Carne asada

In Latin America, carne asada, literally grilled meat, specifically beef, though any type of dry heat cooking may be used, is made from thin marinated beef steak, usually skirt steak, flank steak or flap steak. It is usually cooked with a certain amount of searing to impart a charred flavor. Carne asada can be served as a main dish or as an ingredient in other dishes.

Preparation

Carne asada can be purchased from meat markets either prepared (preparada, i.e., already marinated) or not (no preparada), for marinating at home. The meat can be marinated in many different ways, from simply rubbing with salt to using spice rubs such as lemon and pepper or garlic salt and lime, before being cooked on a grill. Some recipes even use beer in the marinade.

As an ingredient

Carne asada can be served as a main dish but it is also commonly chopped up and used as an ingredient in other dishes. The following is a list of popular dishes that use carne asada as a main ingredient: