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San Diego Style Street Tacos with steak, onion, cilantro, salsa, and avocado creme
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5 from 4 votes

San Diego Style Street Tacos

Marinated skirt steak is the star of these street tacos: enhanced by the onion, cilantro, and homemade restaurant-style salsa and avocado.
Prep Time1 d
Cook Time15 mins
Course: Main Course, Taco
Cuisine: Mexican, Tex Mex
Servings: 4

Ingredients

Tacos:

Marinade:

  • 1 can beer, lager style
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 lime, juiced, then sliced
  • 1 orange juiced, then sliced
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp white pepper
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp Mexican oregano
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Topping:

Avocado Crema:

  • 1 avocado
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp lime juice

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients for the marinade in a bowl and whisk together. Once orange and lime have been squeezed, slice them both and drop them in the marinade. Transfer marinade to a sealable plastic bag.
  • Using a Jaccard or fork, pierce the surface of the steak and add it to bag. Remove as much air as possible and massage to ensure meat is completely covered in marinade. Place bag on a plate and put in refrigerator for at least 8 hours but preferably 24 hours. Flip bag occasionally to ensure even coating in marinade.
  • Remove meat from marinade and blot dry with a paper towel. Allow meat to come up to room temperature while you prepare your grill. Discard marinade.
  • Light grill and set up for direct high heat, getting coals as close to the cooking grate as possible to ensure the best searing of the meat.
  • While grill is coming up to temp, combine all ingredients for avocado crema in a small blender and blend till smooth.
  • Place meat directly over hot coals and grill for a total of 8 minutes, flipping every 2 minutes.
  • Remove from grill and let rest for 5 minutes. While meat is resting, warm tortillas by placing them on indirect heat of the grill. (You can also warm in microwave if needed for 15–20 seconds.)
  • Place a double tortilla in a taco holder or on a plate. Slice steak across the grain and into small bite-sized pieces.
  • Place steak in tortillas and dress with onion, cilantro, salsa, and a drizzle of avocado crema.

Notes

I’ve seen all kinds of meat used for this. Flap meat and flank steak are two very popular options. But the authentic carne asada from my favorite hole-in-the-wall in San Diego always used skirt steak. So, that’s what I’m using here. A quick call to my friends at Omaha Steaks and I had some amazing outside skirt at my door in no time. For those that are curious, there are TWO different kinds of skirt steak.
 
I’m generally a medium rare kind of guy, but for these street tacos I recommend taking the steak to a good solid medium: 140 degrees or so internal. To determine this, be sure you have a reliable quick read thermometer on hand. You don’t want to see too much pink on these tacos, and the extra time on the grill gives the flavors a chance to really caramelize together to form that perfect crust that makes these tacos so delicious. I like doing these on the grill, but if that’s not available to you a screaming hot cast iron skillet will work as well.