Do you typically pass over a London Broil steak at the market, even when it’s on sale for a ridiculously good price? I mean it looks lovely in the package, it’s a nice lean cut of beef, but if cooked on the grill or pan fried, you typically end up with a tough unappetizing, chewy piece of meat. No amount of steak sauce can cure that!
I have tried various methods of cooking it with rather lackluster results. Because of the low fat content in this particular cut of beef, even cooking it low and slow in the crockpot often results in a dry unimpressive meal.
Making carne asada with flank steak or skirt steak can get pretty pricy. But something clicked in my head when I came across a lovely London Broil at the market and I thought about trying the sous vide cooking method to see if I could get good results with this inexpensive cut of beef. Cooking it using the sous vide has proven to be the optimal way of cooking this tough cut of beef.
Oh my goodness!!! Combining this method of cooking with a flavorful marinade and spice rub resulted in the most delicious carne asada I have ever eaten! And yes, this Hungarian girl cooked it all by herself!!! LOL!!!
I have to give a huge shoutout to Jennifer at Carlsbadcravings.com. Her recipe for the marinade and spice rub inspired me to create this sous vide recipe. I used her marinade and spice rub for the steak meat and then I decided to cook it with the sous vide to ensure the meat was not only flavorful, but juicy and tender as well, all for a fraction of the cost of using either a Flank steak or Skirt steak.
Winner-winner beef dinner!
Sous vide cooking takes several hours, so be sure to give yourself plenty of time. Cooking sous vide is easy peasy just be sure to do a little planning ahead and start early in the day. The sous vide does all the hard work for you.
I served these carne asada tacos with fresh Pico de Gallo. It’s snap making it yourself. The sous vide is doing all the hard work for you, so you have plenty of time to chop up some fresh ingredients and make some homemade Pico.
Be sure to whip up a batch of fresh Avocado Crema to spoon on top! Trust me, do it! It makes these tacos to die for!!!
Start by making the marinade. In a small bowl combine, soy sauce, orange juice, brown sugar, olive oil, lime juice, and liquid smoke.
A London Broil roast is a pretty thick cut of beef, you will want to cut it in half horizontally so it’s about 1/2 inch thick.
I cut the beef into 4 pieces and then used a meat mallet to pound the beef nice and thin, to about a half an inch in thickness.
Place prepared steak meat in a large ziplock bag. Add the marinade to the bag and seal, pressing out excess air. Marinate in the fridge for 4-6 hours.
Fill a large container with water and set temperature of the sous vide cooker to 130°.
Submerge ziplock bag in the heated water, and cook for 4-6 hours. Make sure bag stays completely submerged in the water as it cooks.
SOME HELPFUL SOUS VIDE TIPS: Use freezer ziplock bags. They are thicker and sturdier, this will ensure the bag doesn’t leak or come apart as it cooks in the water bath. Be sure to squeeze out as much air as you possibly can so that the baggie stays completely submerged in the water and doesn’t float to the top.
Using tongs, remove meat from the baggie and pat dry with a paper towel. It’s not going to look very appetizing at this stage, but don’t worry we’re not quite done yet.
Rub the meat with the spice rub to coat both sides completely; pressing the rub into the surface with your fingers.
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat until it’s nice and hot.
Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil and sear meat for a couple of minutes on each side, just until it has a nice char. The meat is already cooked, we are just searing it for some extra flavor.
You can also grill the meat on your barbecue. The meat is fully cooked you just want to give the meat a nice flavorful char on the outside.
Remove meat from the pan and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting into it.
Cut meat against the grain into thin strips.
To serve, place a generous amount of carne asada on a warmed flour tortilla and top with Pico de Gallo, and crumbled Queso Fresca cheese. Add a drizzle of Avocado Crema and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
A tender, juicy and flavorful London Broil, yes it IS possible when you cook it with a sous vide. This was a fantastic meal! If you happen to have any leftover meat, transform it into these delicious Steak & Potato Nachos.
Sous Vide Carne Asada Soft Tacos
Equipment
- Sous Vide
Ingredients
- 1½-2 lb London Broil or flank steak
For the Marinade:
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
For the Spice Rub:
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp garic powder
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp black pepper
For Soft Tacos:
- warmed flour tortillas
- fresh Pico de Gallo
- crumbled queso fresca cheese
- salsa crema
- lime, quartered
Instructions
Make the Marinade:
- In a small bowl combine, soy sauce, orange juice, brown sugar, olive oil, lime juice, and liquid smoke.
Prepare Meat:
- If using a London Broil, cut meat horizontally in half. Use a meat mallet to pound beef nice and thin.
- Place prepared steak meat in a large ziplock bag.
- Add marinade to the bag and seal, pressing out excess air.
- Marinate in the fridge for 4 hours.
Sous Vide:
- Fill a large container with water and set temperature of the sous vide at 130°.
- Submerge ziplock bag in the heated water, and cook for 4-6 hours. Make sure bag is completely submerged in the water as it cooks.
To finish Carne Asada steak meat:
- Using tongs, remove meat from baggie and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Rub meat with the spice rub to coat completely, pressing it into the surface with your fingers.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat until nice and hot.
- Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil and sear meat for a couple of minutes on each side, just until it has a nice char.
- Remove meat from the pan and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting.
- Cut meat against the grain into thin strips.
To serve:
- Place a generous amount of diced carne asada in a warmed tortilla and top with Pico de Gallo, crumbled Queso Fresca, drizzle with Avocado Crema and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
- NOM-NOM-NOM!!!
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