The Best Cuts Of Meat For Carne Asada

When it comes to serving up tender, charred flavors, nothing compares to some juicy cuts of carne asada. It might seem like this Mexican favorite requires special cookware or ingredients to whip up at home, but the concept couldn't prove simpler. According to The Stay At Home Chef, carne asada consists of cuts of steak that have typically been marinated in a mixture of lime juice, jalapeños, orange juice, garlic, cilantro, and your favorite seasonings. The marinated meat gets grilled up and cut to size for use on burritos, tacos, and any other item you can dream up. 

When it comes to making carne asada, you can theoretically use any kind of beef, but certain cuts end up producing a much more pleasant meal. According to The Spruce Eats, you want to opt to use skirt steak, but if you can't get your hands on one of these cuts, you can also look for flank steak, sirloin flap meat, or trimmed brisket. You need to plan to cut your meat into one-inch strips and plan for a pound of meat per person. While you could throw skirt steak straight on the grill, many cuts improve with a dip in a marinade for optimal texture.

If you opt to use a skirt steak, you need to plan to add some extra prep time into your carne asada plans. According to Vine Pair, skirt steaks and flank steaks serve up the most intense beef flavor of available cuts, but due to the large amount of muscle fibers found in skirt steaks, taking these cuts directly from grill to table might prove too tough for diners. The signature citrusy marinade of carne asada not only helps impart some very distinct flavors into the cuts of beef but also breaks down some of the muscle in the steak, making it much easier to chew.

When you want to grill up the perfect cuts of beef for burritos, tacos, and so much more, you can't go wrong with carne asada. As the Spruce Eats notes, carne asada is becoming a staple at barbecues in the United States and Mexico. Next time you need to whip up a meal anyone can get behind, keep skirt steaks and flank steaks in mind for your next carne asada cookout.