Father's Day Carne Asada

turick · Jun 20, 2015

Last year I did a prime rib for Father's Day and it was one of the best products that ever came off my smoker, thanks to bearcarver. This year, I decided to switch things up and I'm doing some carne asada. I thought it would be cheaper, but the only place in town I could find skirt steak, it was almost $11 per pound! Ugh....

Anyway, here is a picture of all the ingredients for the marinade. Tomorrow the lovely wife will be making guacamole and I'll be making some pico de gallo. We will also be mixing up some masa for fresh corn tortillas.

I plan on smoking the meat at 100 degrees or so for about an hour with hickory... Maybe a little cherry too? Then finishing it off on the grill quick and hot.

Here is a pic of all the ingredients for the marinade, which it is currently soaking in. I can post the full recipe if anyone is interested.

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turick
Jun 20, 2015

dirtsailor2003 · Jun 21, 2015

How'd it turn out? Looks like you were off to a good start. Any Q view of the final product?

driedstick · Jun 22, 2015

quit teasing us I'm with DS how they turn out??

DS

jcollins · Jun 22, 2015

its just wrong to leave us hanging.

turick · Jun 23, 2015

Due to unforseen and completely uncontrollable circumstances, which has absolutely nothing to do with the sheer quantity of alcohol that may or may not have been consumed on Saturday night, this project got delayed. So the meat has been sitting in the marinade for 3 days, which has me a bit concerned because of all the acidy lime juice and vinegar, but hopefully it will be OK. Sorry for leaving you all hanging!

I took it out tonight and it looked and smelled great and is currently on the smoker with some hickory at 100 degrees. More pictures and status to follow!

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turick
Jun 23, 2015

turick · Jun 23, 2015

Oh ya, and those are some hardboiled eggs that will be made into smoked deviled eggs and mozzarella sticks that are up next! I usually use hickory but I'm now out, so they will be getting the alder treatment!

turick · Jun 23, 2015

The pico de gallo is done, just waiting on the meat. I've never made pico before and MAN is it good, and it's so simple! We already have all sorts of plans for what else we are going to eat it on!

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turick
Jun 23, 2015

turick · Jun 23, 2015

So the meat is super tough, so I had to chop the hell out of it, but the flavor is out of this world! And that is because of the marinade, not the meat. I don't know that I would ever buy skirt steak again. But the meat and the pico have a flavor that I've never experienced before and it is amazing!

I don't know if it's because the meat was still wet from the marinade, but it didn't take on any smoke flavor. I think this dish is better just for grilling. Skirt steak is supposed to be the go to for fajitas, but next time I'll do it with a thinly sliced roast or some other tender meat. Especially when it's cheaper than almost $11 per pound!

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turick
Jun 23, 2015

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turick
Jun 23, 2015

ak1 · Jun 23, 2015

There's probably a few issues that contributed; Steak was marinated too long, then possibly cooked too long given the marinating time. All that acid in the marinade probably chemically cooked the steak during the three days it was soaking.

turick · Jun 23, 2015

Totally agree, and those were my worries. To boot,my amnps didn't burn properly so I had to relight it after the meat had been on for about 45 minutes and left it in the smoker longer than I intended. Here are a few pictures I didn't post.

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turick
Jun 23, 2015

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turick
Jun 23, 2015

noboundaries · Jun 24, 2015

Skirt steak is one of my absolute favorite cuts of beef. I'd rather eat a perfectly cooked (rare) skirt steak than a filet mignon. I've never smoked skirt steak though.

Skirt steak is a grilling meat to me. I find it is best when marinated overnight, or jaccarded (tenderized) and marinated for 2-4 hours. Then fire up a HOT HOT HOT charcoal grill with some strong wood added (mesquite, hickory, or because I have a bunch, slightly milder oak). Grill for 3 minutes a side (rare) to 6 minutes a side (medium rare). Then cut across the grain when you eat it or into strips for fajitas. When cooked too long, which given the circumstances above indicate is most likely what happened, it will be extremely tough even with the marinade.

turick · Jun 24, 2015

Well maybe I'll have to give skirt steak another shot on a smaller scale... just grilling one up hot and fast after a short marinade. I think my marinade is so overwhelming that even if the steak were cooked perfectly, it would have only added a better texture and I could have gotten the same results with a cheaper cut of meat that is inherently more tender. For what it's worth, the steak still turned out medium-rare. The smoker never got over 100 degrees. Granted it was in there for about 2 hours and the outside started turning brown, but after I seared it on the grill the inside was still very red and raw and I just let it finish on it's own wrapped up in foil and towels.

Also, a mistake I may have made when smoking, is I took the meat out of the marinade soaking wet and dripping everywhere and threw it in the smoker. I thought about it afterwards... I'm guessing I should have patted it dry and let it sit out for a bit.

For anybody interested, here was my marinade:

2/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lime juice, squeezed from 6 limes
1/2 cup fresh orange juice, squeezed from 2 oranges
6 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
6 cloves minced garlic
3 jalapenos, minced
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
lowry's seasoning salt & black pepper at will

The original recipe didn't call for it, but I didn't have quite enough marinade to cover the meat, so I added a couple of Coronas.

kc5tpy · Jul 8, 2015

Hello. I agree with the others, hot and fast! And medium rare is as far as I think skirt steak should go. I prefer rare for skirt. Also I can't tell from the picture but skirt steak has a clear "membrane" that covers the whole cut. If the butcher did not remove that and you cook the steak ( in any way you want ) without removing that; you can't cut that steak with a chainsaw! Keep Smokin!

Danny

nice rack bbq · Jul 12, 2015

is it possible to send me the recipe for all the things you made with your carne asada, pico ?

Father's Day Carne Asada

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