Some recipes for Carne Asada add a little pineapple juice to add flavor and help tenderize the steak.
Carne Asada
Thursday, May 18, 2006
CARNE ASADA
PG TESTED
This Latin American dish is a great recipe if you're on a budget; Carne Asada, or "grilled meat" starts with flank or skirt steak, which are inexpensive, somewhat tough but extremely flavorful cuts of meat that become much more tender after they've been marinated and then sliced across the grain. Both cuts are fairly lean but have just enough fat to keep them juicy over the high heat of the grill. Serve on its own or in flour or corn tortillas (which can be heated on the grill while you're letting the flank steak rest) with shredded lettuce and some fresh salsa.
For lime-beer marinade:
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/3 cup packed fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves
• 1/2 cup lager-style beer, preferably Mexican
• Grated zest of 1 lime
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chili or cayenne pepper, optional
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 flank or skirt steak, about 1 3/4 pounds
• Canola oil for coating grill grate
Fit a food processor with metal blade. With machine running, drop garlic through feed tube to chop finely. Turn off machine, add cilantro and pulse a few times until cilantro is coarsely chopped. With machine running, add beer, lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, chili powder, cumin, oregano, ground chipotle (which will add a smoky flavor) or cayenne, and soy sauce. Alternately, you can just blend all the ingredients in a blender on high speed until smooth. You will have about 1 1/2 cups marinade.
Put steak and marinade in a large, locking plastic bag and squeeze out as much air as possible so there's lots of contact between the meat and the marinade.
Refrigerate the steak and marinade for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours, turning the meat occasionally to ensure that the marinade touches as much of steak's surface area as possible. Remove steak in its marinade from refrigerator 1 hour before grilling. Bringing steak to room temperature before grilling helps it cook more evenly.
About 20 minutes before you start cooking, prepare a charcoal or gas grill on the highest heat. When ready to grill, remove steak from marinade and let excess drop off. Discard the marinade. Place steak over hottest part of grill and grill until underside is browned (moisture from marinade will prevent brown surface crust from forming), about 4 minutes, rotating (but not flipping) 90 degrees after 2 minutes of cooking if you want cross-hatching on the steak. Using tongs (not a fork!), flip the steak and grill another 4 minutes for medium rare.
Insert instant-read thermometer horizontally into center of steak to test for doneness (140 degrees for medium rare) or cut into it near center, if necessary, and check for a deep pink color. If steak isn't ready, return to grill, cook another minute or two, and test again.
Let steak rest 3 to 5 minutes, then slice horizontally across the grain into 1/4-inch slices.
Transfer steak to warmed plates, pour any juice from carving board over slices and serve immediately.
Serves 4.
-- "Mastering Grilling & Barbecuing," by Rick Rodgers
Carne Asada
Thursday, May 18, 2006
CARNE ASADA
PG TESTED
This Latin American dish is a great recipe if you're on a budget; Carne Asada, or "grilled meat" starts with flank or skirt steak, which are inexpensive, somewhat tough but extremely flavorful cuts of meat that become much more tender after they've been marinated and then sliced across the grain. Both cuts are fairly lean but have just enough fat to keep them juicy over the high heat of the grill. Serve on its own or in flour or corn tortillas (which can be heated on the grill while you're letting the flank steak rest) with shredded lettuce and some fresh salsa.
For lime-beer marinade:
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/3 cup packed fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves
• 1/2 cup lager-style beer, preferably Mexican
• Grated zest of 1 lime
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chili or cayenne pepper, optional
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 flank or skirt steak, about 1 3/4 pounds
• Canola oil for coating grill grate
Fit a food processor with metal blade. With machine running, drop garlic through feed tube to chop finely. Turn off machine, add cilantro and pulse a few times until cilantro is coarsely chopped. With machine running, add beer, lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, chili powder, cumin, oregano, ground chipotle (which will add a smoky flavor) or cayenne, and soy sauce. Alternately, you can just blend all the ingredients in a blender on high speed until smooth. You will have about 1 1/2 cups marinade.
Put steak and marinade in a large, locking plastic bag and squeeze out as much air as possible so there's lots of contact between the meat and the marinade.
Refrigerate the steak and marinade for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours, turning the meat occasionally to ensure that the marinade touches as much of steak's surface area as possible. Remove steak in its marinade from refrigerator 1 hour before grilling. Bringing steak to room temperature before grilling helps it cook more evenly.
About 20 minutes before you start cooking, prepare a charcoal or gas grill on the highest heat. When ready to grill, remove steak from marinade and let excess drop off. Discard the marinade. Place steak over hottest part of grill and grill until underside is browned (moisture from marinade will prevent brown surface crust from forming), about 4 minutes, rotating (but not flipping) 90 degrees after 2 minutes of cooking if you want cross-hatching on the steak. Using tongs (not a fork!), flip the steak and grill another 4 minutes for medium rare.
Insert instant-read thermometer horizontally into center of steak to test for doneness (140 degrees for medium rare) or cut into it near center, if necessary, and check for a deep pink color. If steak isn't ready, return to grill, cook another minute or two, and test again.
Let steak rest 3 to 5 minutes, then slice horizontally across the grain into 1/4-inch slices.
Transfer steak to warmed plates, pour any juice from carving board over slices and serve immediately.
Serves 4.
-- "Mastering Grilling & Barbecuing," by Rick Rodgers
