Carne Asada Tacos (Street Taco Style) | Swanky Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the best cheese for street tacos? ›

Cheeses: I love to use cotija cheese for tacos, but queso fresco or any Mexican blend will work. Fresh Veggies: Thinly slice some radish for an extra fresh crunch.

Street tacos are a traditional Mexican snack of warm corn tortillas typically filled with meat topped with onions, cilantro and often a spicy sauce. Their presence is growing on American menus as consumers' interest in Latin-American cuisine, and in foods they see as authentic, continues to increase.

Corn tortillas are the BEST to use for these, but you could use flour tortillas if you like. Heat my corn tortillas on a griddle or skillet for a few minutes on each side. You could also throw them on the grill for a few seconds.

I used flat-iron steak as it has more marbling (fat that keeps the meat moist and flavorful). The key to getting these cuts of meat tender and juicy is: a long marination time, not cooking it above medium-rare (even medium), and slicing it thinly against the grain.

If you are making a simple taco, corn tortillas are best as they help bolster the ingredients and add to the overall flavor. If you are planning on building an epic taco you may choose to use a flour tortilla to hold all of the ingredients together.

Mexican street tacos are small and served on corn tortillas, whereas American ones may be larger and often served on wheat tortillas or crispy corn shells.

Mexicans fondly refer to this as 'la copia' (literally: the copy). If you ask around, you'll be given many reasons for this. But a popular explanation is that the second tortilla can be used to make another taco with any fillings that spill out the side.

I used flour tortillas for these, just to switch it up a little, but corn tortillas are equally tasty, and truer to the original Mexican street taco of my dreams. Whichever tortilla you choose though, these are a simple, delicious, tried-and-true taco classic – no impromptu border-crossing required.

Less than a teaspoon of baking soda ensures that your steak remains juicy and tender—even after a speedy marinade. While other recipes demand hours of marinating, this baking soda hack makes a flank steak or any other fibrous cut of beef ready to sear after just an hour.

What happens if you marinate carne asada too long? ›

Most recipes for marinating meat and poultry recommend six hours up to 24 hours. It is safe to keep the food in the marinade longer, but after two days it is possible that the marinade can start to break down the fibers of the meat, causing it to become mushy.

Heat on high to sear and then lower the heat to finish cooking. Make sure to use your stove vent, searing the steak this way can smoke up the kitchen! If you want, before adding the steak to the marinade, reserve a couple of tablespoons of the marinade to drizzle over the finished carne asada to serve.

Normal queso fresco. Crumbled over many food items. Other places Cotija is used more often. Some places use a more yellow cheddar type cheese.

Queso fresco has a bolder, tangier flavor than mozzarella cheese but is smoother and saltier than that of goat cheese. It is used in several classic Mexican dishes such as tacos and bean dishes. Using queso fresco cheese on any dish can give it a cheese accent making it tastier.

What you may not realize is that cheese is not always included in Mexican dishes. Americanized versions of Mexican foods often do have some form of cheese or another, but authentic cuisine omits cheese a good portion of the time. Street tacos, for example, are not served with cheese in Mexico.