CARNE ASADA!!! Father's Day cook...

KiterTodd

I had a great Father's Day weekend on boats and at pools.  The only downside... I wasn't home long enough for a slow cook on the egg!  Still, after a nice afternoon at a friend's house on Sunday I started to think about what I was going to grill when I got home...  chicken thighs?  (wife said "nope"), oysters? (out of season so harder to find), t-bones (plan ...CARNE ASADA!  

Yup, Carne Asada it was.  If you marinate and cook it right, a flank steak can give you the satisfaction of slow cooked beef with all the flavor and tenderness.

I tried a new recipe which had you salt the flank and then rub with a chimmichurri marinade which was basically garlic, scallion, cilantro, lime, cumin, and oil.  Let the meat sit for 30 minutes in the fridge (good time to light the egg and get it dialed in), scrape off most of the marinade, dust with pepper and sugar, and grill.   I made extra of the marinade because I like to serve it on the grilled meat.

We had some of it on grilled tortillas, but I ate most of it just by itself.  It was delicious!

It was my first time cooking Carne Asada on the egg, and with the flames on the lump when you opened the grill it really had an authentic Churrasco feel, smell and flavor.  I'll definitely do this again!


Just on.




Ready to come off....sooo flavorful!



Sorry...did not get any sliced pictures.  Everybody was hungry, the meat smelled great, and I only remembered to snap one after my 4th serving. 
The meat was medium to medium-well but if you have had a good carne asda, it doesn't really matter.  It wasn't tough and there was so much flavor.  All of the fat had rendered making it easy to pull apart and enjoy.  Definitely the best flank steak I've ever cooked and up there with the best I've had out!

henapple

Looks great

onelikearock

One of my favorite meals. Great job

Springram

That really looks great. Bet it tasted great too!

Springram

Spring, Texas

divecj5

Looks fantastic.  Like you, I find flank steak to be a pretty versatile cut of meat.  One of my favorites is to marinate it overnight in some premium teriyaki marinade, grill up and serve with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus sprinkled with parmesan.

What temp and how long each side did you cook those?

Aviator

Excellent!! Sure it tasted like heaven!

Canugghead

Looks killer!

BYS1981

I do carne asada 2-3 a month, it's one of my go to cooks.

Looks like you nailed it.

geoff7877

That looks amazing. I love flank steak. Last one I cooked was marinated in extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, minced garlic and fresh rosemary for about 8 hours then seared to medium rare in about 7 minutes. Pull apart tender.

KiterTodd

divecj5 said:

Looks fantastic.  Like you, I find flank steak to be a pretty versatile cut of meat.  One of my favorites is to marinate it overnight in some premium teriyaki marinade, grill up and serve with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus sprinkled with parmesan.

What temp and how long each side did you cook those?

I agree it is versatile, but I have messed it up in the past more than I've made it right.  (tough)  This time it was great.

The dome temp was around 450.   I took the flank and filet'd it down the center so it is thinner than it comes packaged.  I did <5 minutes on each side, and then a little more flipping and rotating in short durations to get an even charring all around.  Always grilled with the top closed.

Yeah, I was surprised how good it was.

I think if I make it again for a crowd I'll do 2 exactly like this, and then I'll do 2 more with higher heat and shorter durations.  See if it is still tender if I get it charred outside but medium-rare inside.

KiterTodd

It was so good, I did it again...

This time I kept one the same, and  I additionally seasoned the other one with Swamp Venom before grilling!  It was good, the flavor of the heat and spice came through nicely...but I think I like the Carne Asada better with just the marinade on it.  While spicy, the Swamp Venom covered up the good taste of tender flank.

caliking

Home run!

tulocay

Looks great.

uheep

That looks delicious. Thanks for that post!

boochsr71

looks great!

PNWFoodie

Looks amazing! I love flank steak, but I have a hard time buying it anymore because now that people have figured out what it is, a formally cheaper cut of meat is now getting higher end prices. After seeing your pics, I might have to break down and pony up the benjamins.

KiterTodd

PNWFoodie said:

Looks amazing! I love flank steak, but I have a hard time buying it anymore because now that people have figured out what it is, a formally cheaper cut of meat is now getting higher end prices. After seeing your pics, I might have to break down and pony up the benjamins.

Yeah PNWFoodie...it does seem like an unfairly expense cut of meat for such a tough piece.  Obviously we have figured out ways of cooking it.   If I recall, I think that piece cost me $18.   I sliced it in two to give me two thin pieces instead of one thick one.  But still..while I enjoyed it and will buy it again, I don't think the meat is worth that price.