Simple grilled steak tacos with big smoky flavor! These Tacos al Carbón feature grilled flank steak coated in a chipotle rub and a charred scallion salsa tucked into charred tortillas with tangy Mexican crema and fresh cilantro. Fresh, smoky, tangy, savory and slightly spicy—these grilled steak tacos have it all.
What is Tacos al Carbón?
Tacos al Carbón are a popular Mexican dish consisting of grilled meat (usually beef, chicken, or pork) that is sliced and served on a warm tortilla (corn of flour tortillas depending on the region) with onions, cilantro, and salsa.
The meat (which in the US is most often beef) is typically cooked over an open flame, giving it a smoky and charred flavor.
What’s the Difference Between Tacos al Carbón and Carne Asada?
You’ve likely had tacos al carbón, carne asada and even tacos al pastor, in one form or another. But what are tacos al carbón? And how are they different from carne asada and tacos al pastor?
Tacos al Carbón feature charred grilled meat, most commonly some cut of steak, cooked over hot coals. The meat is served in corn or flour tortillas (depending on the region) and topped with cooked peppers, onion and fresh cilantro.
Carne Asada means “grilled meat” in spanish, though it most often refers to grilled steak served as a taco filling. Like tacos al carbón, carne asada also commonly uses flank or skirt steak.
But instead of using a spice rub, carne asada calls for marinating the steak for a few hours in a mixture of citrus juice, garlic, cilantro, and jalapeno. It’s then grilled over high heat until charred and juicy.
What Cut of Steak to Use for Tacos al Carbón
We opted for flank steak here, but you can also use skirt steak. Both are thin, quick-cooking, and deliciously beefy.
Tacos al Carbón Ingredients
- extra-virgin olive oil
- canned chipotles in adobo
- kosher salt
- ground cumin
- garlic
- lime
- beef flank steak
- jalapeños
- scallions
- corn tortillas or flour tortillas
- fresh cilantro
- mexican crema (full-fat Greek yogurt, sour cream or creme fraiche are also great options)
How to Make Tacos al Carbón
Step 1: Make the rub mixture by combining olive oil, minced chipotles in adobo, kosher salt, cumin, garlic and lime zest.
This can be done up to 2 days ahead of time. Store the marinade in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator.
Step 2: Prep the flank steak by trimming some of the fat (not all of it! Keeping thin fat pockets = flavor and juiciness).
Cut the flank steak lengthwise into three long strips. This is important for slicing the steak after cooking. Rub the chipotle marinade all over the steak.
Step 3: Preheat the grill. Gas and charcoal both work, but charcoal is more traditional. Whichever method you use, be sure to preheat the grill for at least 5 minutes over high heat.
Step 4: Grill scallions and jalapeños until charred. In general, it will take about 10 minutes, but remove the scallions as they are done.
Transfer the scallions and jalapeños to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, this will steam and soften the vegetables.
Step 5: Grill the flank steak, turning every 3 minutes, until charred and cooked to medium-rare (135ºF), this will take 7-10 minutes.
Use our favorite Instant-Read Thermometer to closely monitor the internal temperature.
Step 6: Transfer steak to a cutting board and let rest. While the steak rests, char the tortillas on the grill then wrap in a kitchen towel or foil to keep them warm.
Step 8: Make the charred salsa by chopping the charred scallions and jalapenos and combining with the remaining olive oil, adobo sauce, and lime juice. Season the salsa with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 9: Thinly slice the grilled steak against the grain and serve the steak in the charred tortillas with the charred scallion salsa, fresh cilantro and mexican crema (sour cream or Greek yogurt can also be used).
More Tacos al Carbón Recipe Tips
- Since this recipe is quick-cooking, we recommend prepping all of the ingredients before you start grilling. This will ensure the process is seamless and stress-free.
- When prepping the steak, it’s imperative that you slice the entire flank steak lengthwise, with the grain, into three long strips. This will ensure you cut against the grain into shorter strips once cooked.
- Whether you are using a gas grill or a charcoal grill, allow the grill to preheat over high for at least 5 minutes. Then set up a two-zone grill which means one side of the grill is hot while the other side is cool. To do this on a gas grill, turn off one burner. For a charcoal grill, pour the hot ashes over half of the grill.
- Once the scallions and jalapeños have been charred, steamed and cooled, you’ll need to mince them up for the salsa. Remove the stems, ribs and seeds of the jalaeños but reserve the ribs and seeds for seasoning the salsa to taste right before serving. The ribs and seeds are where the spice of the pepper reside.
- The best steak is one cooked to your liking. Here are the internal temperatures to note for desired doneness:
Rare: 115–120ºF (46–49ºC)
Medium-rare: 120–125ºF (49–52ºC)
Medium: 130–135ºF (54–57ºC)
Medium-well: 140–145ºF (60–63ºC) (recommended USDA temperature)
Well-done: 150–155ºF (65–68ºC)
What to Serve with Tacos al Carbón
Play around with different salsas and dips like our Tomatillo Salsa Verde, Fresh Tomato Chipotle Salsa and Easy Guacamole.
Serve a salad or slaw with theses tacos al carbón. We like our Mexican Slaw with Charred Sweet Corn or the simple herby slaw from these Salmon Tacos. Our side salad of choice would be this Butter Lettuce Salad.
Our Healthy Skillet Cornbread or Gluten-Free Cornbread is always a hit with tacos. Add fresh minced jalapeño for a hit of spice.
Round out this taco menu with one of our many margaritas! One of our favorites is the simple Tommy’s Margarita but we also love the Lemon Margarita and Mezcal Margarita. Checkout this list of Cinco de Mayo cocktails for more tequila cocktail ideas.
Tacos al Carbón FAQs
For this recipe it’s about 3 tablespoons per pound of meat (in this case beef).
The meaning al carbon in spanish translates to “something cooked over coal.” It’s usually used to describe food (generally meat and vegetables) that is cooked over an open flame or hot coals.
Cook ground beef in a skillet over medium heat, breaking up into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Once the meat is cooked through and no longer pink, drain off any drippings and return to medium-low heat. Stir in the tacos seasoning and cook 1 minute then stir in a bit of water and cook until thickened and saucy.
Adding a bit of water to cooked and seasoned ground beef helps to create a sauce that will keep the taco meat juicy.
Our recipe doesn’t require much marinating time, but if you want to do it ahead, here’s how to do it. Spread the chipotle marinade over the long strips of steak and marinate in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. Remove the steak from the refrigerator 30 minutes before grilling.
Tacos al Carbón (Recipe)
Description
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 1 ½ tablespoons minced canned chipotles in adobo sauce + 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
- kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
- 1 lime, zested and juiced + lime wedges for serving
- 1 (1½–1¾-pound) flank steak
- 20 scallions
- 2 jalapeños
- 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas or flour tortillas
- Fresh cilantro
- Mexican crema, full-fat Greek yogurt, sour cream or creme fraiche
Instructions
- Combine 1 tablespoon oil, 1½ tablespoons minced chipotle, 1½ teaspoons kosher salt, 2 teaspoons cumin, 2 teaspoons minced garlic and 1 teaspoon lime zest in bowl.
- Trim fat deposits on steak to ⅛-inch thickness. Cut steak lengthwise (with grain) into three 2–3-inch-wide strips. Rub chipotle mixture evenly over steak on all sides; transfer to a baking sheet or large plate.
Gas Grill
- Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, 10–15 minutes. Turn off 1 burner (if your grill has more than 2 burners, turn off burner farthest from primary burner); leave other burner(s) on high.
Charcoal Grill
- Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter mounded with charcoal briquettes (7 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
- Brush grill grate clean, then brush grill grate with oil. Arrange 20 scallions on cooler side of grill with white ends towards hotter end of grill. Arrange 2 jalapeños on hot side of grill. Cook, covered, flipping scallions and rotating jalapeños every 2 minutes, until scallions are well-charred, 7–10 minutes, and jalapeños are blistered and charred in spots, 10–12 minutes.
- Transfer scallions and jalapeños to a large bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap; set aside.
- Arrange steak on hotter side of grill and cook, covered, flipping steak, every 3 minutes, until meat is well browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the centers registers about 135ºF (57ºC) for medium-rare, 7–10 minutes total. Transfer steak to clean cutting board; tent with foil.
- Arrange 6 tortillas on hotter side of grill and cook until lightly charred, 45–60 seconds per side. Wrap warmed tortillas tightly in foil or a clean kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining 6 tortillas.
- Without peeling, stem and seed jalapeños; reserve seeds. Finely chop jalapeños and transfer to bowl. Chop scallions and transfer to bowl with jalapeños. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon adobo sauce, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and 2 tablespoons lime juice. Season to taste with salt, extra lime juice, and reserved jalapeño seeds for spice.
- Thinly slice steak across the grain; transfer to a serving platter. Serve steak in tortillas, with charred scallion salsa, lime wedges, cilantro, and crema separately.
Equipment
Nutrition
This sponsored post is in partnership with the Iowa Beef Council. As always the thoughts, opinions, recipe, photos and content are all my own.
