Carne Asada Tacos (Tijuana Street Style)

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The carne asada (steak) tacos you get on the street in Tijuana, Rosarito, or Ensenada are pretty simple. Generally it's grilled steak, a hot salsa, creamy avocado, and chopped white onion and cilantro on a home made corn tortilla. It might be simple, but it's a special combination of flavors. I've tried to recreate it as much as possible. This is pretty close. Like most great street food, it's also about the experience of the location. That's tough to replace here in New Hampshire. But a bite of these tacos does take me there for a second or two.

Grilled Carne Asada

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There's many ways to do carne asada. I do it a couple ways; grilled or in a cast iron pan. This is my grilled recipe. I use flank steak here, but you can use any steak you like. Sirloin tips work wonderful.

Carne Asada, Taco Shop Style

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You can marinade and cook carne asada in many different ways. This is close to what you'd get from a Taco Shop in San Diego. I use a large cast iron pan on high heat. This works in tacos, burritos, tortas, pizza and whatever.

Chicken Fried Carne Asada Steak Torta

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A torta is basically a Mexican sandwich. This is similar to a pork cutlet "Milanese" torta, but I'm using a flattened piece of steak tip that's marinated then breaded and fried. It is very tasty. You can make your own roll if you'd like or you can use a piece of french bread, portuguese roll, or any sandwich roll. You want it to have a crunchy exterior.

Carne Asada Pizza

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We've been making a lot of pizza lately. I found an easy recipe for the dough online. You use a kitchen aid mixer to knead the dough. Simple ingredients and the dough is easy to shape. We've been trying a variety of toppings. Adding carne asada meat along with a chipotle flavored tomato base came out wonderful. Here's the recipe.

California Burrito

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Another San Diego specialty is the California Burrito. It's basically a carne asada burrito with crispy french fries and sour cream. It's awesome.

Carne Asada Burrito (San Diego Taco Shop Style)

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San Diego has a unique brand of Mexican Food. You can get traditional Mexican like you'll find anywhere else in the states. But, the the unique thing about San Diego is the taco shop. They are everywhere. They're not all great, but most are above average. The menu is similar whether you go to Roberto's, Rigobertos, Albertos, or Lolitas. Rolled tacos, burritos, tortas, tacos, and such. Everyone has their preference. I grew up next to a Lolitas. Still my favorite. Served fast and at all hours. It's what you miss most about San Diego besides the weather when you leave. It's the first place you go when you get back. For me, it's the carne asada burrito or torta. I've been trying to recreate it for years now that we live on the east coast. I've gotten pretty close here with this recipe. I've made it slightly more elaborate than you'd get in a taco shop, but not much. Carne asada translates to "grilled steak." I'm not grilling it here. I'm cooking it in a cast iron pan. In a taco shop, they'd cook it on the flat top. You can use a variety of cuts. I always use steak tips or "flap steak" It's a nice tender, marbled steak. You need a bit of fat in the steak.