Tacos al Carbon Recipe
This is my favorite tacos al carbon recipe with marinated flank steak that is grilled over hot charcoal for that wonderful smoky flavor, served with roasted red pepper and pico de gallo. Absolutely delicious!
Servings: 12 tacos
Calories: 259kcal
Ingredients
FOR THE STEAK MARINADE
- 1-2 serrano peppers minced - or use jalapeno peppers for a milder version
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons chopped green onion
- ¼ - ½ cup chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chili oil
- Juice from 2 large oranges - about a ¾ cup
- Juice from 2 limes
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar - apple cider vinegar is good too
- 1 tablespoon ancho powder - optional, but I LOVE it
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
FOR THE TACOS
- 2 pound flank steak or use skirt steak, or your favorite cut of beef
- 12 flour tortillas warmed (or more as needed)
- Your favorite toppings. I am using a grill-roasted red bell pepper and pico de gallo. And hot sauce!
Instructions
- Whisk together the marinade ingredients in a large bowl until well combined.
- Add the steak to the large bowl with the marinade and massage the marinade into the meat. Or, add the steak to a large sealable baggie and pour in the marinade.
- Refrigerate and marinate at least 4 hours, or overnight for better flavor penetration.
- Heat your charcoal grill to medium-high heat. Spread the fiery coals out for better heat distribution.
- Remove steak from the marinade and discard the marinade. Grill the flank steak for 6-7 minutes, then flip and grill another 4-5 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 125 degrees F when measured with a meat thermometer, or your preferred temperature. See recipe notes for temperatures.
- Cover the steak with foil and rest for 5 minutes to let the juices redistribute. Slice the beef against the grain into thin strips, or with the grain for chewier steak tacos.
- Serve pieces of charcoal grilled flank steak onto warmed flour tortillas and top with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!
Notes
This recipe also works great with chicken. Just be sure to adjust your cooking times for the chicken.
Steak Temperatures for Serving. Steak internal temps are 120 to 125°F for rare, 130-140°F for medium rare, and 145°F for medium. Remove the steaks from the grill 5 degrees before serving temp, as they continue to rise in temperature about 5 degrees F during resting.
Adjust cooking time based on thickness of your steaks. It is best to cook to temp so you may need more cooking time for thicker cuts.
Nutrition
Calories: 259kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 355mg | Potassium: 330mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 228IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 2mg