How to: Grilled Carne Asada Tacos

Servings: 4 (or 2 really hungry dudes)

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Marinate Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 pounds skirt steak or flank steak
• 12 flour tortillas
• A can of beer
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 cup cilantro chopped
• 4 cloves garlic crushed
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 jalapeno chopped (optional) 
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional) 
• 1 teaspoon paprika (optional) 
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 cup guacamole (optional)

Directions:

1. Season the steak with salt, pepper, and ground cumin. We added some crushed red pepper and paprika for a little extra heat.
2. Get a plastic bag or preferably a zip lock bag and toss the steaks in. Throw in all the garlic, half of the chopped onions, lime juice, half of the cilantro, all the jalapeno(we didn't use jalapeno, it's great way to add extra flavor if you enjoy the heat), and the one can of light beer(lager).
3. Seal up the bag, make sure you get as much air out of the bag before closing it up. Mix the ingredients in the bag a bit by moving them from the outside of the bag. Then leave it in the fridge to marinate for about 1 hour. 
4. While the meet is marinating, you can combine the rest of the cilantro and onions together as one of the toppings for the tacos. 
5. Take the meat out of the fridge 10 minutes prior to grilling. That way, the meat can cook evenly on the grill. Depending on the thickness of the steak you have and how well you want your steak, you are going to want to have the grill on HIGH heat. About 2-3 minutes on each side for a medium rare. Let the steaks finish cooking on the indirect heat for about 5 minutes. 
6. Take the steaks off the grill, and cut the steaks against the grain of the meat. Dice the meat into a quarter of an inch. This way, you can bite into a taco without the meat wanting to escape from the tortilla. 
7. Heat up some tortillas, grab some meat, some of the onion and cilantro mix, and your favorite salsas and toppings and enjoy! 

National Taco Day at Guisados Boyle Heights

2100 E Cesar Chavez Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90033

(323) 264-7201

guisados.com

Oct 4th was National Taco day, what better way to celebrate than to hit up one of the most highly praised taco joints in town. Guisados, first introduced to to my friend and I through the Vice show FOB with Eddie Huang. Not gonna lie, the tacos looked bomb. We venture out to the streets of Boyle Heights to pay homage to the taste that is, East LA.

Now Guisados is Spanish for "stews." Unlike most tacos in LA that is cooked on a grill or griddle, Guisados' methods brings out the natural glutamate in the proteins what is commonly known as "umami."

My friend and I both got the 6 tacos sampler for $6.99. It's usually the top six tacos on the board. Which are...steak picado, bistek en salso roja, tinga, mole poblano, cochinita pibil, chicharron. My personal favorite was the Chicharron. Pork skin reduced to gelatinous tender pieces with a drip of salsa verde. It's to die for. My friend loves chocolate, the obvious favorite was the Mole poblano. It's not too sweet, hints of chocolate, and the cream sauce ties it together perfectly.

The one that stood out was the Cochinita Pibil. Had a little bit. It wasn't super spicy. But if you aren't used to spicy food, this will is a kicker. Now I'm curious to try the Chiles Toreados. That one is rated at THREE CHILLY SIGNS!?!