You guys, it’s time. It’s time to feast on Steak Tacos. Time to be blown away by the robust flavor even though the recipe’s marinade only calls for 2 ingredients.
Time to munch on steak tacos while thinking, hot damn, this is a good steak taco.
Portland, Oregon is known for its thriving food truck scene. The food trucks in Portland are so fantastic, they often turn into brick and mortar locations. Kieran and I live near several food truck pods. Food truck pods are defined by 3 or more food trucks in one area. Our house is located 10 minutes away from a food truck pod that is entirely devoted to Mexican food. Visiting there is like dying and going to taco heaven. My favorite tacos are the Carne Asada which consists of marinated beef topped with diced onion and cilantro.
Awhile back Kieran and I craved steak tacos so we walked to a nearby Mexican food truck to get some. The food truck was closed for the evening by the time we arrived. We felt too lazy to drive over to the Mexican food truck pod, so we made due with some local pub fare. However, the craving for steak tacos never went away. I decided to make my own version of steak tacos so I could kill the craving whenever it reared its irresistible head.
My steak tacos are similar to Carne Asada in that I serve them with only diced onion and cilantro, however, my marinade is only 2 ingredients. I use lime juice or lemon juice and salt for my marinade, and that’s it. Google Carne Asada recipes and you’ll find recipe after recipe using numerous spices and citrus juices. I wanted the steak flavor to speak for itself rather than mask it with a butt load of spices. I’m sure the other recipes are outstanding but I wanted to prove that sometimes less is more.
I asked Kieran what he thought of the steak tacos after he ate them. He told me he loved them. I disclosed using only 2 ingredients to flavor the beef. Wow, he said, I would have never guessed that.
The simplicity of the flavors makes for an amazing meal.
I was struggling with writer’s block this morning while trying to finish up this post. I asked Kieran what else I could write about the steak tacos.
Kieran said I don’t know, maybe you can just taco bout them. He giggled and left the room.
:/
Kieran’s fired.
Butt seriously you guys, you must fire up the skillet and make these steak tacos! I marinaded the beef in lime juice and lemon juice and both versions were delicious. I honestly can’t tell you which marinade I preferred – they both tasted amazing.
The beef cuts I tried out for this recipe are Denver steak, flank steak, and skirt steak. The Denver steak was my favorite cut of beef to use although flank and skirt steak also worked wonderfully. According to Dale Woerner, an associate professor at Colorado State University’s Center for Meat Safety & Quality, the Denver cut comes from the most heavily marbled muscle that makes it immensely rich and intense in terms of flavor.
So that means if you can get your hands on Denver steak, use it!
For those of you who despise cilantro, you may be able to sub parsley? I question it because I haven’t tried parsley on this recipe before. I assume parsley would work though, the cilantro gives this dish a pop of freshness, so I imagine parsley would do the same. Please try it and let me know what you think!
Alright readers, time for me to go. I have an Airbnb guest checking in soon and Homie needs her morning walk. If you love the uncompromising flavor of just beef, this recipe is for you!
Thanks for stopping by,
Christina
Steak Tacos Recipe
Ingredients
- 1½ lbs of Denver steak, flank steak, or skirt steak
- Salt
- Juice from 2 limes or 2 lemons
- 8-12 Corn tortillas (I used 2 tortillas per taco)
- Olive oil
- Diced onion
- Cilantro
Instructions
- Start by seasoning both sides of your beef with a generous amount of salt. Place the beef into a bowl and cover with lime juice. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- After 2 hours yank the bowl from your fridge and heat a splash of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Discard the marinade.
- Sear the steak on both sides until the steak is cooked to your liking. Place the steak on a cutting board and let it rest for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes cut it into thin strips. I'll often put the cut steak (and juices) back into the skillet over low heat while I'm preparing the tortillas.
- At this point, you can cook your corn tortillas the way you like best. I heated some olive oil in another skillet and fried my tortillas. I allowed them to drain on a paper towel before serving.
- Once the tortillas were cooked I spooned in some beef and topped them with diced onion and cilantro.
- I can't eat tacos without sliced avocado so I added them for good measure.