These flavors are amazing 😀

Carne Asada con Mojo (Grilled Beef with Sour Orange Marinade)

This is something I & my family make often AND luckily… can get it at many nearby *carnicerias (Mexican butcher shop/ meat markets) in this delicious marinade!
It’s the very best food to have and share with guests, especially if from out of town because it is not so readily available all over the US. We haven’t had anyone NOT like it. . . ever.
We do both beef and chicken! Yummo!
→arrachera←

So here’s a recipe using these flavors adapted from “My Recipes”

— nice pic from apples and sparkle
to have with fajitas.
This is how we line it up. Next time I will get my pic of that. Everyone is way too anxious to jump in & EAT! lol

★
Carne asada is a simple dish, but a well-balanced marinade and the right cut can make it memorable. Silvana Salcido Esparza, chef of the popular Barrio Café in Phoenix and Barrio Queen in Scottsdale, Arizona, recommends using skirt steak (arrachera at Mexican Market or Carnicería) which can be easier to find at a non-Mexican market. It grills up tender, juicy, and very flavorful. The marinade for asada is traditionally made with Seville (sour) oranges, but since they’re hard to find out of season, even in Mexican markets, we’ve used a combination of orange and lime juices instead.

Ingredients

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (save 2 of the juiced halves)
1/2 cup Mexican lager beer such as Modelo Especial (I don’t use beer)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lime juice 
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper (I use whole peppercorns)
1 1/2 teaspoons Mexican oregano, crumbled
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 dried bay leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 large red onion, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced into half moons
2 pounds skirt steak (arrachera)

Warm GOOD tortillas (hopefully freshly made & my entire family prefers the small palm-of-your-hand size 😉 FLOUR)
Pico de Gallo
Guacamole
Hot sauce, such as Tapatio brand, or salsa

Preparation

1. Combine orange juice, beer, oil, lime juice, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic, bay leaves, and rosemary in a glass 9- by 13-in. baking dish. (I usually use a large Ziploc type bag. When the butcher puts it in marinade for us, it’s in a large plastic bag).

Add orange halves, onion, and steak and mix with your hands to coat evenly.
Let stand at room temperature 1 hour, or chill, covered, 2 hours (no longer, or the citrus will “cook” the meat), turning meat occasionally.
(Truthfully, I let marinate overnight & it’s great!).
2. Heat a grill to very high (550° to 650°).
Discard rosemary, bay leaves, and orange halves. Drain meat and onions. Put onions on a doubled sheet of foil and turn up edges just a little to make a shallow 6- by 9-in. container.
3. Grill onions on the foil, stirring occasionally with tongs, until edges start to char, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add steak to grill and cook, turning once, until well browned and done the way you like, 8 minutes for medium-rare.
4. Transfer steak and onions to a board; slice steak.
Serve with warm tortillas, lime wedge, guacamole, and hot sauce.
(Pico, salsa, sour cream, queso blanco or whatever your favorite toppings are).
I love the flavor of this meat so much that I need no toppings.
*Warm tortillas directly on the grill just until hot, turning once; stack and wrap in a towel.

Chicken in same marinade is GREAT!

…the hunger extinguisher

Happy memorial day!

And again…. arrachera
We make this often! ♥ 😀

→arrachera←

We always slice it all up, against the grain & thin, to line up with other ingredients buffet style; everyone makes their own.

…apples and sparkle

….with jars of pickled pig’s feet, planks of salt cod and half-pint containers of freshly rendered pork lard. In the market’s eating section, the air is filled with aromas from a small, changing menu that includes caldo de res (beef soup), birria (goat stew), menudo (tripe soup), tacos and tamales.

*

Carnicerias are more than butcher shops. In spite of the profusion of sleek, one-size-fits-all supermarkets, the soulful carniceria thrives as a cultural oasis that takes Latino customers back to the cuisines of their homelands. Shoppers chat in Spanish with butchers and each other as they lean over the meat counter, offering cooking advice or just exchanging neighborhood gossip. The meats, fresh tortillas, chiles, spices and Mexican cheeses offer the comforts of home that only food can.

Carnicerias usually understand barely enough to order. ENOUGH FOR ME 😀 …point at arrachera (ranchera) y say “cinco in marinade”
Spanish is helpful. For non-Latinos, the markets offer a window into the food and culture of Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries not found on the “international” aisle of major supermarkets.They’re just a fun place to go. You get in there and they’re all busy and full of action, music, kids, chatter & surrounded with the culture, piñatas hanging, along with more than I want to list! You kind of feel like you’re sneaking in and getting it from the source.

I always have citrus on hand. When not right on the tree in season, in my freezer & preserved jars.
Just put in freezer bag whole. When needed, microwave a few seconds & its full of juice. 😀