Carne Asada Tacos

This flavorful handheld food has it all—tender marinated carne asada, an aromatic corn tortilla, and all of the classic street taco toppings. Served for lunch or dinner, these are delicious with a hearty side of refried beans and rice, or you can keep it light with corn salad.

Ingredient :

  • 1 c. coarsely chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for serving
  • 1 chipotle chile in adobo, plus 1 tbsp. adobo sauce
  • 2 scallions, coarsely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • Zest and juice of 2 limes
  • Zest and juice of 1 navel orange
  • 1 tbsp. canola oil, plus more for grill
  • 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more
  • 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more
  • 1 lb. skirt or flank steak, trimmed, cut into 6" pieces
  • 8 small corn tortillas
  • 1/2 c. chopped white onion
  • Sliced red radishes, cotija, and salsa verde, for serving

Directions :

  1. In a food processor or blender, blend cilantro, chipotle chile, adobo sauce, scallions, garlic, lime zest, lime juice, orange zest, orange juice, oil, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, salt, and pepper until smooth.
  2. Place steak in a large resealable bag and pour in marinade. Press air out of bag and massage marinade into steak. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
  3. Prepare a grill for medium-high heat; heat 5 minutes (or preheat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat). Pour a small amount of oil onto a wad of paper towels and rub grates until coated with a thin layer of oil. Repeat if needed to make sure grates are coated.
  4. Using paper towels, pat excess marinade from steak; season both sides with a heavy pinch of salt and pepper. 
  5. Grill steak until just browned on one side, about 3 minutes. Flip and continue to grill until second side is browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 125°, 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer steak to a cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, reduce grill heat to medium and grill tortillas until just toasted, 20 to 30 seconds per side. Transfer tortillas to a platter.
  7. Slice steak against the grain into bite-sized pieces. Top each tortilla with steak, onion, cilantro, radishes, cotija, and salsa verde.