Carne Adobada (Chile-Marinated Steak)

As taught by my mom: Before marinating, score the flank steak lightly in a diagonal cross-hatch pattern (45 degrees against the grain) on both sides. When cooked, slice thinly (fully 90 degrees across the grain).

I use 1/4 cup ground red chile, medium hot, preferably from New Mexico, instead of the guajillo and chipotle. Garlic, salt, oregano, wine vinegar and enough water to make a thick slurry marinade. Serve with mantequilla de pobre (poor man's butter, coarse guacamole): one avocado peeled and minced, one or two tomatoes, peeled and minced, a bunch of green onions, chopped, 1 T oil, 3 T vinegar, salt to taste, stir and let sit for at least 30 minutes. Works with chicken as well as pork and beef.

Made as directed - everyone loved it! The salsa was a huge hit and was surprisingly good - not too spicy, but has enough kick to give a nice flavor. Grilled it on my Big Green Egg at 500degrees, removing when the meat hit 135. Street taco tortillas made it perfect.

When talking about lime juice in Mexican recipes, it should be key lime juice, not Persian lime juice.

While the marinade was tasty, I found the steak tough. I suspect this is due to the lime juice that toughens the proteins. Next time I’ll revert to my standby, yogurt, use lime zest for the flavor, & marinate overnight. Also, the recipe would benefit from a specific recommendation for the amount of salt. I used about 1/2 tsp, & could have used more (for my taste). But I’d like to know what the chemistry suggests.

Tried this for the first time over the weekend. Or should I say I tried MOST of it. Kroger did not have guajillo chiles. Or chopped roasted red peppers. I consulted Google, which told me they could be found at our local Walmart. Google lied, as it turned out. My marinade turned out to have instead a small can of ordinary chopped green chiles to go with the single chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, plus all the other stuff. Needn’t have worried. It was delicious!

Not faulting the recipe. But carne adobada is red chile marinated pork that is slow cooked until tender. Carne asada is a marinated steak usually flank.

The relish was immensely clever. Mild, festively colored in contrast to the meat, the roasted red pepper popping with the white shallot and bright green fresh cilantro. And lime, lime, lime through everything, so light and bright and sparkling. That’s how somebody described Jane Austen’s style once, and I think her style is a lot like the taste of this lime, soaring, somehow, above the fray of the details. So it was that this lime-intensive relish was perfect.

Fancy tacos! This was a fun and yummy dish and would make a great dinner party meal. We marinaded the steak for the about 7 hours and it really soaked up the flavor. The steak on its own would be quite good, but the salsa really elevates it. We served the steak and salsa and on warm tortillas with black beans and grilled squash. Recommend cutting the steak super thin to make it easier to bite through. We’ll certainly make this again.

Has anyone tried this with skirt steak? I prefer it to flank, more, tender if not overcooked and slices like a dream for serving in soft taco shell.

No offense, but with graciousness... A lot of work for not much flavor. Not enough acid to fully tenderize the flank steak and not enough flavor to compensate for the work involved. I would add vinegar, more cumin, cayenne pepper, equal amounts of soy and pineapple juice, coriander, and yes, worcestershire for umami. And a drizzle of oil in the marinade. It was a good start, needs some tweaking. And more acid! Thanks for the good starting idea! Sam

Tasty Mike, lorna, Shira, laura, Zeke, jonah, Danny couldn't find guajillo chiles, so used hatch Red chili (2 tbsp) in a jar (ks)

8/1/21 Accidentally marinated almost 24 hours - wonderful mistake. Rave reviews from family.