Carne asada is proof that a cheap, tough cut of beef and fifteen minutes on a hot grill can beat almost anything that took hours. The whole trick is in the marinade and the knife, not the fire.

Skirt steak is a working muscle, thin and heavily grained, which is exactly why it’s inexpensive and exactly why it needs the right treatment. A citrus and garlic marinade gets a head start on tenderizing before the heat ever touches it, and a hot grill does the rest in minutes, not hours. This is the backbone of Tex-Mex cooking: bold, punchy flavor built fast, meant to be wrapped in a warm tortilla and eaten standing up.

What You’re Learning

Marinating a thin, tough cut before it hits the heat. Skirt steak has more connective tissue than a steakhouse cut, which is why it’s cheaper and why it benefits so much from an acidic marinade. The citrus in this one starts breaking down the surface of the meat before it ever touches the grill, so what would otherwise be a chewy cut turns tender in about the time it takes to make a quick salsa.

Slicing against the grain. Skirt steak has long, visible muscle fibers running in one direction. Cut with them and every bite fights back. Cut across them, perpendicular to those fibers, and the same steak turns tender in an entirely different way. This one habit is the difference between carne asada that falls apart in a tortilla and carne asada that’s a workout to chew.

Ingredients

1½ lbs skirt steak (or flank steak)
⅓ cup orange juice
3 tbsp lime juice, divided, plus extra wedges for serving
3 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced, divided
2 jalapeños, minced, divided
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
Salt, to taste, divided
½ tsp black pepper
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped, divided
1 white onion, finely diced, divided
3 ripe tomatoes, diced
12 small corn tortillas

Method

Make the marinade. Whisk together the orange juice, 2 tablespoons of the lime juice, olive oil, 4 cloves of the garlic, half the jalapeño, cumin, chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and black pepper.
Marinate the steak. Add the skirt steak to the marinade, turning to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, up to overnight for deeper flavor.
Make the pico de gallo. Combine the tomatoes, half the onion, the remaining jalapeño, remaining 2 cloves garlic, remaining lime juice, half the cilantro, and salt to taste. Set aside.
Bring the steak to room temperature. Remove it from the fridge 20 to 30 minutes before grilling so it cooks evenly.
Heat the grill. Get a grill, grill pan, or cast iron skillet ripping hot over high heat.
Grill the steak. Remove it from the marinade, pat dry, and grill 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare, until well charred.
Rest the steak. Let it rest 5 to 10 minutes, tented loosely with foil, before slicing.
Slice against the grain. Find the direction the muscle fibers run and cut perpendicular to them in thin strips, this is what keeps the meat tender instead of chewy.
Warm the tortillas. Char them briefly over an open flame or in a dry skillet, 15 to 20 seconds per side, until warm and pliable.
Assemble. Fill each tortilla with sliced steak, top with pico de gallo, the remaining diced onion, and remaining cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

Notes

Skirt steak and flank steak both work here. Skirt is thinner and drinks up more marinade; flank is leaner and takes a minute or two longer per side.
Slicing against the grain matters more than anything else in this recipe. Skip it and even a perfectly grilled steak turns chewy.
Marinating overnight deepens the flavor considerably, but even 30 minutes gets you real flavor if you’re short on time.
Corn tortillas tear easily. Doubling them up, two per taco, is a common street-taco trick worth using.
No grill? A cast iron skillet or grill pan gets a similar char on the stovetop.
Leftover steak keeps 3 days refrigerated. Reheat it gently, it toughens fast in a microwave.