This Mexican Carne Asada Marinade Recipe has been one of my secret recipes, until now! The marinade makes an amazingly flavorful and tender Carne Asada. Use leftovers to make California burritos, then use this marinade to make smoked Traeger carne asada!
Don't take this the wrong way, but you haven't had good carne asada until you've had it in San Diego. The fact that we are neighbors with Mexico means we are spoiled with amazing Mexican food! This includes delicious options like Mexican Breakfast Burritos, carne asada tacos, and a San Diego original, the California burrito!
There is a reason why this carne asada marinade is one of my most popular recipes. People can't get enough of this succulent carne asada thanks to this amazing marinade!
You can build an entire Mexican feast around this authentic carne asada recipe! Start with some ceviche de camaron to wet your guests appetites, then work your way to carne asada tacos served with fire roasted salsa, and these sweet and tangy tamarind margaritas!
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🧐 Why This Recipe Works
- This Mexican Carne Asada Marinade is the first step in making all the delicious food mentioned above. It has the perfect blend of ingredients and spices and the taste is incredible!
- You can marinade the steak the night before and toss it on the grill when you're ready to eat!
- If you don't have a grill, you can cook it in a hot cast iron skillet instead or even broil it in the oven.
- Leftovers can be used in so many recipes. Nachos, carne asada quesadillas, burritos, and tacos are just a few options!
If you're in a hurry and don't have time to marinate the meat, try my Mexican carne asada seasoning instead!
🛒 What Goes into This Recipe
🔖 Recipe Ingredient And Substitutions
- Flank or Skirt Steak: The best cuts of beef to use for making Carne Asada are flank and skirt steak. Both cuts of meat come in long strips. Flank steak is usually thicker and a lot leaner. Skirt, on the other hand, has a lot of marbling, which makes it perfect for this recipe.
- Onion & Garlic: If you don't have fresh onion and garlic, add 1 teaspoon of powdered onion and 1 teaspoon of powdered garlic instead.
- Vinegar: I prefer using red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar in the marinade, but distilled vinegar may be substituted.
- Citrus: Either lemon juice or lime juice can be used in the marinade. I also like to add some orange juice. Although you can use bottled juice, fresh is always best, if available.
🥩 How to Make Carne Asada Marinade
Step 1: Whisk all the marinade ingredients into a bowl.
Step 2: Add flank or skirt steak and marinade to a large Ziplock bag and seal. Allow the meat to marinate for 4 or more hours, or preferably overnight.
Step 3: Barbecue your marinated steak using high heat until charred on the surface and cooked to medium-rare or medium. You don't want to overcook the meat.
Step 4: Remove carne asada from the grill and allow to rest for a few minutes.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
Slice the carne asada against the grain and serve with warm corn tortillas, guacamole (or sliced avocados), pico de gallo, lime wedges, salsa, and sour cream.
You can also use the diced carne asada to make California burritos (my personal favorite), Mexican rice bowls, carne asada fries, carne asada quesadillas!
If you're looking for another steak marinade option, be sure to check out this yummy steak marinade recipe from Kita at GirlCarnavore.com
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
The two cuts of meat that are most often used to make Carne Asada are flank steak and skirt steak. Of the two, I prefer skirt steak. The two cuts have a lot in common.
First, they are located next to each other on a cow's body. Additionally, both cuts are lean and fibrous. As a result, both flank steak and skirt steak do well being marinated in this Mexican Carne Asada marinade.
Carne Asada is best when cooked using high heat, for a short period of time, or to medium-rare. Finally, the cooked meat should be cut across the grain. Following these steps will ensure the Carne Asada is tender, delicious, and full of flavor!
Carne Asada can be served in so many ways. Let's take a look at some of the possibilities. When served in restaurants, Carne Asada is often served with Mexican rice and chipotle chorizo beans.
Additionally, if you're doing Keto, or are on a low-carb diet, you can slice the Carne Asada meat and serve it over a salad, or wrap it in a low-carb tortilla with some creamy cilantro lime sauce. Another delicious option would be to serve it diced, over nachos. Or, my favorite option, use it to make Carne Asada Quesadillas!
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- The best meat for making carne asada is skirt steak or flank steak.
- Use approximately ¾ teaspoon salt, for each pound of meat.
- Marinate the steak for a minimum of 4 hours, or preferably, overnight.
- Instead of discarding the leftover marinade, use it to marinate some boneless chicken to make pollo asada (chicken asada) the following day.
- Serve leftover carne asada diced over Instant Pot Mexican rice!
🌶 Related Recipes
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
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📖 Recipe
Mexican Carne Asada Marinade
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Skirt steak
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 medium lime or lemon (juiced)
- 2 Tbsps orange juice (freshly squeezed)
- 2 Tbsps red wine vinegar
- ½ cup onion (diced)
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
- 4 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 1 medium Serrano pepper (diced)
- 2 tsps salt
- 2 tsps chili powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Whisk all the marinade ingredients into a bowl.
- Add flank or skirt steak and marinade to a large Ziplock bag and seal. Allow the meat to marinate for 4 or more hours, or preferably overnight.
- Barbecue your marinated steak using high heat until charred on the surface and cooked to medium-rare or medium. You don't want to overcook the meat.
- Remove carne asada from the grill and allow to rest for a few minutes.
Serving Suggestions
- Slice the carne asada against the grain and serve with warm corn tortillas, guacamole (or sliced avocados), pico de gallo, lime wedges, salsa, and sour cream.
Notes
- The best meat for making carne asada is skirt steak or flank steak.
- Use approximately ¾ teaspoon salt, for each pound of meat.
- Marinate the steak for a minimum of 4 hours, or preferably, overnight.
- Instead of discarding the leftover marinade, use it to marinate some boneless chicken to make pollo asada (chicken asada) the following day.
- Serve leftover carne asada diced over Instant Pot Mexican rice!
Delores says
Made this recipe. It was delicious, turned out better than what I had hoped for.
HildaSterner says
Thank you Delores, I'm glad you enjoyed the Carne Asada and thanks for the review!
Teresa Evers says
I just made this marinade , used flank steak because that’s all I had . Marinaded the meat for 24 hours . My husband just loved it, very flavorful and tender. I will definitely make this again. Thank you Hilda for another amazing recipe .
HildaSterner says
Hi Teresa,
So glad you two liked it! As always, thanks for the great review!
Jana says
This is amazing!!! I’m definitely making this again! I just dumped all of the marinade ingredients in my blender to chop the veggies, and everything soaked into the meat so well! It was juicy and tender, with a perfect flavor! It wasn’t spicy like I feared. It also took mere minutes to cook and looked amazing sliced thinly on an angle.
HildaSterner says
Thanks, Jana! I'm so glad you liked it. It sounds like the perfect way to do it too!
Steven says
Tried this last night. Amazing flavor. I used it on Filet Mignon I know why? But OMG it was tasty. The following morning I used some of the marinade on my eggs.
HildaSterner says
Hi Steven,
I'm so glad you liked it! Have a wonderful day and thank you for your review!
Jan A Speer says
This is an awesome marinade. My first attempt at Carne Asada and it turned out so well! I also appreciate the easy to find ingredients and clear instructions and photos. This has lots of great layers of flavors! I would make no changes to this recipe.
HildaSterner says
Thanks, Jan. I'm glad you liked it. It's the only one we use! Have a great day and stay safe!
Daniel Sandoval says
Hello, I do want to try this recipe. I am also confused by the 2.T in orange juice and vinegar. What is 2. T? Or what is the proper amount. Thank you.
HildaSterner says
Hi Daniel, "T." is an abbreviation for "Tablespoon." Hope that clarifies the recipe for you, good luck!
Sulema says
Excuse my ignorance l, What is 2 T. ?
HildaSterner says
Hi Sulema, "T." stands for "Tablespoon," while "tsp." means "teaspoon." Have a beautiful day!
Kathy Cortez says
I want to try this for my self
Dorothy says
WE LOVED IT! MADE IT TODAY!
HildaSterner says
Thanks, Dorothy, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm making some today too. Thanks for the feedback!
Karly says
This looks amazing! Thanks for sharing.
HildaSterner says
Thanks, Karly, I hope you give it a try!