Chipotle-Lime Flank Steak Street Tacos (76 of 150)

Happy Mother's Day every one. I didn't make my Mom's favorite meal (chicken fried steak) cuz it's too damn hot. I opted for my favorite meal, street tacos (or any taco). Plus it had the added bonus of using the grill instead of the stove on this extraordinary hot day.

I couldn't find flank steak for this marinade. I know. You'd think you could find it anywhere. I shop so early in the morning I suspect they just hadn't restocked from the day before. So I grabbed some thin cut sirloin steaks. My train of thought was how thin carne asada steaks are when you get that at a Mexican restaurant. I'm not convinced this was the best choice of meat. I think it would have been WAY better with flank steak. 

My store does finally have small corn street taco tortillas though. I've been experimenting with how to get these soft without getting them crisp. I did some research and I think I've found the answer. 

Last time I made street tacos with corn tortillas, I heated them on the grill. It worked OK, but I had to nuke them to get them softer. So this time I took a page from my mom's cookbook of how she made her enchiladas. AND Simply Mama Cooks does this as well... I dipped them in a little hot oil. I put about 3 T of veggie oil on a griddle on the stove. I ran the tortilla on both sides through the hot oil. THEN I popped them on the grill to get some charring. Perfection. That is the answer. 

The meat needed more salt. I didn't put enough into the marinade I don't think. If I made these again, I'd salt the steaks before I grilled them. 

Chipotle-Lime Flank Steak Street Tacos

Recipe from Butter Your Biscuits

Serves 4

Marinade

• 2 lbs flank steak
• Juice of 4 limes
• 4 chipotle peppers diced plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
• 1/2 c chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves diced

Pica de Gallo

• 1/2 c diced red onions
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
• 3 Roma tomatoes diced
• 3/4 c chopped cilantro
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• corn tortillas or flour tortillas
• Cotija cheese

In a small bowl add lime juice, chipotles and adobo sauce, salt, garlic, cilantro and olive oil mix until combined. in a large Ziplock bag add flank steak and pour marinade in. Refrigerate for 4-8 hours. [JennW Note: I marinaded mine for 5.5 hours]

Heat the grill on high. Remove the steak from marinade and place it on the hot grill for about 4-5 minutes then flip and cook another 4-5 minutes for medium rare. Or until desired doneness. [JennW Note: You're gonna want to get the steak out 30 minutes before to let it come to room temperature before grilling.]

Let steak rest 10-15 minutes. Then slice in thin slices against the grain.

Pica de gallo

Combine onions, jalapeños, tomatoes and chopped cilantro in a large bowl. Squeeze in the juice of 2 limes and add the salt. Mix until combined Add more salt to taste