I’m BAAAACK! Man, that has been almost my longest hiatus from the blog so far. We’ll see if I can get back into the swing of things this spring or not. Lots going on in the yard with spring getting started, getting the yard cleaned up and getting the garden ready to be planted. And one thing I will say about this whole COVID situation is that I am cooking a lot these days. I mean, I’ve always loved to cook but this is certainly forcing me to get more creative – not always intentionally. Sometimes it’s just a sheer unwillingness to go to the grocery store and I get creative to see what I can make. It’s not fear of being in public, it’s more like a challenge. Like the homemade potato buns I’ve made twice now so we could make burgers and brats and put off going to the store for another few days.
I started to write this for my birthday since this is the meal I made on my birthday – but got sidetracked by life. So here it is now, two weeks late. It’s no longer Cinco de Mayo, which also happens to be my birthday. Maybe that’s why Mexican is my favorite cuisine. So today, I have for you some burritos that remind me of America’s Taco Shop in Phoenix – a place a friend took me one of the first times I visited Phoenix.
These carne asada burritos aren’t the overstuffed burritos that you get at Chipotle. They start with my homemade guac, some pico de gallo, lightly sautéed onions and to top it all off some perfectly medium carne asada. The recipe I’m going to show you today is made with flank steak. But my favorite cut to use when I can find it is skirt steak – and what I used on my birthday. Its thinner and takes the marinade a little better. But flank is still a nice beefy cut that works well here.
Here’s what you need for the carne asada.
For a pound of steak mix up the following for the marinade: 2 minced gloves of garlic, half a minced jalapeno, a handful of chopped cilantro, juice of a lime, juice of half an orange, a tablespoon of white vinegar, salt, pepper and a quarter cup of olive oil. Mix that all up nice in a gallon bag and then pop in the steak. Smush it all around real well and then let it marinade for one to eight hours.
When you’re ready to grill the steak, preheat your grill nice and hot. Grill until medium. This will depend on if you use flank or skirt steak here. Flank will take about 3 minutes per side and skirt 90 seconds on the first and 60 seconds on the second (it’s super thin). Of course this all depends on your grill and how hot it is so use a thermometer. Let the steak rest for about 5 minutes and then chop into bite sized pieces.
While the steak marinates, make a quick pico to go on top – that’s just diced up roma tomato, white onion, jalapeno, cilantro, a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt.
You also want some sauteed onions and homemade guac.
Warm up your tortillas (I love this tortilla warmer. #CommissionsEarned). Spread some guac on the bottom third, add some onion, and flank steak.
Then a little bit of pico.
Roll it up tight. And then this step is optional but I really like to toast the tortillas. You can do this in a medium hot pan or put it back on the grill you used for the steak. Just heat until you get a nice golden toasting or some grill marks. Make sure you start with the seam side down, the heat will help seal it together.
Serve with chips, salsa or leftover pico and guac if you have any.
Enjoy!
- 1 lb flank or skirt steak
- Marinade:
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ jalapeno, minced
- Cilantro, handful, minced
- Lime, juice of
- ½ orange, juice of
- 1 T white vinegar
- ¼ c olive oil
- Salt & pepper
- Pico de gallo
- 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
- White onion, chopped – equal to tomato, about half a med onion
- ½ jalapeno, minced
- Cilantro, minced
- Squeeze of a lime
- Salt
- Guacamole
- Onion, sautéed
- Large flour tortillas
- Make the marinade for the steak by mixing together the garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, lime and orange juice, vinegar, olive oil and some salt and pepper. Put in a gallon Ziploc bag and add the steak. Marinade for 1-8 hours.
- When it’s close to cooking time, stir together the pico ingredients.
- To grill the steak, preheat your grill to high. Grill until medium about 130 degrees. For flank steak about 3 minutes per side and skirt steak 90 seconds the first side 60 seconds on the second side. It depends on the temp of your grill and the thickness of your steak.
- Let the steak rest and then chop into bite sized pieces.
- Warm the tortillas.
- To build the burrito, spread a layer of guac, top with steak, onion and pico. Wrap tightly.
- Optional: Toast in a medium hot pan on both sides – start seam side down. Or back on the grill. Until golden brown or light grill marks form.
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