Hi everyone! New to posting (especially about cooking) so I apologize if this doesn’t make sense. My boyfriend and I are from Southern California and recently moved across the country. He’s been really missing California burritos from this place back home, so I want to make one for him. The only thing is that the recipes for carne asada that I’ve seen online look fantastic, but they’re not exactly what the taco shop makes. I have no clue if it’s a difference in meat cut, cooking, etc., but I want to try to get it as close to the original (even if it’s less enticing lol).
Photo attached is what I could find online that’s similar to what he used to get. Any help is greatly appreciated!
by NamaDuru
7 Comments
I cut sirloins into strips and marinate in 1/2 cup dales marinade & 1/2 cup orange juice with a few chopped garlic cloves. Maybe an hour and then just pan sear and it comes out about identical to the restaurant.
Go and buy it that’s how you make it🤣🤣🤣🤣
Buy a lower grade meat than you usually would, then dont marinate or season it for the gringos
One difference could be the cooking method. Carne asada should be cooked on a grill, and that’s what most recipes call for. But a lot of taco shops cook their asada over a griddle.
[https://foodieandwine.com/carne-asada-marinade/](https://foodieandwine.com/carne-asada-marinade/)
San Diego style carne asada.
Jonathan Zaragoza won’t let you down:
https://youtu.be/168ojhgSqyU?is=-keaGV_WMxjI9WZg
Taco shops use bags of meat that are pre diced like this:
https://www.costcobusinessdelivery.com/p/-/usda-choice-diced-lifter-meat-for-carne-asada-10-lbs/11962319
If I was going this route I would pre marinated and then pre cook the whole bag with a quick just sear it and store it for later. I’m sure others will post good recipes for marinade.
When it comes to cooking, fresh meat that’s been marinated will leech a ton of moisture and just steam itself instead of brown when you try to cook, so work in small batches to avoid steaming it. Restaurants have big flat top cooking surfaces but you can use a heavy pan with some oil on moderately high heat.
Put a handful of the meat on at a time and spread it into an even layer then stop moving it around. Just cook one side until the water under it evaporates and it starts to brown a bit without completely cooking it thru. Then chill it and save it for when you want to use it for a meal.
Final cook is over the same heat with some oil, but you’ll let it brown on one side first then stir it around a couple times to get it brown throughout. It should only cook for a few minutes at most.