Carne Asada Tacos

Mikie has been making tacos practically her whole life. Growing up, she must have prepared them literally thousands of times. I give her props because even though she makes some seriously professional tacos she was still open to new ideas when I made an impromptu suggestion to try a new taco recipe.

After scouring the internet for almost an hour I was still unable to find a better recipe than her own, so we scrapped the idea completely. I ate a little crow and admitted that it was a bad idea to "G Check" her recipe.

In a previous entry we were discussing how expensive steak can be and to always keep your eye open for an alternative, especially if it's on sale. That just happened to be the case with how we wound up with our Carne Asada (carne - "meat" & asada "grill"). Which is exactly what we did with it to make our steak tacos.


We started off by grilling some onions and garlic in some olive oil. After the flavors infuse, we put the meat on. This meat is very thin and cooks quickly. We add some Carne Asada seasoning (salt, chili pepper, spices, garlic, onion) and some Chile Con Limon Salt (typically used as a Mexican fruit seasoning). This is usually found in the produce section of some supermarkets and online at http://www.mexgrocer.com. Your meat should be cooked about 3 minutes on each side on medium heat.


Once the meat has cooked, we remove it from the pan and chop it up finely. We also throw in some cilantro (optional) and chop that up, adding it to our mix. Then we put everything back into the pan on low heat to keep everything warm while we prepare the Taco shells.





Our vegetables and shredded cheese that go on the taco (avocadoes, tomatoes, lettuce, red onions). You can get as creative as you like with what you want to put on your taco. It's open season on all the favorites (Jalapenos, Guacamole, Sour Cream, Salsa, etc.).





We're using small corn tortillas for our taco shells, but you can use whatever tortillas you prefer. We fill a pan with some vegetable oil, and wait until the oil is bubbling before adding in our tortilla.







Mikie and I use a set of metal tongs for forming our taco shells as illustrated in the picture. Take them out when they turn light brown and before they get too crispy or hard, because they break easily if they've cooked too long.








We did not have time to make a side dish from scratch so we are using store bought Rosarita refried beans. Mikie wants to learn how to make them from scratch, so if anyone has a good recipe, please let us know. To warm up the beans, just add a little olive oil in a sauce pan on low heat and stir until heated then serve.





It normally takes Mikie 27 minutes, (estimate) to construct the ultimate Taco. I've seen her weigh and scrutinize both meat and produce like a precious metals prospector before adding things to her Taco. I have legitimately finished my entire meal before she has finished putting the Coup De Grace on hers. What does the finished product look like, see the photo to the left.