Ever wonder why your skirt steak isn’t as tender as the one from your favorite Tex-Mex restaurant? Find out why and get the recipe for the best carne asada ever! Have you ever grilled a skirt steak for carne asada or beef fajitas and wondered why it’s never as tender as the one served at your favorite Tex-Mex restaurant? In fact, I’ve cooked countless skirt steaks over the years in a quest to carne asada grill my favorite taqueria steak recipes.
Despite trying every tenderizing trick in the book, my skirt steaks have always been so tough that they’re almost inedible. Since every reputable food publication has a recipe for carne asada that calls for skirt steak, I was starting to wonder if I was being too picky or if I was just skirt steak-challenged. Why Are Restaurant Skirt Steaks So Tender? According to Walsh, most Tex-Mex restaurants buy their skirt steaks already marinated from commercial meat processors. Furthermore, salt and phosphate are added to increase moisture retention, making the meat juicier. This process is impossible to replicate at home, so I happily decided to give up on skirt steak and find a way to make carne asada using a different cut.
My solution: a flat iron steak. An affordable, widely-available cut that’s almost as tender as filet mignon, the flat iron steak is ideal for high heat, quick-cooking methods like grilling. The main ingredient in the marinade is soy sauce, which might seem strange for a Tex-Mex recipe. But soy sauce lends that umami — or meaty, full-bodied, and savory — flavor that somehow just makes the meat taste so much better. I assure you, it doesn’t give the dish an Asian flavor. This not only breaks up the fibers of the steak, it also helps the steak soak up the flavor of the umami-packed marinade.
In a dish large enough to hold the steak, combine the soy sauce, lime juice, vegetable oil, sugar, cumin, chili powder, and garlic. Place the steak in the marinade and turn to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours, turning the steak at least once. Lightly oil the grill grates and preheat the grill to high.
Grill the steak, covered, for 5 to 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let the meat rest on a cutting board, tented with aluminum foil, for about 5 minutes. Slice thinly against the grain and serve. I’d love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by leaving a review below. Using a fork, poke holes about an inch apart all over the steak on one side only. Note: You may need to buy 2 separate flat iron steaks to get 2 pounds.
