Content

• Ingredients
• To step
• Part 1 of 5: Marinating the meat
• Part 2 of 5: Preparing the barbecue
• Part 3 of 5: Roasting the meat
• Part 4 of 5: Serving the meat
• Part 5 of 5: Alternative preparation methods
• Tips
• Necessities

Carne asada is a Latin American meat dish that consists of long, thinner strips of beef that are first marinated and then grilled on the barbecue. On the other side of the ocean, carne asada is very popular as a snack or as a lunch dish, rolled in wraps or tortillas, for example, but with rice you can also serve it perfectly as a main course. Traditionally, the meat is marinated and then barbecued on the barbecue, but you can also make carna asada in the skillet and even in the slow cooker. Below you can read how you can conjure up this sunny dish yourself at home.

Ingredients

For 4 to 6 people

• 900 grams of beef (for example beef ribs or diaphragm)
• 4 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 jalapeño pepper (seeded, finely chopped)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 bunch of fresh coriander (50 - 60 grams; finely chopped)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 60 ml lime juice
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
• 125 ml olive oil

To step

Part 1 of 5: Marinating the meat

1. Mix the ingredients for the marinade. In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients except the meat.
   • Use a bowl or bowl made of non-responsive material, such as glass. The acid from the vinegar and lime juice can undergo a chemical reaction with materials such as, for example, aluminum, which makes such materials less suitable.
   • If you can't get fresh jalapeño peppers, you can also use a Spanish red pepper or a Mexican serrano pepper. Serrano peppers are also green in color and about as spicy as jalapeño peppers. For a slightly less spicy marinade, you can also use canned jalapeño peppers, or a teaspoon of ground red pepper or chili powder.
   • You can also use half a teaspoon of garlic powder instead of fresh, finely chopped garlic.
   • If you want to use dried cilantro instead of fresh ones, replace the bunch of fresh cilantro mentioned in the ingredients list about 8 teaspoons of dried cilantro.
2. Cover the meat with the marinade. Place the meat in the marinade and turn it over a few times so that the meat is covered with the marinade on all sides.
   • In Latin America, they usually make carne asada with beef ribs or midriff, but other types of beef that are cut thinner should work fine too. If necessary, ask your butcher for advice.
3. Marinate the meat for 1 to 4 hours. Cover the bowl or dish with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator.
   • In principle, the longer you let the meat marinate, the more tender and tasty it becomes. On the other hand, you should not leave the meat in the marinade for too long, because then it will become tough.
   • Therefore, marinate the meat for a maximum of four hours. If you leave the meat in the marinade longer, it will add little more to the taste. By the way, the flavor doesn't really deteriorate after more than 24 hours, so don't worry if you accidentally let the meat marinate for more than four hours.
   • Do not marinate the meat on the counter. In the kitchen at room temperature, all kinds of bacteria get the chance to form in the meat and cause it to spoil. Therefore, always put the meat in the refrigerator during marinating.

Part 2 of 5: Preparing the barbecue

1. Brush the grill of the barbecue. Brush the grill of the barbecue with a hair brush. Make sure you carefully remove any food scraps and the like that may remain on the grid.
   • Even if you always clean the barbecue after use, it is wise to clean it again before the next use, especially if you have not used the barbecue and the grid for a while. By brushing the barbecue clean, you also remove any other dirt that has accumulated on it between the different grilling cycles.
2. Grease the grill of the barbecue with canola or sunflower oil. Put a little oil on a clean paper towel and rub the paper over the grid.
   • The oil creates a non-stick coating, so that the meat does not stick to the grid during roasting.
   • You can also use aluminum foil instead of oil. Cover the grill of the barbecue with aluminum foil and pierce it with the teeth of a grill fork. The holes in the foil ensure that the heat from the fire can pass through the foil to the top.
3. Heat a charcoal grill. Light the barbecue 20 minutes before roasting the meat. The intention is that you create two very hot parts and one less hot part on the barbecue.
   • Set the grill of the barbecue aside for a while.
   • Light a medium-sized pile of charcoal with a coal or briquette starter. Let the charcoal burn until the top is completely covered with white ash.
   • Now make sure that the hot coals are on the bottom of the barbecue. To do this, use a grill iron with long handles and carefully spread the charcoal. Make sure that one third of the heated grill is covered with two or three coats of charcoal, one third with one or two coats, and leave one third of the grill free. So no charcoal will be deposited on that last part.
   • Place the grate back on the barbecue.
4. You can also use a gas barbecue. Just like when using charcoal, light the barbecue 20 minutes before roasting the meat. Set all gas grill heating elements to the highest setting.
5. Before roasting the meat, check the temperature of the barbecue. Before you put the meat on the grill, the barbecue must be very hot.
   • You can check the temperature of a charcoal barbecue as follows: keep your hand about 10 cm above the highest flames. The intention is that you can hold your hand above the fire for a maximum of 1 second. If you can keep it up longer without having to pull your hand back, the barbecue isn't hot enough yet.
   • With a gas barbecue, you can check the temperature using the appropriate thermometer. The barbecue is ready for use when the thermometer reads 260 ˚C.

Part 3 of 5: Roasting the meat

1. Place the meat on the grid. Remove the meat from the marinade with tongs and place it on the hottest part of the barbecue.
   • Hold the meat with the tongs just above the bowl with the marinade so that the excess marinade can drip off. Discard the marinade.
   • If you want, you can cover the barbecue after putting the meat on it, but you don't need to.
2. Roast the meat for 8 minutes. Turn the meat at least once while roasting. After about four minutes, when the bottom is nicely browned, turn the meat over using a grill tong. Roast the other side of the meat for four minutes as well. That way, the inside remains a little pink and nice and juicy.
   • The marinade should keep the meat moist enough to prevent it from drying out and to prevent a crust from forming on the underside during roasting.
   • Do you want such a beautiful checkered pattern on the meat? Then tilt the meat 90 degrees after the first 2 minutes of the roasting time. After the first 2 minutes toasting time, do the same on the other side, creating a checkered pattern on both sides.
   • If you prefer meat that is thoroughly roasted or “well done”, roast it a few minutes longer on both sides.
3. Check if the meat is cooked. Insert an instant meat thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. The meat is done when the thermometer shows a temperature of 60 ˚C.
   • You can also cut the middle part of the meat and check the color. If you like medium rare meat, the color inside should still be deep pink. Meat that is medium well is almost completely brown in color on the inside with only a little pink, and meat that is well done is completely brown in color.

Part 4 of 5: Serving the meat

1. Let the meat rest for a while. Place the roasted meat on a cutting board and let it rest for 3 to 5 minutes.
   • By letting the meat rest for a while, the meat juices get a chance to redistribute evenly over the meat, making it nice and juicy and tender on the inside and outside.
2. Cut the meat into slices about 6 mm thick. Hold the meat in place with a meat fork and use your other hand to slice the meat with a carving knife.
   • Use a carving knife with a thin blade.
   • Turn the meat so that the longest side is facing you. The muscle tissue, or "thread," is supposed to run from left to right.
   • Place the knife at a 45 degree angle against the meat and cut straight through the muscle tissue of the meat. If you cut the meat “with the grain”, it will become hard and tough.
3. Serve the meat immediately after cutting. Carne asada is good hot best.

Part 5 of 5: Alternative preparation methods

1. Fry the meat in the skillet. Fry the meat in the skillet for about 8 minutes. Turn the meat over after the first four minutes.
   • Pour 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 ml) of canola oil into the bottom of the skillet and heat the oil over medium heat. Let the oil get hot in 1 or 2 minutes.
   • Put the meat in the pan. Cook the meat on one side for 4 minutes, then flip it over with tongs. Bake the other side for 4 minutes as well.
   • In this way your steak will be medium rare, which means that it will still have a pink color on the inside. If you prefer more cooked meat, leave it in the pan for 1 or 2 minutes longer.
2. Make carne asada in the slow cooker. Cook the meat in the slow cooker on the lowest setting for 10 to 12 hours.
   • After marinating, put the meat in the slow cooker along with the marinade.
   • When you prepare the meat in this way, it becomes so tender and soft that you can easily pull it apart into threads with a fork.
3. Ready!

Tips

• If you prefer, you can also serve the meat with warm corn or wheat tortillas and pico de gallo. Pico de gallo (literally: cock's beak) is a spicy sauce from Mexican cuisine made from finely chopped tomatoes, green peppers, onion, jalapeño or serrano peppers and lemon juice. And you can also serve the carne asada very hip in a bowl. For example, first spoon Spanish rice (a colorful Mexican side dish made of rice with onion, garlic and tomato puree) into the bowls and serve the meat on top of the rice.

Necessities

• Large bowl of unresponsive material (e.g. pottery or ceramic)
• Brush
• Brush
• Paper towel
• Barbecue
• Refrigerator
• Stove
• Large skillet
• Slow cooker
• Grill tongs with long handles
• Meat cleaver with thin blade
• Cutting board
• Instant meat thermometer
• Plates to serve the dish