Beer-and-citrus carne asada, sliced thin across the grain and loaded into hot corn tortillas with deep morita salsa, creamy avocado salsa verde, white onion and cilantro.
These tacos are built around contrast rather than clutter. The morita salsa is dark, roasted and almost brooding; the avocado salsa is cold, bright and vividly green. Between them sits properly charred carne asada, seasoned enough to stand alone but clean enough that the salsas still get their moment.
01A short beer-and-citrus marinade seasons the steak without letting lime turn its surface soft.
02Patting the steak nearly dry before cooking trades steam for a dark, savoury crust.
03Two deliberately different salsas bring smoke and freshness without needing a crowded list of toppings.
Get organised
Tick ingredients as you measure. Quantities make four generous servings.
Blender
Heavy grill pan, cast-iron skillet or barbecue
Dry frying pan
Small saucepan
Instant-read thermometer
Sharp slicing knife
The method
Whisk the lager, lime and orange juices, soy, oil, garlic, cumin, oregano, coriander, paprika, pepper, salt and optional fresh chilli. Coat the steak and refrigerate for 2–4 hours, turning once if the marinade does not cover it completely.
The marinade should smell bright and savoury, with citrus up front and cumin underneath—not sharply acidic enough to sting your nose.
Shake some seeds from the stemmed morita and ancho chillies. Toast them in a dry pan over medium heat for 10–15 seconds per side, then cover with very hot water and soak for 15–20 minutes.
They are ready when their skins turn pliable and the pan smells of raisins, tobacco and warm smoke.
Do not let the skins blacken in the pan. Burnt dried chilli makes the entire salsa aggressively bitter.
Dry-roast the tomatoes, tomatillos, half onion, jalapenos and skin-on garlic over high heat. Turn until the vegetables carry genuine blackened patches, the tomatoes begin collapsing and the jalapenos blister all over. Peel the garlic.
The tomatillos should shift from vivid green to olive, the onion edges should smell sweet and singed, and tomato juices should begin hissing in the pan.
Toast the tortilla until dark brown with a few nearly black patches and tear it up. Reduce the lager by half for 5–7 minutes. Blend the drained dried chillies, chipotles, adobo, roasted garlic and onion, reduced beer, tortilla and 120 ml water until completely broken down. Add the roasted tomatoes, tomatillos and jalapenos; pulse to a heavy, rustic texture. Briefly blend in cilantro, lime and 1½ teaspoons salt. Add water to reach about 1 litre.
It should pour reluctantly from a spoon, cling to steak and taste smoky first, then tart, hot and faintly bitter at the finish.
Char the tomatillos, serranos, quarter onion and skin-on garlic until blistered, but stop before the tomatillos burst and lose their juice. Peel the garlic and cool everything for 10 minutes. Blend with avocado, cilantro, lime, 1 teaspoon salt and 120 ml cold water until creamy. Add water until it falls easily from a spoon; blend in yogurt only if wanted.
The salsa should be smooth and cool, with clean lime acidity, grassy cilantro and enough serrano heat to cut through the steak.
Take the steak from the refrigerator 20–30 minutes before cooking. Let the marinade drip away, then pat the surface mostly dry with paper towel. Leave the seasoning attached, but remove wet pockets that would steam in the pan.
The meat should feel tacky rather than wet before it touches the heat.
Heat the grill, pan or barbecue until fiercely hot. Cook thin flank or skirt steak for roughly 3–5 minutes per side, turning only when the first side releases and has a dark crust. Pull at 52–54°C / 125–130°F for medium-rare or 57°C / 135°F for medium.
You want an immediate hard sizzle, deeply browned edges and small beads of juice beginning to rise on the upper surface.
Cooking time varies with thickness. Trust the thermometer and the feel of the steak rather than the clock alone.
Rest the steak for 8–10 minutes. Identify the direction of the long muscle fibres, then slice very thinly across them. Spoon the resting juices over the sliced meat.
Each slice should bend easily and show a dark crust around a juicy pink centre, without long fibres pulling at the knife.
Warm tortillas in a dry pan until supple with toasted freckles. Add sliced steak, finely diced onion and cilantro. Spoon the dark morita salsa directly onto the beef, then use a smaller amount of avocado salsa over it. Finish with lime. If serving peppers, char them beside the steak and season simply with salt and lime.
The tortilla should fold without cracking, and every bite should move from smoke and hot beef into cool avocado, raw onion and sharp lime.
Big type, ingredient reminders and the cues that tell you when it is actually ready.
Make the morita salsa the day before if possible; two hours of resting helps, but overnight is better.
Skirt steak brings more fat and craggy char. Flank is leaner and especially dependent on thin slicing across the grain.
Serve salsa in bowls and dress tacos as they are eaten so the tortillas stay intact.
01Leaving excess marinade on the steak, which drops the pan temperature and prevents browning.
02Burning dried chillies instead of briefly toasting them; bitterness cannot be blended away.
03Blending avocado with piping-hot vegetables and losing its bright colour and clean flavour.
04Slicing with the grain, turning correctly cooked steak into a chewy taco.
Use sirloin or bavette in place of flank or skirt; cook to internal temperature rather than fixed time.
Replace lager with a light alcohol-free beer or unsalted beef stock in both the marinade and morita salsa.
Use three jalapenos when serranos are unavailable, adjusting after tasting.
For gluten-free tacos, verify the soy sauce, chipotles in adobo and corn tortillas are certified gluten free.
Add roasted sweet peppers or charred spring onions as a simple vegetable side, not another taco filling layer.
Make quesatacos by melting a small amount of Oaxaca or mozzarella onto each tortilla before adding steak.
Serve the same components as a rice bowl with black beans when tortillas are not the mood.
Set out the steak, onion, cilantro, lime and both salsas separately and build each taco at the table.
Use the morita salsa generously on the meat and the richer avocado salsa as a smaller finishing spoonful.
Refrigerate cooked steak for up to 3 days and reheat only what you need. The morita salsa keeps 5–7 days refrigerated. Avocado salsa is best within 2 days; press reusable wrap directly onto its surface before sealing to slow browning.
Warm sliced steak quickly in a very hot skillet with a spoon of resting juices or water, just until hot. Reheat tortillas separately in a dry pan. Do not heat either salsa.
Per serving
Estimated nutritionRounded estimate. Both salsa recipes make substantial leftovers, which are not divided entirely across four taco servings.
AllergensSoy · Gluten in standard soy sauce and beer · Milk if Greek yogurt is used
Charred sweet peppers
Black beans with lime
Cold lager
Grilled corn
Cabbage with lime and salt