Simple Grilled Carne Asada (Real Food, Paleo, Whole30, AIP Friendly)

I am not sure if there is any food that brings to mind summer quite like carne asada, or grilled steak. Now that summer feels like it is creeping up fast, I know I will be turning to this recipe over and over again.

Carne asada can be purchased, already pre-seasoned, in most grocery stores. I tend to be wary of most commercial seasoning mixes and marinades because of their heavy use of sugar, soy, MSG, artificial colorings and other non-tasty ingredients and for good reason. Below is a list of ingredients for Chef Merito Brand of Carne Asada Meat Seasoning, commonly found in grocery stores:

Ingredients: Salt, sugar, paprika, garlic, MSG, citric acid, oregano, cumin, onion, black pepper, natural flavors, silicone dioxide, papain and FD&C yellow 6.

No, thank you. I came up with a simple recipe that imparts a lot of flavor and uses fresh ingredients that are normally in your kitchen. Make this simple marinade AIP-friendly by omitting the chile peppers. My husband does not like ground pepper so I don't use any here but feel free to add some directly to the marinade.

I normally butterfly the steaks using a sharp knife, thinner than the picture above, but let your taste buds decide here. I like to serve this with a salad and/or grilled vegetables. And leftovers make the best steak salad or (cauliflower) rice burrito bowls if you are lucky enough to have any!

Simple Grilled Carne Asada

3 pounds skirt steak, thinly sliced (I normally butterfly the steaks using a sharp knife, thinner than the picture above)

Marinade Ingredients:

2 teaspoons Himalayan pink salt
2 serrano chili peppers, stemmed and sliced (omit for AIP)
1/4 fresh orange juice
5 limes, juiced
1/3 cup cilantro
Fresh ground pepper, to taste (optional - omit for AIP)

In a glass container, combine marinade ingredients. Add the steak slices, turn to coat each slice and cover. Put the covered dish in the refrigerator for at least two hours, no more than four hours.

Preheat grill. Remove meat from the marinade and discard, including the cilantro and chile peppers. Grill each steak until desired doneness.

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