Carne Asada Recipe: marinated steak with cumin & cilantro
The Mexicans and the Filipinos have so many things in common.
As Spanish colonies and as partners during the time of the Galleon trade, a lot of things have been passed from one culture and was adopted by the other.
One such by-product of trade is the sharing of food.
Carne Asada recipe is admittedly more Mexican than Spanish, what with its use of fresh ingredients and the leaning of the recipe towards tanginess instead of the Spanish cuisine’s leaning to the savory taste.
This recipe has obviously been loved by the Filipinos as well.
The meat used in Carne Asada recipe is simply grilled cut beef, and it is usually the beef flank or skirt that is used.
Marinated overnight, it is grilled whole the next day and then cut into strips.
This is usually a mainstay in lunch and dinner parties, the marinating and the grilling process is already a family business in itself and is enjoyed by the entire family in the dining table as well.

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Carne Asada Recipe Preparation / Marinating
As this is a Mexican-influenced recipe, the cut beef stripes are made into the stuffing of other recipes such as tacos or burritos.
If you are planning to turn this carne asada recipe, say, as a stuffing for tacos, then you can add this to the flour tortilla and add some salsa or pico de gallo into it.
However, it can still stand on its own as a lone viand and partnered with the perennial staple in Philippine cuisine – Rice.
Carne Asada recipe is a very straightforward dish to cook as it will only involve marinating the meat with ingredients such as olive oil, calamansi juice, ground pepper, and salt to achieve that zesty and refreshing taste.
As we Filipinos are sweet-tooth as well, sugar can be added into the marinade.

Carne Asada Recipe (Marinated)
Ingredients
- 1½ lbs skirt steak
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp garlic minced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 3 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- ½ tsp granulated white sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Place meat in gallon sized freezer bag, in the bottom of a shallow baking dish, or a non-reactive (plastic or glass) storage container with a lid.
- Pour carne asada marinade on top of meat, cover dish or close bag, and marinate overnight up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
grilling the marinated carne asada:
- Take meat out of container and grill until just cooked through. (Rare to medium rare.)
- Cut cooked meat into strips.
- Place meat and favorite toppings (salsa, cheese, guacamole, avocado slices, tomatoes, shredded cabbage, grilled sweet peppers, etc.) in a tortilla to make into tacos or burritos. You can also serve meat over rice for a carne asada bowl.
slow cooking the marinated carne asada:
- After marinating for one day, place meat and marinade in a slow cooker.
- Slow cook for 10 to 12 hours on low.
- Meat should be extra tender and can be shredded with a fork.
- Place meat and favorite toppings (salsa, cheese, guacamole, avocado slices, tomatoes, shredded cabbage, grilled sweet peppers, etc.) in a tortilla to make into tacos or burritos. You can also serve meat over rice for a carne asada bowl.
Nutrition
Image from FoodieandWine
Also read: Leave this Lechon pork belly marinating all night for a yummy main course
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Read for freeJoost Nusselder, the founder of Bite My Bun is a content marketer, dad and loves trying out new food with Japanese food at the heart of his passion, and together with his team he's been creating in-depth blog articles since 2016 to help loyal readers with recipes and cooking tips.