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This carne asada marinade recipe came out of a culinary challenge I faced. Could a recipe for carne asada marinade tenderize the tough mountain goat meat? While it didn’t – the meat was delicious but incredibly tough – I ended up with a terrific traditional carne asada recipe that I now swear by.
For the Best Carne Asada Marinade recipe ever, it’s all about the vinegar, spices and herbs!
We love making this authentic carne asada recipe that tastes just like the kind we ate when we lived in San Diego. So I learned to make it at home based on recipe my husband found online. (There are so many similar versions that I’m not sure who to credit as the author.)
Over time, I’ve tweaked my simple carne asada recipe and come up with, in my humble opinion, the best carne asada marinade recipe you will ever find! I hope you’ll agree that making your own carne asada – instead of buying it at your local carnicería (Hispanic grocery store) – is worth the effort.
Traditionally, a carne asada marinade recipe uses red wine vinegar. Instead, I decided to do things differently and use malt vinegar, which has a strong zingy taste that goes well with the lime and orange juices.
However, if you’re gluten free, don’t use malt vinegar. Instead, for your carne asada marinade, you can use red wine vinegar or cider vinegar.
I use ground cloves, cilantro and Mexican dried oregano in my easy carne asada marinade recipe. You can use regular dried oregano if you can’t find Mexican dried oregano. But please don’t skip the cloves as it adds something special.
Also, I know some people really, really hate cilantro. So, skip the cilantro in the carne asada marinade, if you insist, and use parsley instead. I won’t tell!
This Mama’s tips on cooking up the Best Carne Asada Marinade recipe ever
This easy carne asada marinade recipe is perfect for five to six pounds of meat and can be cut in half for a small dinner with no leftovers or doubled for a big party or tailgating.
Use skirt steak or a similar thin cut, as show above, and marinate for 12 to 24 hours. (The tougher the meat, the longer you should marinate it.)
To further tenderize the meat, I use a meat tenderizer tool. I run it over both sides of the meat, which helps the skirt steak absorb the Mexican carne asada marinade for maximum flavor.
You should cook your skirt steak on a very hot grill until the center is pink and register at 110 degrees F on your grilling thermometer. Then pull the carne asada off your grill and let it rest for a few minutes so it will be nice and juicy.
Then you need to slice it against the grain so it isn’t chewy. If you don’t know what the grain is in the meat, here’s a terrific guide on cutting against the grain from Serious Eats. The grain is basically the wrinkles or the lines in the meat.
You need to cut perpendicularly (across) to that. If you’re stumped, you can always dice up the carne asada for tacos or burritos. Who’s going to know, right?
Try this slow cooker carne asada recipe
Traditionally, you grill carne asada meat in order to get that wonderful charred taste that only the grill can give you. I tried that on half the mountain goat meat I prepared. While it was extremely delicious, it was still chewy even after marinating the mountain goat for over two days!
Instead, I decided to make slow cooker carne asada! I cooked the other half of the meat in my slow cooker.
While, it wasn’t as sweet and tangy as the grilled carne asada, it was still tasty. It was tender and more like a “pulled” tacos carne asada recipe, which is what I was shooting for.
I haven’t tried slow cooking a beef carne asada recipe after marinating. But I bet you could use the carne asada marinade on a pork butt (carnitas) and slow cooking it instead.
Experiment! (If you love pulled pork tacos, check out my World’s Best Slow Cooker Spicy Pulled Pork Tacos. Your family will love them and they’re super easy to make!)
How do you serve up your tacos carne asada recipe?
My family and I like eating our carne asada two ways, either on warm soft corn tortillas street taco style or wrapped in burritos. We like to combine the chopped carne asada meat with the following:
salsa – sweet, verde and/or fresca Mexican hot sauce – our favorites are Valentina Salsa Picante Mexican Hot Sauce and Cholula shredded Mexican-style cheese crumbled queso fresca the juice from wedges of lime diced tomatoes beans – black or pinto slices of avocado chopped green onions chopped cilantro plain no fat Greek yogurt (a healthy alternative to sour cream)
You can make a carne asada taco bowl on white or brown rice. Leftover carne asada can be reheated with eggs and potatoes in a breakfast hash style dish.
Carne asada goes great with my Easy 10-Minute Mexican Rice, too! Serve it on the side or right in the burrito.
What toppings do you like on your carne asada burritos or tacos? Best Carne Asada Marinade Recipe Ever! Print
Recipe Ingredients 1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup malt vinegar (any vinegar is fine in a pinch!)
1/3 cup lime juice or lemon juice 1/3 cup orange juice 1 cup water 2 tablespoons peeled fresh garlic, minced 1 tablespoon ground white pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon Mexican oregano 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1 orange, sliced 1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped 5-6 pounds skirt steak Directions Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Place meat in gallon sized freezer bag, in the bottom of a shallow baking dish, or a non-reactive (plastic or glass) storage container with a lid. Pour carne asada marinade on top of meat, cover dish or close bag, and marinate overnight up to 48 hours in the refrigerator. Grilling the marinated carne asada:
Take meat out of container and grill until just cooked through. (Rare to medium rare.) Cut cooked meat into strips. Place meat and favorite toppings (salsa, cheese, guacamole, avocado slices, tomatoes, shredded cabbage, grilled sweet peppers, etc.) in a tortilla to make into tacos or burritos. You can also serve meat over rice for a carne asada bowl. Slow cooking the marinated carne asada:
After marinating for one or two days, place meat and marinade in a slow cooker. Slow cook for 10 to 12 hours on low. Meat should be extra tender and can be shredded with a fork. Place meat and favorite toppings (salsa, cheese, guacamole, avocado slices, tomatoes, shredded cabbage, grilled sweet peppers, etc.) in a tortilla to make into tacos or burritos. You can also serve meat over rice for a carne asada bowl. Prep Time: 20 MinutesCook Time: 20 MinutesTotal Time: 40 Minutes Servings: Feeds 4 to 6 with leftovers Serving size: 1/2 pound per person Originally published October 27, 2011 and January 21, 2016. Updated with new pictures and information.
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