Poll of the Day > Anyone know how they make such tasty carne asada/flank steak?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I got me a insta pot.....and I made a good pot roast in it so far....but....I also bought some skirt steak at a local mexican shop near me last night.

Thing is it's raining out and I don't wanna try and bbq. I know taco trucks etc use skillets with oil etc to make the carne asada etc for tacos.....but I have tried it before and it tastes kinda like leather when I do it.

Is there some secret to cooking steak in a skillet (or I'll use my insta pot on sautee)...that allows you to make it juicy and tasty? Maybe I just over cooked it in the past or something, or didn't have the heat high enough.

Would be great if I could make tacos without needing to use my grill (at least for the rest of winter.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw4pms1wzPc

Used this video a lot in years prior. Simple. Easy.

WastelandCowboy posted...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw4pms1wzPc

Used this video a lot in years prior. Simple. Easy.

Thanks!!

I never tried oiling the steak directly (always did the pan). Also I was overcooking them as 1:30 and 1 after flipping seemed waaay to short to me. I also think I didn't get the temp high enough (probably because the oil would burn on the pan if I did), cause my steak sure didn't char like that when I tried to pan fry it.

I have always used a grill for my steaks, but it's a big hassle to grill now, and I want to do it in my room if possible (with my insta pot). I will try it tonight and see how it comes out....still think 2:30 is sooooo short...but I'll try it!!:)

Thanks again:)
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VERY high heat pan, oil the steak lightly(not the pan), salt the steak first, pat it dry then sear on both sides. Towards the end add butter and pepper(so the pepper doesnt burn). As long as you arent buying cheap cuts should be super tender that way with a nice crust on the outside.
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hypnox posted...

VERY high heat pan, oil the steak lightly(not the pan), salt the steak first, pat it dry then sear on both sides. Towards the end add butter and pepper(so the pepper doesnt burn). As long as you arent buying cheap cuts should be super tender that way with a nice crust on the outside.

Pan heat is probably my problem then, and I don't know if I can fix that...maybe I can with the stove upstairs.

Don't think the insta pot in sear mode is gonna get the temp high enough.

I'm...kinda scared....of high heat when frying with a pan. Had a bad experience as a child with an oil fire, and so I don't fry much. The one pot at least is a pot....so I don't have to worry about the oil splattering.

The fact I didn't have the pan hot enough probably explains why it never came out good. There was no way 2 1/2 mins would cook it enough and so I cooked it longer and it became like leather.

Just gotta get over my fear of high temps on the stove I guess. Who knows though, maybe the one pots sear high temp is good enough. Gonna look up how hot it gets!:)
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Hmm it says the "more" setting for sautee is 338 degrees F. Hopefully that is hot enough.
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marinate it in a bag for a few hours first
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Well, it came out ok, but yeah nowhere near grill level. Think the one pot just isn't hot enough. It was mostly grey not charred.

I'll try it on the stove upstairs next time.

I didn't marinate it but did put season all and garlic on it. Wasn't the spices that were off though. Also I asked for skirt steak and I should have asked for flank, they just gave me Carne Asada (perhaps that is skirt steak shrug). Wanted fajitta style meat.

Oh well it was edible at least and I have 3 leftover burritos (small ones), which hopefully won't be too bad microwaved.
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Beer.

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Note that if you're looking to sear something in a very hot pan, you shouldn't use anything with a non-stick coating. High heat can cause those coatings to degrade and release toxic gases, which is bad. Stainless steel pans are your best option for searing.
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How I flank the steak

1. Start from room temperature. If you are worried about germs, wrap it in plastic/foil and cover it with a lid and seal it in a tupperware eand put the tupperware in a mylar pouch and put that pouch in a vault while it warms

2. pour salt on top, like, just DESTROY it with salt... then pound that salt in with a masher/mallet/tenderizer... then brush off the excess salt. You don't want to turn your meat into goop, but your steak should EASILY double in size

3. less the meat rest about 30 minutes... the fibres need to recover

4. put it in the InstantPot on the trisket (assuming yours came with one, my Viva did), add 1cup of water. add any aromatics you want to the water (such as sage/rosemary or whatever your boat is) and any seasoning you want to the beef

5. set the pressure to high and the mode to pressure cooker, cook for about 12~15 minutes per pound if you want it softer, but the recommended time is 20 minutes per pound

6. Wait for the thing to slow-release on its own, which is why I prefer a lower cook time since I leave it under pressure for longer... but if you are cooking it for 20 minutes per pound you can quick release

7. add pepper or whatever
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