Sonora-Style Carne Asada Tacos
Half-inch beef steaks seasoned with nothing but salt, seared over a hot fire, chopped and piled into warm flour tortillas with refried beans, salsa and guacamole.
In Sonora, carne asada is an event as much as a recipe. El Imparcial of Hermosillo (Gamaliel González, March 1, 2021) quotes anthropologist Guillermo Núñez Noriega of the CIAD research center, who traces the custom to the Jesuit ranches of the region, where cattle mattered; the meat was grilled the day an animal was slaughtered, with relatives and friends helping, and the tradition moved into the cities with people from the ranches. The article says Sonoran carne asada needs only embers and salt, no marinade, and comes with flour tortillas, beans, grilled green onions, chiles and tomato.
Pati Jinich's Sonora-style recipe follows the same rule: on her page she answers a reader who asked about marinating that it is just salt.
Why it works the kitchen science
Salt at the grill
Salting just before the meat hits the fire seasons the surface without drawing out much juice, so the beef tastes like beef and fire (Pati: salt only).
Thin steaks, high heat
Half-inch steaks sear hard on the outside in the few minutes they need to cook through.
Step by step
- Step 1
Heat a gas grill on high, or light charcoal until the coals are red and covered with gray ash and you can hold your hand 5 to 6 inches above them for only 4 to 5 seconds.
- Step 2
Holding the onion quarter with tongs, rub it over the hot grate to clean it, then rub the grate with beef fat or an oiled paper towel.
- Step 3
Working in batches, lay the steaks on the grill and salt the tops generously. Grill 4 to 5 minutes, until deeply marked and juices bubble up on top.
- Step 4
Flip and grill 3 to 4 minutes more. Pati stops at medium-rare; for the USDA FSIS minimum, cook until an instant-read thermometer reads 145°F.
- Step 5
Move the steaks to a lidded dish and keep covered while you grill the rest; rest at least 5 minutes (FSIS asks for at least 3).
- Step 6
Turn the gas to medium, or move to the cooler side of the coals, and warm the tortillas about 1 minute per side, until puffed and lightly browned. Wrap them in a towel.
- Step 7
Dice the beef into 1/2-inch pieces or slice it thin. Spread beans down the middle of each tortilla, pile on plenty of beef, add salsa and guacamole and fold.
Sonora-Style Carne Asada Tacos
Serves 4 (2 overstuffed tacos each) · 8 large tacos · 45 min total
Carne asada
- 1/4 large white onion, for cleaning the grill
- Beef fat trimmed from the meat, or vegetable oil, for greasing the grill
- 1 lb beef top sirloin, cut into 1/2-inch steaks
- 1 lb beef chuck eye roll, cut into 1/2-inch steaks
- 2 tsp kosher salt (about 1 tsp per pound), or to taste
Tacos
- 8 large flour tortillas
- 1 can (16 oz) refried beans, warmed
- 1 cup red salsa
- Guacamole made from 2 avocados
Method
- Heat a gas grill on high, or light charcoal until the coals are red and covered with gray ash and you can hold your hand 5 to 6 inches above them for only 4 to 5 seconds.
- Holding the onion quarter with tongs, rub it over the hot grate to clean it, then rub the grate with beef fat or an oiled paper towel.
- Working in batches, lay the steaks on the grill and salt the tops generously. Grill 4 to 5 minutes, until deeply marked and juices bubble up on top.
- Flip and grill 3 to 4 minutes more. Pati stops at medium-rare; for the USDA FSIS minimum, cook until an instant-read thermometer reads 145°F.
- Move the steaks to a lidded dish and keep covered while you grill the rest; rest at least 5 minutes (FSIS asks for at least 3).
- Turn the gas to medium, or move to the cooler side of the coals, and warm the tortillas about 1 minute per side, until puffed and lightly browned. Wrap them in a towel.
- Dice the beef into 1/2-inch pieces or slice it thin. Spread beans down the middle of each tortilla, pile on plenty of beef, add salsa and guacamole and fold.
Adapted from Pati Jinich, "Sonora Style Carne Asada Tacos" (Pati's Mexican Table), halved from 6 to 8 servings to 4. Pati cooks to medium-rare; we add the USDA FSIS 145°F number for steaks (see Food safety baseline). Her beans, salsa and guacamole are separate recipes on her site; store-bought or simple versions are listed here. History from El Imparcial (link in Story). patijinich.com. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Pati's taco should be so full it is hard to close.
- Chuck eye roll is a well-marbled, budget cut; top sirloin is leaner and beefier. Using both mixes textures.
- Grilled green onions and a roasted green chile on the side make it a Sonoran plate (El Imparcial).
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Salt only, no marinade. Documented for Sonora (El Imparcial; Pati Jinich). Many American and Cal-Mex carne asada recipes use citrus or soy marinades, so it is a regional rule, not a universal one.
- Flour tortillas. Documented for Sonora (El Imparcial; Pati).
- Medium-rare. Disputed: Pati grills to medium-rare; USDA FSIS sets 145°F with a 3 minute rest for steaks.
- Mesquite. Folklore for now: often repeated for Sonora, but El Imparcial says only charcoal or embers.
- Carne asada is a Sunday thing. Folklore for now: we found it in recipe blogs, not in El Imparcial.
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