Our family loves this marinade for carne asada, and I’ve tried a lot! Your flank steak will be deliciously soft when it comes off the grill thanks to a 24-hour soak in a spicy citrus and soy marinade.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 10 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 day 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 day 40 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
Ingredients
- ¾ cup orange juice
- ½ cup lemon juice
- ⅓ cup lime juice
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground paprika
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped canned chipotle pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ cup olive oil
- 3 pounds flank steak
Instructions
- Combine orange juice, lemon juice, and lime juice for marinade in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Add cilantro, soy sauce, garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, black pepper, chipotle pepper, and oregano; stir to combine.
- Slowly whisk in olive oil until well combined. Remove 1 cup of the marinade and place in a small bowl; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for use after the steak is cooked.
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- Place steak between two sheets of heavy plastic (resealable freezer bags work well) on a solid, level surface. Firmly pound steak with the smooth side of a meat mallet to a thickness of 1/4 inch.
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- After pounding, poke steak all over with a fork. Place steak in the marinade in the large bowl, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
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- When ready to cook, preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate.
- Remove steak from the marinade and shake off excess. Discard the remaining marinade.
- Cook steak on the preheated grill to desired doneness, about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare.
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- Remove steak from grill and slice across the grain.
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- Place on a serving platter and pour the reserved, unused marinade over top. Serve immediately.
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Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 207 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 6 g |
| Cholesterol | 25 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 15 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 640 mg |
| Sugars | 2 g |
| Fat | 14 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
You can bypass the chili powder and pepper with jalapeño the soy sauce I can understand it’s a tenderizer…the best cut of meat you can find at Mexican stores. It’s called Arrachera a little pricey but worth i. You can use Sunny D or Tampico. Basic is best a sure fire seasoning to apply to the meat is called Sazon there’s one for Asada….rub it in and let it sit in the fridge for a while then make your marinade let it sit for up to 24 hours then grill all the extras like cumin paprika are not necessary
Excellent!! This was wonderful!! We did add a 1/4 cup of Cholula Hot Sauce as well, since we like the spice. But it was amazing. Will be using this often.
Amazing flavor. Worth the time spent marinading and prep!!
This marinade is amazing! My family loved it and couldn’t believe that it was not store bought. The marinade was full of flavor and very easy to make. Highly recommend
Great!
Just ok for me. Predominant cumin and citrus flavors. Guess I’m not a big cumin fan.
Thank you! I used your marinade using what I had on hand and marinated Impossible steak bites and made soft tacos. My daughter is still talking about them and I’m about to make them again.
The flavor of the meat even without added marinade, after it was cooked, was absolutely delicious. I made the marinade a few days in advance. When I took the cover off of the marinade the smell was absolutely heavenly! We did use the extra marinade later on the meat. It kept the meat moist in the refrigerator for a few days after it was cooked. And yes we did use the marinade before we cooked it. We did not think that the marinade was overpowering; it was wonderful! Thank you for this wonderful recipe! Delicious!!
I love this. I use it in everything beef, chicken and pork. My family love it.
Reminds me of home… Carne Asada from San Diego, CA
This was amazing!!
This was really delicious. I didn’t have lemon, but otherwise followed the recipe to the letter, just cut the amounts in half as I had a 1.5 lb flank steak. I marinaded for 6 hours in a freezer bag, letting the steak come to room temperature about 30 minutes before grilling. Marinading for 24 hours can be dicey as it can break down the muscle fibers making the meat mushy. I’d marinade for 12 hours or less. Just four minutes on each side on a very hot grill with a ten minute rest and it was a beautiful medium rare. Really nice complex flavor in the beef. Used the meat for tacos…..huge hit!
Making it the second time now! Amazing! Used to Colorado carne asada and this is on point! I add about double the adobo chipotle peppers and run strong on all juices and it’s amazing! Even my kids that don’t like “spicy” love this for flavor
Made it twice. Mouth watering both times. I used a bit less chipotle pepper. My family can’t handle much heat.
Don’t understand the negative reviews and this definitely is not “too citrusy”. This came out extremely well balanced with great flavor profile. Followed the recipe exactly. When I make it next time, oh yes, there will be a next time I will add quite a bit more chipotle pepper but that’s me!
I’m in heaven
Being from Arizona I have tried multiple authentic Carne Asada in my time. For dinner I decided to do carne asada tacos but did not want to drive all the way to a local store that sells the marinade so I figured I would give it a shot and try a recipe online. I guess you could call it trial and error but this was an error. Not sure who or how this recipe came about but it is a disaster. Unless you like meat that tastes like straight lime don’t bother. I should have known by the color that this wouldn’t come out right. I don’t know what to say except that if you know true authentic carne asada then this is a must not try.
I thought this recipe was incredible! My whole family raved over it. I had bought some top sirloin and was trying to figure out what to do with it. I saw your recipe and decided to try it. The flavor was outstanding and the meat was so tender. We had leftovers and every time I opened the fridge I grabbed a piece of the meat. 5 stars for sure!
I love this recipe and make it every time we have a large group over. Everyone raves about it.
Our favorite carne asada marinade. Lots of great flavor!
I’ve been using this recipe for years and realized that I never gave credit where it’s due – it’s delicious! I use it for marinating beef AND chicken. The spice combination is simply French kiss!