Carne Asada Tacos

As I’m typing this post, I am sitting here watching a recording of the season opener of Lost.  Have you been keeping up with Lost?  I’ve watched Lost on and off since the beginning, and I have to tell you, I’m not certain all of the loose strings are going to be tied up by the end of this final season. I guess I’ll have to wait to find out.  My husband wanted to have a Lost party last weekend, but we (read me) couldn’t pull it together in time, so we will just have to be content with the Super Bowl party we are going to on Sunday.

What does Lost have to do with Carne Asada Tacos?  Nothing really, but I do think they would have been perfect at our Lost party, or since we didn’t have one, for a Super Bowl party.  They are quick and easy, and taste great.

I found the marinade recipe in my America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook, and it had all the ingredients I was looking for.  The recipe also has the interesting technique, similar to Guy Fieri’s wing recipe, of tossing the cooked meat in the marinade.  Except in this recipe you marinate the meat before you cook it as well.  This technique really amplifies the flavor. 

The America’s Test Kitchen recipe calls for frying the meat, but I think it tastes better cooked on the grill.  I know in some parts of the country it isn’t always convenient to grill meat, so go you can use a grill pan or broil it.  But, since I’m a transplanted southern Californian, whose dad manned the outdoor grill during every season (most of the time in shorts and deck shoes), I like my meat grilled.  So during the winter, my husband just moves the barbeque to our covered back porch and grills for me.   He always does a great job!

Carne Asada Tacos
Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

Marinade
½ cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
3 medium green onions, roughly chopped
1 medium jalapeno, stemmed and roughly chopped
3 medium garlic cloves, roughly chopped
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons lime juice, separated
Steak
1 ½ lbs skirt steak, cut in 4 equal pieces
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon black pepper
Tacos
12 6-inch corn tortillas, warmed
1 red bell pepper, sliced in 1-inch strips
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced in 1-inch strips
1 green bell pepper, sliced in 1-inch strips
1 yellow onion, sliced in 1-inch slices
1 tablespoon olive oil
Cilantro Lime Sour Cream
½ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons cilantro, minced
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
2 tablespoons fresh limejuice

Place the cilantro, green onions, jalapeno, garlic and cumin in a food processor, and process in 10 to 12 pulses.  Add the oil and process until a paste forms with the consistency of pesto.  Remove 2 Tablespoons of the paste and place in a small bowl.  Add 2 tablespoons of limejuice and mix.

Poke holes in each steak with a fork, about 10 to 12 times per side.  Place the steaks into a large dish and coat all sides of the steak with the cilantro mixture.  Sprinkle the steaks with the remaining limejuice.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and add the peppers and onion and sauté until softened.

Mix the sour cream, limejuice, lime zest and cilantro in a small bowl.

Scrape the cilantro paste off the steaks, and dry them with a paper towel.  Sprinkle the steaks with the salt, pepper and sugar.   Grill the steaks on a hot grill pan or barbeque about 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness of the steaks.  Remove the steaks and let them rest for 5 minutes.  Slice the steak against the grain into ¼-inch pieces, place in a bowl and toss with the limejuice and cilantro mixture.

To serve, place steak into a warmed tortilla and top with onions, peppers and cilantro sour cream.