Carne Asada Tacos

I still remember the first time I ever had Carne Asada Tacos. It was in Albany, Georgia, at the El Maya II mexican restaurant. I ordered them because I wanted something different from my usual soft beef tacos with a side of frijoles. And what a perfect choice it was! I remember the burst of flavor packed into the Carne Asada and the perfect compliment of the Tomatilla Sauce that came with them. We moved away from Albany some time back and I’ve been on the hunt for a perfect Carne Asada Taco ever since. I’ve found one that comes really, really close at El Sombrero in Flowery Branch. Pretty good, but not quite El Maya.

I would have never thought I could make a good Carne Asada Taco at home. I’ve searched for recipes online and in Mexican cookbooks, but they all seemed too complicated. So, when the nice folks at Foodbuzz recently sent me a bottle of Kikkoman’s new Lime Ponzu Sauce to try and it included a recipe for Carne Asada Tacos, I was thrilled! I mixed up the marinade, let the steak sit for a while, cranked up the grill and, let me tell you, the result was fantastic. If you see the new Kikkoman Lime Ponzu in your grocery store, grab a bottle and give this easy recipe a try.

1 cup Kikkoman Lime Ponzu sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 pounds flank or skirt steak
10-12 flour or corn tortillas (whatever your preference)
1 recipe Pico de Gallo
Guacamole (optional)
Chopped onion (optional)
Chopped cilantro (optional)

This is one of those easy-peasy recipes that you don’t need step-by-step photos for. Dump everything into a plastic bag, let it sit, fire up your grill and enjoy!

Here’s the Ponzu. It’s lighter than soy sauce and worked great as a marinade.

In a medium bowl, whisk the ponzu sauce, lime juice and garlic. Put the mixture, along with the steak, in a large plastic bag and marinate in refrigerator overnight. Remove steak from the marinade and pat dry. Heat the grill and cook the steak to your desired degree of doneness – we like ours medium well. 

Let the steak rest for 5-10 minutes, then slice across the grain. Let me stress again to slice the meat across the grain. If you sliced the meat with the grain, it would make long stringy pieces of meat that would be hard to chew. This way it’s very tender and easy to eat.

Serve with warm tortillas, pico de gallo and your choice of optional toppings.

Enjoy!

Download a printable recipe here. 

–Recipe from Kikkoman

Tagged as: carne asada, cooking, entree, Food, lime, main dish, mexican, ponzu, recipes, tacos