Carne Asada

I love citrus marinades! It not only tenderizes the meat, but it adds great flavor. This marinade is easy to whip together in a blender! Literally. The only difficult part of this recipe is waiting for the marinade to do its job. After that it’s easy grilling, slicing, plating and enjoying!

HERE’S HOW I MADE IT
Trim excess fat off the meat. Add all of the marinade ingredients in a blender and pulse a few times. Place meat in a plastic bag or container for marinating and pour all but 1/2 cup of marinade in the bag. Remove the excess air before sealing and massage the meat in the bag so everything is coated with the marinade. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
Note: Usually, I’ll make this with two sour oranges. Sour oranges are very typical in south Florida and in Latin American countries. If you can’t source them, you can substitute 1 orange with 1 lemon or lime. I like one of each.

When ready to grill, remove meat from the refrigerator up to one hour and allow to come to room temperature. Heat the grill. Remove meat from plastic bag and discard contents. Grill meat as desired, I like to grill for 5-7 minutes on each side, and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Slice the meat and pour reserved marinade over the meat and serve. Enjoy!
TIP: Always cut across the grain. If you made a piece of flank steak, just cut thin slices across the grain for a tenter bite. If you are making skirt steak or flap meat, cut the long strip of meat in sections, and cut those smaller sections across the grain. Keep in mind that flap meat isn’t the same as skirt steak. Flap meat is a tougher cut so I would pound it before marinating it.

This is delicious in tacos, salads, served with yellow rice and a side of beans. Serve this carne asada at a buffet or potluck – it’s a great crowd pleaser. This marinade works well on chicken and shrimp too!

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Carne Asada

A simple and delicious marinaded steak that brightens any tacos, fajita or salad.  Marinade can also be used on chicken or shrimp.    Leaving the meat to marinate overnight makes all the difference.  

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Mexican

Keyword BBQ, cinco de mayo, Fajitas, Grilling, Steak

Servings 10 servings

Author The Tiny Fairy

Ingredients

• 3 lbs flank steak or skirt steak, trimmed

MARINADE

• 2 navel oranges, juiced
• 1 limes, juiced 1 large or 2 small limes
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons white vinegar
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 1 jalapeno, minced (remove seeds and ribs)
• ½ bunch cilantro, rough chop
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground oregano
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon olive oil

Instructions

1. Trim the meat of any excess fat and place in a plastic bag.

MAKING THE MARINADE & MARINATING THE STEAK

1. In a blender, combine the orange, lime and lemon juices, vinegar, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro and spices.  Give them a few pulses.   Add the olive oil, cover the blender, and pulse until it’s well combined.  

2. Reserve ½ cup of the marinade and pour the remaining marinade over the meat.  Remove as much air as you can and close the plastic bag.  Massage the meat so the marinade coats the meat.  Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.  

GRILLING DAY

1. Remove the meat from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, about 1 hour. Clean and preheat the grill. Just before grilling, grease the grates so the steak doesn't stick.

2. Remove the meat from the bag and grill on each side for 5-7 minutes, depending how you like your steak done (rare, medium or well done) and on thickness of your steak.  

3. Remove the steak from the grill and tent with foil for ten minutes. This will allow the meat to rest. If flank steak, cut thin slices across the grain.  If skirt steak, cut the steak every 4 inches apart and cut those pieces across the grain.  

4. Place the meat slices in a platter and pour the reserved marinade over it.