Carne Asada - Ah So Good!!!!

Well my husband gave this a 9.3 out of 10 which I was pretty happy with considering it was my first time making it and I was working from a few recipes to make my own. He's a tough critic though. To gain an extra .7 he suggested (a) guacamole instead of sliced avocado (b) thinner slices of beef and (c) small flour tortillas instead of normal size. See what I have to deal with? So picky. Just kidding, I did ask.

Well I am happy to say I used the leftover meat (just two of us with 2lbs of beef so lots of leftovers) and (a) made homemade guacamole instead of avocado slices (b) cut thinner slices of meat (although he meant pounded thinner but it was too late for that) and (c) offered to cut his tortillas into smaller ones, with a sarcastic laugh of course and no real intention of doing it. He loved them for the second night in a row but I spared him from having to rate it. Any critiques this time around and I may have been at it for a third night in a row.

Side note: I am a huge fan of making more food than you need so you have lunch or dinner the next day. The meat was great the second night. I heated it in a large pan on the stove top with a touch of olive oil until just heated through. They were just as good if not better (he was right about the guacamole!).

Carne Asada Tacos
Adapted from Tyler Florence & LA Times Recipe

2lbs skirt steak
Marinade (recipe follows)
Flour tortillas (small ones if you can find them)
Guacamole (preferably homemade)
Pico de gallo (recipe follows)
Sour cream
Fresh cilantro
Limes
Green onion or chopped onion (I didn’t serve either but some do)
Cold beer (required)

Marinade:
3 limes
1 jalapeño, minced
½ cup olive oil
3 T shallots, minced
2 T garlic, minced
¼ c cilantro, chopped
¼ c parsley, chopped
1 t cumin
1 t kosher salt
1 t black pepper

Pico De Gallo:
4 vine-ripe tomatoes, minced
¼ c onion, minced
¼ c fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeño, minced (or more if you can handle it)
Juice of one lime
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients for marinade in a large baking dish. Toss steak in marinade to coat both sides and marinate all day, turning over a few times to make sure marinade gets all over meat. Remove from fridge about 30 minutes before grilling. Heat gas grill to medium-high heat. Cook steaks for about 3 or 4 minutes on each side. Remove from heat, cover with foil and let sit for a few minutes. Warm tortillas in the oven. Place meat down the center of the tortilla and top with guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream, juice from a lime wedge and fresh cilantro. In-between bites sip cold delicious beer.

Serves: about 6