Carne Asada & Pico de Gallo
Ingredients
Scale
- Carne Asada
- 1–2 jalapeños
- 1 medium tomato, cored and cut into quarters
- 1 small yellow onion or 1/4 large one, peeled and cut into quarters
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 1/8 cup ancho chili powder or to taste (you can grind your ancho chilis, after scraping out the seeds)
- 1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1/8 cup kosher salt
- 1/4 large bunch cilantro, leaves and stems, well rinsed
- 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice (about 1 orange)
- 1.5 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice (1 or 2 limes)
- 1/8 cup mirin
- 6 oz (3/4 cup) Budweiser or other lager beer
- 1 pound Watkins beef, cut into 10-inch sections
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- For the Pico Gallo
- ½ red onion, peeled and chopped into small dice
- ½ bunch cilantro, leaves and stems, chopped roughly
- 3 scallions, white and green parts, sliced thinly
- 5 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped into small dice
- 1 heaping tablespoon Chinese chili bean sauce (toban djan) or Korean chili bean paste (gochujang) if you have some
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- Juice of 1 lime
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler. Place the jalapeños on a cookie sheet or in a skillet with an ovenproof handle, and put them under the broiler until their skins begin to blacken and bubble. (You can also do this by putting the peppers directly over a burner on your stove or on a gas grill.) Pull the stems and seeds from the jalapeños and discard them; skin the peppers and put them into a food processor.
- Add the tomato, onion, garlic, sugar, ancho chili powder, black pepper and salt to the bowl of the machine, and pulse to combine. Add the cilantro, the fruit juices, mirin and beer. Process again until smooth.
- Transfer the marinade to a large, nonreactive bowl and submerge the steak in it. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least four hours or overnight.
- Build a fire in your grill. If using a gas grill, turn all burners to high
- When all coals are covered with gray ash and the fire is hot (you can hold your hand 6 inches over the grill for only a few seconds), remove steaks from marinade, drizzle with olive oil and place on the grill directly over the coals and cook until deeply seared, turning a few times, approximately 10 minutes for medium-rare. Remove steaks from the grill and allow to rest a few minutes. Slice against the grain into thin strips and serve with warm corn tortillas, pico de gallo (recipe follows), grilled scallions, whatever you like.
For the Pico Gallo
- In a large, nonreactive bowl, add all the ingredients and stir to combine. Adjust seasoning to taste. Serve with carne asada and grilled tortillas. Serve remainder with tortilla chips.
Notes
- Not Included in Large Kitchen Box: White Sugar, Ancho Chili Powder (try grinding the ancho chilis in your box), Ground Black Pepper, Salt, Mirin, Beer, Olive Oil, Chili Bean Sauce/Paste.