Carne Asada Fries

I am very excited about this post! I was in San Diego last month for a work conference and I went to this restaurant called La Puerta. I was studying the menu when I came across their carne asada fries. I believe my next words were, "You had me at fries!" I put down the menu and was so happy with my choice. Yum! I was not disappointed and decided that I was going to try and recreate the dish when I got home. I was also pleasantly surprised to find this blog post on the dish; apparently I am not the first person impressed by these tasty things! From the little research I did, I believe carne asada fries originated in San Diego, in the Gaslamp district, which is where I stayed. I decided to make homemade fries to accompany the carne asada because store bought would not have done them justice.

Give these a try; you won't be disappointed!

Carne Asada Fries

The star of this dish is the meat, and the star of the meat is the marinade. I have heard it called several things, but for this dish, I'm calling it mojo marinade. I adapted a marinade recipe from Mexico Food and More.

Mojo Marinade
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 C fresh cliantro leaves and stems
1/2 pablano pepper, roughly chopped
Juice from 2 limes
Juice from 1 orange
1/3 C olive oil
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 T white vinegar
1/2 C Dos Equis beer
(This is for a 2 Lb flank steak)

Blend everything except the beer in a food processor and blend until almost smooth. Pour in beer and pulse a few times; be careful that it does not spill out because of the carbonation. Place meat in a large glass baking dish and pour marinade over meat. Cover and marinate for at least 8 hours. I flipped the meat over a few times in those 8 hours, but it's not necessary.

Normally, I would have grilled this but it was pouring the day I made this, so I used a skillet indoors. Cook on medium-high heat until cooked through to preferred doneness. Remove and place on cutting board for a few minutes to let juices rest. Cut into bite size pieces.

Other ingredients:

Homemade French Fries
Cheddar cheese, shredded
Tomato, seeded and chopped
Lightened up guacamole

I chose to top my homemade fries with the cheddar and carne asada and microwave it until the cheese melted. Then I topped it with chopped tomatoes and my lightened up guacamole.
Hubby left his plain. :)

This was a fun, weekend meal that I will definitely be making again!! You could also put the meat in the marinade before work, then cook it after work if you wanted. Either way, you gotta try it!

I am also happy to announce that this is the first thing that I have crossed off my bucket list! One down, lots to go!