CARNE ASADA

Sastojci

Marinade

½ large white onion, roughly chopped

3 chipotle chiles from a can of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, plus 2 tablespoons of the sauce

2 medium jalapeños, roughly chopped

6 garlic cloves

½ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro

¾ cup orange juice (preferably fresh)

½ cup pure olive oil

¼ cup soy sauce

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

3 pounds flank, flap, or skirt steak

Upute

MARINATE THE STEAK Combine the onion, chipotles and sauce, jalapeños, garlic, cilantro, orange juice, olive oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, cumin, and paprika in a food processor or blender and puree. (See sidebar, this page.) Transfer the marinade to a large self-seal plastic bag or airtight container.

Add the flank steak and turn to coat it in the marinade, then seal the bag (or cover the container). Refrigerate overnight.

GRILL THE STEAK Remove the steak from the marinade, letting the excess marinade drip back into the bag or bowl. Place the steak on a platter and set it aside at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high heat.

Grill the steak until it is charred, about 5 minutes. Turn it over and grill until charred on the other side, about 5 minutes more. Transfer it to a cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing it crosswise and against the grain.

Bilješke

Carne asada is one of my all-time-favorite dishes: it’s easy to make, it uses affordable cuts of meat, and it’s delicious. It’s typically made with somewhat tough but full-flavored cuts like flank, flap, and skirt steak. The trick is to slice them thinly across the grain after cooking them on high heat. All that connective tissue that was tough will have melted over the heat, and cutting across the grain makes the fibers of the meat separate when you bite into them.

While soy sauce isn’t a traditional Mexican ingredient, it’s the secret to the success of our carne asada, adding deep flavor and seasoning the steak more than salt alone would. It’s best to make this marinade a day in advance so you have time to let the flank steak marinate overnight before grilling it.