco bar. Finally, brush the corn tortillas through the chorizo fat and place them greased side down over the coals. When the tortillas char a bit, remove from the heat and assemble tacos.
Step-by-Step Directions
The following day, prepare the grill for two zone grilling with one side cool and one side hot for high heat, direct grilling. Target temps at the grill grate need to be 450F-500F. For this cook, I used an open-air charcoal grill, which is a great way to char up a bunch of ingredients at the same time.
Place an oven safe pan on the coals and drop in the chorizo:
Once the chorizo cooks down and the fat liquifies, pull the pan to the side of the grill with no coals.
Next, slap that adobo marinated skirt steak down over the hot coals.
The goal is to get some char on each side of the steak. When there’s some good char, the steak is already medium rare, if not closer to medium, so don’t over think this. Just sear it on both sides.
A little char is all it needs before it’s over done:
Once the steak is charred on both sides, remove it from the grill and allow the meat to rest for 3-4 minutes:
Make sure to slice across the grain:
Time for the Chorizo Trick
My favorite part of this carne asada tacos recipe is the chorizo trick. We want to toast the corn tortillas but if we put them straight on the grill, they will burn too quickly. Bring on that ever so tasty chorizo fat.
Run the corn tortillas over that chorizo:
Then lay the tortillas over the hot coals, chorizo fat down:
Do not walk away for a beverage or a bathroom break. These will toast quick.
All we are looking for is a little char on the tortillas:
If that’s too much char for you, pull them off earlier:
Warming the tortillas up like this, will keep you from needing to double up the tortillas. Warm corn tortillas don’t tear as easily as ones fresh out of the package.
Now assemble a bunch of carne asada tacos, and while the cheese is optional, that juice of a lime wedge is mandatory in my book:
Pro Tip ~ Make sure to slice across the grain.
You will be inclined to cut across the thin width of the long piece of skirt steak, but that is WITH the grain. Cut into sections and then slice it across the grain. The difference is night and day in terms of tenderness.
Carne Asada Tacos Recipe Recap:
First off, always warm your tortillas, whether corn or flour. Char is amazing on meat as well as tortillas. Also, always season your steak well. The rest of the ingredients will balance out the spiciness of the meat, so don’t be afraid to kick it up. Other than that, they’re tacos. It’s hard to go wrong with tacos whether on Tuesday or any other day of the week.
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Recipe Card
Carne Asada Tacos Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Oven safe skillet Cast iron works best
Ingredients
- 1 Skirt steak
- 8 ounces Chipotle peppers
- 1 pound Chorizo sausage Any pork sausage will work
- Corn tortillas
- 1 White onion, chopped
- Pico de gallo
- 1 cup Cilantro, rough chopped
- 3 Limes, cut into eighths
- Shredded cheese Optional
- Cotija cheese Optional
Instructions
- Place the skirt steak in a plastic bag with the 8 ounces of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Make sure to work the adobo around the steak to cover every inch of meat. Put the bag of steak in the fridge for 4-12 hours.
- Prepare the grill for two zone grilling, with one side cool and one side really hot. Target temperature on the hot side is 450F-500F.
- Place the oven safe pan on the hot side of the grill and drop in the chorizo sausage. Stir the sausage occasionally to keep it from burning. When the sausage cooks down, move the pan to the cool side of the grill.
- Slap the skirt steak down over the hot coals and char each side. Once both sides are charred, remove from the heat and allow to rest for 3-4 minutes. Then, slice across the grain into thin strips (you will probably have to cut it into sections)
- Assemble all the topping ingredients for the tacos in small bowls so your guests can customize their tacos.
- Take the corn tortillas and dredge one side through the chorizo sausage and place them, fat side down, over the hot coals. Allow them to roast for 1-2 minutes, checking frequently to make sure they don't burn. When they have a little char, remove from the hot coals and begin assembling tacos.
Video
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one comment
Brandon Burchfield
Love this