Barbecued Carne Asada

The secret to this recipe is in the marinade!

Marinade
1 cup lime juice
1/2 cup vegetable juice cocktail
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsley or
    1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 (1 1/2 pound) beef flank steak
2 sweet red or green peppers, cut into thin strips
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon butter
12 (8-inch) flour tortillas
3/4 cup salsa
3/4 cup prepared guacamole

To make the marinade, in a medium bowl whisk together all marinade ingredients. Place steak in a resealable plastic bag set into a shallow dish. Pour marinade over steak; close bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours, turning bag occasionally to distribute marinade.

Meanwhile, cut an 18-inch square of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place peppers and sliced onion in center of foil. Dot with butter. Bring up 2 opposite edges of foil and, leaving a little space for expansion of steam, tightly seal top, then each end. Remove steak from marinade, reserving marinade. Place steak in center of cooking grate. Grill 10 to 15 minutes for rare or 15 to 19 minutes for medium, turning and brushing with reserved marinade once halfway through grilling time. Place foil packet of vegetables on the cooking grate beside steak during the last 10 minutes of grilling time.

Wrap tortillas in heavy-duty aluminum foil; place on cooking grate beside steak during the last 5 minutes of grilling time. Turn tortilla packet once halfway through grilling. Slice steak diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Serve in tortillas with peppers and onions, salsa, and guacamole.

Makes 6 servings.

Tijuana Tacos

1 (1 1/2 pound) rib eye steak, sliced
Juice from 1 Mexican lime
Salt, to taste
Corn tortillas, heated

Sprinkle lime juice and salt on the meat. Let set for 10 minutes, then broil it over charcoal until just done. Slice the meat into bite-size pieces and place on heated corn tortillas.

Top with guacamole, minced onion, chopped cilantro and sauce of your choice, to taste.

Sweet Corn with Lime Butter

Soak whole, unshucked ears of corn in water for a few hours or overnight.

Place ears of corn over charcoal or in the ashes of a barbecue pit. Rotate the ears about every 5 minutes to avoid burning on one side. They will be ready in about 30 minutes, when the husks are beginning to scorch on all sides and the interior is steaming.

Lime Butter
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
2 tablespoons fresh Mexican lime juice
Salt, to taste

Mash butter and lime juice together with a fork. Add salt and blend.

Southwestern Pork Kabobs

Source: Recipe and photo courtesy of National Pork Board – used with permission

4 boneless pork chops, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 tablespoons taco seasoning
1/2 large onion, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces

In a plastic bag or shallow bowl, toss together pork cubes with seasoning until pork is evenly coated. Thread pork cubes, alternating with pepper and onion pieces, onto skewers*. Grill over medium-hot fire, turning occasionally, until pork is nicely browned, about 10 minutes.

Serves 4.

* If using wooden skewers, soak in water for 20 minutes before using.

Review by Pat Thelen, Michigan – 5/24/03: The Southwestern Pork Kabobs were so good. DH loved them. I didn’t put them on skewers. I was in a hurry, so I just put the seasoning on the meat and let it set. Then I put the meat, green pepper and onion and cut up some potatoes and put it on the grill in a Reynolds hot bag, it was so good. I enjoyed it. I am going to do this recipe for a Father’s Day gathering.

Smoky Grilled Chicken Tostadas

Source: Ortega – tulsaworld.com

The kick of a Mexican-style taco sauce with smoky jalape?o flavor enhances the grilled chicken in these hearty tostadas.

Makes 10 servings.

4 (about 1 pound) boneless, skinless chicken
    breasts, pierced all over with a fork
1 (8 ounce) bottle Ortega Mexican Style Taco Sauce, divided
1  (10 count) package Ortega Tostada Shells
2 1/2 cups shredded lettuce, divided
1 1/4 cups diced tomato, divided
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
Sour cream

Combine chicken breasts and 1/2 cup taco sauce in non-metallic container; marinate in refrigerator at least 30 minutes.

Preheat grill or broiler. Cook chicken about 7 minutes per side or until no longer pink in center. Thinly slice crosswise.

For each tostada, top a tostada shell with 1/4 cup lettuce, sliced chicken, 2 tablespoons tomato and 2 tablespoons cheese. Top with sour cream and remaining taco sauce.

Oaxacan Style Carne Asada (Mexican-Style Thin Sliced Grilled Steak)

Serves 8.

2 bunches scallions, trimmed
8 jalapeno, serrano or poblano chiles
Coarse kosher or sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
2 pound boneless sirloin steak, sliced into broad sheets 1/4-inch thick*
16 corn or flour tortillas
4 limes, cut into wedges
Oaxacan Guacamole
Fresh salsa

* Ask your butcher to cut the sirloin for you on his meat slicer. You may alternatively use skirt steak or flank steak in this recipe.

Roast the scallions and chiles on the grill – either on the cooking grate, or directly on the charcoals (if using wood or charcoal). Remove from heat. Cover scallions with foil and set aside; scrape the skin off the chiles with a sharp knife (placing the chiles in a covered dish to steam for a few minutes immediately upon removing them from the grill, can make peeling them easier, but the steamed chiles will be softer). Cut the chiles in half, scrape out and discard the seeds, cover the chile halves with foil and set aside.

Oil the grill grate. Generously salt and pepper the beef and place it on the hot grate; grill, turning with tongs until cooked as desired (3 minutes per side will be Oaxacan-style well-done). Remove to cutting board, allow to rest for a few minutes (to retain juices) then cut into thin strips, against the grain or cut into 1/2-inch dice.

To serve, lace a few tortillas at a time on the grill to warm them. Set out lime wedges, guacamole, salsa and grilled items.

To eat, place a few pieces of beef on a warm tortilla; place a grilled scallion and a chile half on top; top this with spoonsful of guacamole and salsa and a squeeze of lime juice. Roll the entire thing up and eat.

New Mexico Barbecue Beef Ribs

1/3 cup red chili sauce
1 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
4 pounds beef short ribs

Prepare a grill.

Combine all ingredients except ribs. Let sit for 15 minutes.

Thoroughly marinate ribs in sauce. In a hot skillet, sear 5 minutes on each side.

Cover grill with heavy foil, add ribs and spoon sauce over. Cook for 5 minutes, turn and spoon more sauce. Keep turning and saucing every 15 to 30 minutes until done.