Did you know that Americans consume 4.5 billion tacos a year? With the ability to be versatile and filled with almost any meat or vegetable, the taco tingles tastebuds all over the U.S. on more than just National Taco Day and Taco Tuesday.
Fish tacos, beef tacos, chicken tacos, and vegetarian tacos all make for a tasty meal, but often we don’t spend the time to really treat the meat and veggies and spice them up right. A slow marinade or a mingling of spices could take your taco from okay to wow!
Discovering the best arrachera marinade when cooking or grilling the Mexican skirt steak will make your next taco night a success. Continue reading for 5 ways to make your arrachera marinade the talk of the neighborhood.
1. The Meat
Arrachera or Mexican skirt steak is what you call your beef before it is grilled. Arrachera is used to make carne asada (marinated and grilled meat.)
The best cut of skirt steak is the outside cut. It’s tender, longer, and more narrow and allows for your best marinade to seep in. As you cook the meat, it’s a quick process that still creates a juicy outcome.
2. The Base
The best base of a meat marinade starts with onions, garlic, and peppers. Grind them into a paste, preferrably with a mortar and pestle to grind them to their finest. An electric chopper will work, but the pieces will be bigger.
Deciding between white and yellow onions depends on whether you want a sweeter taste to your paste. White onions are stronger and more pungent compared to the sweet onion.
Red, yellow, or orange bell peppers will make your base mild, allowing you to add more spices later on, or you can start off with a kick of serrano pepper or ancho chile peppers.
3. Acid
To cut through spices, cooking with an acid such as lemon or lime is a must. Many people prefer to squeeze these over the finished product for the flavor, but there’s a reason why adding the acid ahead of time makes for such a good beef marinade.
Acid helps to break down the connective tissue of beef, thereby making it more tender and easier to chew. Using acid in your marinade also lowers the amount of time you have to marinade. If you find yourself short on time, make sure you are using lemon or lime juice.
4. Spices
Salt and pepper are two base spices that should always be used when making your marinade. In addition to your base, other spices such as cumin, oregano, and paprika can be added as well.
Play around with your palette. Switch your oregano for Mexican oregano or add smoked spices to create a deeper flavor. If you aren’t a big spice or cooking connoisseur you can click here now for an exact recipe to follow.
5. Olive Oil
Deciding between olive oils to make your marinade can also make a difference in flavor. Fresh, unprocessed extra virgin olive oil has a fruitier, but bitter taste. It also is peppery.
Virgin olive oil is more acidic than extra virgin olive oil and has a milder taste. It also is suitable for lower heat cooking, while refined olive oil is best suited for higher cooking temperatures.
The Best Arrachera Marinade Has Variety
Whether you borrow your friend’s recipe for the best arrachera marinade or you prefer to make your own, give it some variety. Change up your measurements, add a pepper or two, and enjoy!
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