Yet another discovery from the 2005 Fiery Foods Show, Pilarcita’s Marinades and Authentic Mexican Seasonings immediately impressed me with their flavor. The major selling point for me was a sample of carne asada that the ladies had whipped up just for the show. Talk about tasty – so once our supply came in, I knew I had to try it out for myself.
I decided to use the Hot & Spicy Carne Asada Marinade first and was glad to see a recipe suggestion on the back of the package. The recipe suggests marinating some skirt steak for 8 hours before grilling, so in order to make the tacos I was craving I did just that.
Skirt Steak
I went to the butcher and picked up 1lb of skirt steak. When buying skirt steak, it’s a good idea to get at least a 1/2lb for each person. In this case, I should have gotten 1lb per person, since it turned out so tasty. Trim the fat off the skirt steak carefully.
Marinating
This is the hardest part of the process, waiting patiently for the meat to marinate. Putting the marinade together was simple, just add water to the Pilarcita’s dry marinade and enjoy the smell! I had to slice the skirt steak in half in order to make it more manageable.
Chipotle Sauce
While the skirt steak was marinating, I whipped up a quick chipotle sauce. All you need to do is mix some regular mayo with some Tabasco Chipotle Sauce. Yes, it may sound a little odd, but this mixture really adds to the flavor of anything you can find. This taco topping is so easy to make and so tasty, it never stays around long. I like making it in the AM with some fried potatoes. After making the sauce, I chopped up some white onions and fresh cilantro. I like to use white onions as a garnish and red onions when cooking. Just a personal preference and what I had on hand at the time.
Cooking the Steak
Using our new grill pan, I cooked the skirt steak for about 5 minutes on each side. You can cook it a longer depending on your preferences, but I wanted to ensure that the meat remained juicy and maintained the flavor of the marinade. If you don’t have a grill pan, Lodge Cast Iron pans run about $25.oo and will last you a lifetime if properly maintained.
Adding some flavor
I tossed some fresh green onions in the marinade and added them to the grill pan while the steak was cooking. The green onions serve as a wonderfully colorful garnish and also taste great in the tacos.
Finished Product
Slice the skirt steak with the grain of the meat. This will ensure that your meat maintains all the juices and flavor that you’ve been waiting for. The seasonings from the marinade have remained on the skirt steak throughout the cooking, even though I only marinated the steak for 4 hours. I couldn’t wait the entire 8 hours as recommended.
Finally!
Now, I know someone is going to ask for a picture of the tacos, but your out of luck. After plating the meat and the garnishes, we were so hungry the camera got forgotten. Use your imagination and stop drooling on your keyboard. 🙂 I’m going to try the Pollo Asada Marinade sometime soon!