Carne Asada

If I had to  give a theme to my cooking this summer, I would have to call it "Great Things to Put into Flour Tortillas". At any given time I've got 60 flour tortillas in my fridge. They are great for a quick, healthy meal after my noon workout... a little leftover beef or chicken, lettuce, onions and a squirt of Sriracha...all tucked into a small flour tortilla.

I posted last month about one of my all-time favorite tortilla dishes, Slow Cooker Barbacoa Shredded Beef. That recipe was a gift from the gods. Today's recipe is a gift from Roy Choi. He is from Los Angeles and is credited with creating the Korean Taco Food Truck craze that the entire city is obsessed with.

In 2010, Roy was named as one of the "New Best Chefs" by Food and Wine magazine. In the history of the magazine, he was the first food truck operator to be given that distinction. His Carne Asada recipe is a true mash-up of Mexican and Korean flavors. While I like putting the meat in my flour tortillas with some Pico de Gallo, this recipe is so good that it can stand on it's own. Thanks, Roy!

Pico de Gallo:( http://terrygruggen.blogspot.com/2012/05/pico-de-gallo.html)

Ingredients

2 jalapeños

1 medium tomato, cored and cut into quarters

1 small yellow onion, cut into quarters

5 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons white sugar

1/4 cup ancho chile powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1/4 cup Kosher salt

1/2 bunch cilantro

1/3 cup fresh orange juice (juice of 1 orange)

3 tablespoons lime juice (juice of 1 lime)

1/4 cup mirin

One, 12-ounce can of Budweiser or other lager beer

2 pounds of flank or skirt steak

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat the broiler. Place the jalapeños on a cookie sheet or in a skillet with an ovenproof handle and put them under the broiler until their skins begin to blacken and bubble. (You can also do this by putting the peppers directly over a burner on your stove or on a grill.) Pull the stems and seeds from the jalapeños and discard them; skin the peppers and put them into a food processor.
2. Add the tomato, onion, garlic, sugar, ancho chili powder, black pepper and salt to the bowl of the machine and pulse to combine. Add the cilantro, the fruit juices, mirin and beer. Process again until smooth.
3. Transfer the marinade to a large, nonreactive bowl and submerge the steak in it. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least four hours or overnight.
4. Prepare your grill for direct cooking over high heat.
5. When all coals are covered with gray ash and the fire is hot (you can hold your hand 6 inches over the grill for only a few seconds), remove steaks from marinade, drizzle with olive oil and place on the grill directly over the coals. Cover grill and cook for 5 minutes, then flip and cook for 5 minutes on the other side. Remove steak from grill, tent with foil and let steak rest for 5 minutes. Then slice into thin strips against the grain and serve.

Pairing: Cerveza por favor.