Carne Asada Marinade

How we found this recipe

We used to buy marinated steak to grill for carne asada from the butcher.  

But our store doesn’t sell that beautiful marinated steak any longer. Our guess is that one of the butchers made his own family recipe, and when he left, he took that recipe with him.

So, we set out to find a replacement recipe for his marinade. We figured, ultimately, it would be better if we could make our own anyway. Then we’d be able to make it anywhere at any time.

We got a few suggestions on recipes, but nothing really struck us as traditional. One, from our friend Chad had soy sauce in it. We thought that couldn’t be, how could soy sauce make a good Carne Asada.

So, we did some research and testing. We tested lots of different recipes with different ingredients.

None quite hit the mark.

Rick Bayless to the rescue

When, one night, we were watching Rick Bayless (you know, that all knowledgeable guru of Mexican food!), and he said that many cooks in Mexico use soy sauce in their Carne Asada. What!?!

Well, we were sold. Chad told us. Rick Bayless told us.

This marinade rocks!

We tried it. And, yes, you guessed it, it’s perfect. Traditional, authentic, yummy. And we’ve learned that this marinade not only works on steak, but it’s fantastic on mushrooms, fish, tofu, and veggies of all kinds.

Steak

The aroma of grilled steak always smells great to me. Something nostalgic about it, I think. It brings back childhood memories of times when your only cares were about going out to play. No worries, no bills, no house cleaning. Just good times, and grilled food from my dad.

And this marinade is so flavorful, and it makes the juiciest, most tender steak.  

One recipe of marinade is great on 1 to 2 pounds steak, and makes about 8 servings as taco meat.  

After mixing the marinade together, place the raw steak and the marinade in a ziptop bag, and place it in the fridge. Occasionally, go in and rotate the bag so that all the steak gets in contact with the marinade.

When using an outdoor gas grill, heat it to medium-high, around 500 degrees, before grilling the meat.

Cooking time is an estimate and depends on the thickness of the meat as well as how hot your grill actually gets. Use a meat thermometer for accuracy, typically you’ll want an internal temperature of around 130° F for medium rare. Many instant read thermometers have scales on them.  

Add the marinated steak to the grill, and cook, flipping once, until desired doneness, about 5-6 minutes per side for medium rare.  

Let rest, covered, 5 minutes.  

Thinly slice steak against the grain.

Mushrooms

Earthy mushrooms marinated and cooked in a light citrus marinade. This mushroom asada is easy to make, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, and so delicious.  

Mushrooms soak up the flavors of this marinade really well, and they make an excellent taco filling.  

If you’re looking for Mushroom Asada Tacos, then this is one. It’s a rich flavorful marinade, made with fresh ingredients that you can use to make portobello asada tacos or button mushroom asada tacos.

Or is that Hongos Asada? (Asada meaning grilled or dry cooked.)

Leftover mushrooms

We started making mushroom asada to use up some leftover mushrooms. I think my leftover mushrooms were in my husband’s way, so he suggested that I marinate them (to get them out of his way).

It’s a great way to use up both leftover mushrooms and some of the marinade.  

Portobello mushrooms

To make the portobello mushroom asada, simply take the large mushroom caps, anywhere from 2 to 4 mushroom caps, and pop them in a ziptop bag with the marinade.  

I like to marinate these larger tougher mushrooms for a longer time, say about 24 hours. It allows the marinade to get in the shrooms.  

When you’re ready to grill, preheat to medium high and place the whole mushroom caps, grill side up, on the grill grates. Close the lid and grill for about 5 minutes, then carefully flip them over.  

Grill cap side up, for another 10 minutes or so, until the mushrooms have shrunk, are tender, and have nice char marks on them.  

Remove the cooked mushrooms from the grill and let rest about 5 minutes before slicing and serving in a taco.

Whole portobella mushroom caps are also great on a burger bun or in a sandwich.  

Button mushroom asada  

Cut button mushrooms in half and place them in the marinade. Because button mushrooms are smaller and more tender, they don’t need to marinate as long as portobellas. Marinate button mushrooms for 1 to 6 hours.  

Though I have done them as long as 24 hours, they do get a little slimy when marinated that long.  

Place the marinated mushroom halves in a small cast iron skillet and cook them on the grill or on the stove top over high heat.  

Cook the mushrooms until all the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms are a nice golden brown.

Mushrooms shrink quite a bit when cooked, so you may not even need to slice the button mushrooms after cooking them.

Fish

This marinade works really well on fish as well, for a great fish pescado asada. I like a nice firm fish like swordfish or tuna steak.  

Use about 1 to 2 pounds fish, and marinate 30 minutes to 1 hour.  

Preheat the grill to medium-high. Grill the swordfish until nicely charred and just cooked through, about 5 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the steaks.

Tofu Asada

For tofu asada, use 12-16 ounces for extra firm tofu, and slice it about 1-inch thick, lengthwise.

I usually put the tofu in a {affiliate link} glass dish to marinate. It can marinate for 24 hours, even up to 48 hours because it’s nice and firm.

Let the excess marinade drip off the tofu. Place the marinated tofu on the preheated grill gates, cover grill. Cook, turning once, until nice char marks develop, about 10-15 minutes.

Slice tofu into smaller pieces and serve in tacos.

Cauliflower  

Cauliflower asada is another great vegan option that you’re sure to love.

Use one head of cauliflower and slice into 1-inch thick steaks. Place cauliflower steaks in a ziptop bag or glass dish and marinate 24 hours. Again, cauliflower is sturdy and can be marinated for up to 48 hours if you have the time.

Let the excess marinade drip off of the cauliflower steaks. Place the marinated cauliflower steaks on the preheated grill gates, cover grill. Cook, turning once until nice char marks develop, about 15-20 minutes.

Cut the florets off the steak and place them in the tortillas for great tacos.

Easy to make

The marinade itself is easy to put together. Just mix up a few ingredients.

The calorie evaluation is going to be off on the recipe card because this is a marinade, and most of the marinade is drained off after soaking the item in it.  

If you use a veggie item (like mushrooms, tofu, or cauliflower), you can reuse the marinade, say for other veggies for the meal. If you marinate beef, chicken, or fish in it, the extra will need to be discarded.

What goes with carne asada?

There’s so much you can do with a simple taco!

And don’t forget you can make this into carne asada fries too!  

Serve any of these great grilled foods stuffed in a tortilla with a variety of sauces from Avocado Sauce to Enchilada Sauce.  

Don’t forget the salsa. Roasted tomato salsa, Traditional salsa, and Tomatillo salsa.

Sides are also great taco stuffers; try some Mexican Street Corn, Chipotle rice, or Seasoned Black Beans.  

Drizzle some cheese sauce over the top. Try Nacho cheese sauce or candied jalapeno cheese sauce.  

And don’t forget the Homemade Air Fryer Tortilla Chips.

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