Tacos de Carne Asada with Caramelized Onions

The only secret to this Mexican dish is to marinate your flank steak. I like to marinate mine for about 2 hours in the fridge and bring it to room temperature before grilling. A mix of acidic, sweet and spicy marinade is perfect for this type of meat and will bring a tender, flavorful and well browned steak. You can grill your flank steak in one piece which adds more convenience. For the tacos, flank steak should be sliced very thinly against the grain; it should be cooked rare or medium-rare. Well-done flank steak is dry and rubbery. Always remember to allow meat to rest for 5 minutes on a cutting board before carving. Finally, don't worry if you have leftovers from your grilled flank steak. You will be able to use it in sandwiches, salads, more tacos the next day or just eat them straight out of the fridge with mustard.

The queen of this taco is the sauce, spicy and smoky, yields an incredible flavor to this dish. You can find the recipe to make the Tomatillo-Chipotle Salsa here.

You can add whatever garnishes you like to your taco, including avocado, guacamole, queso fresco, micro greens, cilantro leaves, Mexican crema or sour cream, lime wedges, etc...

To warm your tortillas you will need to:

1. Preheat skillet or pan and warm one tortilla at a time; or
2. Place 6 tortillas in the microwave separated by a damp paper towel and heat for 30 to 40 seconds.

TACOS DE CARNE ASADA

Serves 4

2 lbs flank steak
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1/2 orange
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
1 red onion (sliced)
1/2 cup tequila
1/4 teaspoon tabasco
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

12 corn tortillas (warmed)

Garnish with: queso fresco, avocado, guacamole, micro greens, cilantro, sour cream, lime.

Marinate and cook flank steak: Place meat in a shallow dish and add juice of lemon, lime, orange, the garlic cloves, red onion, tequila and tabasco. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Bring meat to room temperature. (While meat comes to room temperature you can start cooking the caramelized red onions -see below-) When ready to grill, pat dry meat with a paper towel and brush with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Heat a grill pan over high. Grill the steak over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes. Flip and continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Allow meat to rest for 5 minutes on a cutting board. Slice very thinly across the grain.

Cook the caramelized red onions: Heat a pan over high-medium and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add red onions from your marinade and reserve liquid. Cook onions for 10 minutes stirring occasionally, then add reserved liquid and cook over high until liquid has completely absorbed.


Place meat in warm tortillas and serve with caramelized red onions, Tomatillo-Chilpotle Salsa and other garnishes.

Enjoy!

Tomatillo-Chipotle Salsa