Easy Carne Asada

 

Next Wednesday is Cinco de Mayo...the fifth of May. While generally thought to be a big Mexican holiday, our neighbors to the south ignore it. The date was observed to celebrate the Mexican Army's victory over the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The celebration was short-lived, as the French came back a year later and crushed the Mexican Army at the Battle of Puebla 2.0.

So while Cinco de Mayo is no big deal in Mexico, it's all tequila and tacos and fiesta here in the states. Due to unfortunate timing, Cinco de Mayo misses Taco Tuesday by 24 hours. I don't know about you, but I am perfectly happy eating Mexican two nights in a row.

Back in 2016 I shared an elaborate Carne Asada recipe from Los Angeles restauranteur, Roy Choi. Today, I'm going to share Chungah Rhee's much simpler recipe. Carne Asada is marinated, grilled steak that is used as the basic building block for steak fajitas. So get ready to grill! Grab some flour tortillas and your favorite fajita fixings (Sam wants you to make sure to add sliced radishes) and have a happy Cinco de Mayo! 

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

Juice of 1 orange

Juice of 1 lime

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeño, seeded and diced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 flank steak, about 1-1/2 pounds

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir to mix well.
2. In a large ziplock bag, combine steak and marinade. Place bag in refrigerator for 4 hours (do not go any longer than this as the lime juice will start to "cook" the steak).
3. Prepare a grill for direct cooking over high heat.
4. Remove steak from bag and discard marinade. Pat steak dry with paper towels and then season with salt and pepper.
5. Grill steak for 5 minutes per side (for medium rare). Then remove steak from grill, tent with foil and let it rest for 5 minutes.
6. Slice thinly against the grain and serve with your fajita fixings.

Pairing: Margaritas

Grogs and Goldie, 1956