The Best Carne Asada Tacos, Marinated in Cerveza

These authentic carne asada tacos are a hit in the Southern California home of one of our favorite Mexican-food cocinera abuelas Anjie Villalobos. Everyone in her family gets pretty happy when she announces she’s making tacos in general (try Anjie’s shrimp tacos) and these delicioso overnight-marinated steak tacos most of all.

“We just love carne asada tacos,” says Anjie. “It’s definitely something we do more of in the summer, because we have to get out the barbecue.”

Like so many of their family-favorite traditional Mexican recipes, Anjie learned to make these by closely watching her sister-in-law Carmen, called China by everyone. ”Their family comes from San Juan de Los Lagos in Jalisco,” says Anjie. ”There are 15 brothers and sisters, so it’s a huge family, with lots of cooking always going on. They have a great love for food and for gathering. The whole family are all great cooks, but I would say China is probably the best.”

And thanks to watching the talented China in her kitchen for the four years she lived with them when her daughters were little, “I was introduced to making carne asada from scratch,” Anjie says. It is now firmly in her must-make comidas. “This recipe is traditional in that there is lots of lime, onion, garlic and spices that are very traditional to Mexican cooking. The beer, of course, helps tenderize the meat and helps impart some really nice flavor, as well.”

Anjie says she tends to add whatever she has in her refrigerator into the marinade, including whatever brand of beer she finds. It’s usually Mexican, which she prefers to use in this asado to keep things authentic.

How does she serve her carne asada? With homemade corn tortillas, says Anjie. It’s worth the extra 15 minutes. And with her grandkids’ favorite refried pinto beans, traditional Mexican rice, her go-to guacamole, and ’multitudes of different salsas.

“We usually have 2 or 3 different salsas: a red spicy one, a medium-heat one, and a salsa verde. Maybe also a fresh jicama salad on the side, or fresh corn on the cob,” Anjie adds.

Ready to Make Anjie’s Family-Famous Carne Asada Tacos?

The Best Carne Asada Tacos, Marinated in Cerveza

Recipe by Anjie Villalobos

5.0 from 1 vote

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

6

hours 

Cooking time

20

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 lbs flank or skirt steak

• Make the Marinade

• 2 oranges, large, juiced

• 5 limes, juiced

• 4 to 6 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1 white or yellow onion, small, sliced

• 1 serrano, small, finely diced and seeded

• 1/2 can beer (Anjie recommends using Mexican beer)

• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped

• 1 1/2 tsp oregano

• 1 tsp paprika

• 1 Tbsp salt (more or less to taste)

• 1 1/2 tsp sugar

• 1/4 tsp cumin

• 1/8 cup olive oil

• Garnishes

• onion, chopped

• cilantro, chopped

• lime, sliced

Directions

• Make the Marinade
• In a bowl or large measuring cup, mix all the ingredients for the marinade.
• Place the marinade and the meat in a bowl, pan (glass or ceramic, do not use metal), or a large zip bag. Make sure that the meat is nicely saturated with the marinade mixture.
• Cover and refrigerate the marinated meat for 6 to 12 hours.
• Grill the Carne Asada
• Before grilling, bring the marinated meat to room temperature.
• Heat your grill to 500 (charcoal or gas. In Anjie’s opinion, ”Charcoal is the tastiest!”).
• Cook for 5 to 7 minutes on each side.
• Make Your Tacos
• Slice and serve the carne asada with or on tortillas, refried beans, rice, and all your favorite fixings, like: guacamole, salsas, limes, chopped cilantro, and onions.

Notes

• If you like your tacos to have heat, leave in some or all of the serrano chile seeds, says Anjie.
• Anjie recommends serving this carne asada with 2 to 3 different salsas: usually a medium-heat red, a second and hotter red, and a salsa verde.