carne asada tacos-street tacos

[iloveyou]

I feel like making these, i just bought some, and they are soooo delicious.
How do I make them taste like a taco trucks?
Please send me a recipe.
Nothing too fancy, just regular taco's........

THANKS

[katecm]

This month's Food and Wine has a wonderful taco article that would be a great place for you to start.

[Phurstluv]

Well, I am not a professional nor am I of any latin descent, but these are some of my favorite tacos to eat, esp since I moved west to southern CA. And many of my fellow SoCal Chowhounds can probably give you more authentic advice, but this is what I do, when I can't find them already premarinated in the market, which is pretty rare. I usually never buy any meat that is packaged with a marinade in it, but in our markets the turnover is so huge, that this is my one exception.

Take some beef skirt steak and rub with olive oil, then marinate over night (at least) in a mixture of some oil, chopped jalapenos or serranos, chopped cilantro, ground chiles, whatever your preference, cumin, salt & pepper, and about half a lime's juice.

When ready grill over medium hi, or you can also broil this successfully. Most say just about 4-5 mins, a side, about medium rare, but I like mine rather crispy, so I cook it longer. Let rest 10 mins. Squirt with other half of lime, and slice on the bias, against the grain. Fill your tortillas and enjoy.

I serve mine with broiled red peppers, onions, and black or pinto beans, all dressed the same as the beef.

[DiveFan]

I'd suggest using the Search feature on this board or the Recipes database first to find the many, many posts on tacos. If the CH search doesn't do it for you, use Google with 'site:chow.com taco'. Some other tips:

- Stay away from ground beef, taco seasoning, taco shells, bottled salsa unless you want Americanized style.
- Make salsa from scratch using dried or fresh chiles and other ingredients. The blender is your friend. See search tips above.
- Find the freshest locally made corn tortillas you can, probably not national brands. Mini size is best!
- For beef, use ranchera or any tender cut that grills quickly. Marinate first.
- For chicken, use roast chicken.
- Pork options are plentiful but take more planning. See search tips above.
- Don't forget the other condiments (chopped white onion, cilantro, radish, pickled carrot)

Good hunting!

EDIT: here are some salsa recipes to try:
http://www.chow.com/recipes/11456-tomatillo-chipotle-salsa
http://www.chow.com/recipes/11196-salsa-verde-mexican-style
http://www.chow.com/recipes/14593-ancho-chile-salsa
http://www.chow.com/recipes/10646-ersatz-papalote-salsa
http://www.chow.com/recipes/18775-sal...

Just for the record :-), my family history research has not found any ancestors of Mexican descent. Dang. Living 30+ years in SoCal, something must have rubbed off ...