Carne Asada Fantastico

"We love Ed Curry's family chiles rellenos (recipe link on this page). But we love them even more with carne asada (grilled marinated beef). Carne Asada is the thinly sliced, grilled beef served so often south of the border in tacos and burritos. Although almost any cut of beef can be butterflied into thin sheets for the carne asada, typically it is made from flank steak or skirt steak. It can be grilled just with salt and pepper for flavorings, or it can be marinated. The following is a recipe for marinated carne asada. Most cities in the Southwest now have Carnicerias, small Latino butcher shops which sell the beef cuts already in tasty marinades." - the Stevensons.

2 pounds flank or skirt steak
Olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mojo Marinade:
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño chile pepper, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon freshly ground cumin seed (best to lightly toast the seeds first, then grind them)
1 large handful fresh cilantro, leaves and stems, finely chopped (great flavor in the stems)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 limes, juiced
1 orange, juiced
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup olive oil

In a mortar and pestle or bowl, mash together the garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, salt, and pepper to make a paste. Put the paste in a glass jar or plastic container. Add the lime juice, orange juice, vinegar, and oil. Shake it up really well to combine.

Yield: approximately 1 1/4 cups (here again, we usually double the recipe - the Stevensons).

1. Lay the flank steak in a large non-reactive bowl or baking dish. Combine marinade ingredients and pour the marinade over the steak. Make sure each piece is well coated. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-4 hours.

2. Preheat your grill over medium-high flame (you can also use a cast iron grill pan on high heat for stove-top cooking). Brush the grates with a little oil to prevent the meat from sticking. Remove the steak from the marinade. If you are cooking indoors, you may want to brush off excess marinade as the bits may burn and smoke on the hot pan. Season both sides of the steak pieces with salt and pepper.

3. Grill the pieces for a few minutes only, on each side, depending on how thin they are, until medium rare to well done, to your preference. Remove the steak pieces to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the steak across the grain on a diagonal.

4. If you are serving this with Ed Curry's Chile Rellenos, then dish individual portions of the carne asada on top of the cheesy chiles rellenos.

Muy Bueno!