Skirt Steak Tacos with Cilantro Lime Crema

These skirt steak tacos take just a few moments to prep and less than 10 minutes to cook. I crank up the flavor bomb factor by drizzling the steak with cilantro lime sour creama. Run, don’t walk, to the kitchen for this Taco Tuesday delight!

It’s Taco Tuesday – wheeeee! In honor of this glorious weekly occurrence, I give you this updated, tastier, eat-the-rainbow-ier version of my skirt steak tacos. I originally published this recipe late last spring, but after making them again recently, I tweaked things a little as I am wont to do. You ready? Let’s go!

We love tacos. We even have an entire pinterest board dedicated to ’em. They hit our menu at least every other week, and on the weeks I don’t make them, we go out for them. While my go-to recipe will always be the classic american-style ground beef variety, these grilled skirt steak tacos are a classic recipe every taco lover needs to master.

When we lived in Arlington, Cameron and I frequented a tiny little Salvadorian restaurant in our neighborhood. It was the scene of the crime for our first date-but-not-a-date. It’s the first restaurant Cassian dined at (as a toddler, we’d bring Cheerios and he’d dip them into salsa). It’s a place I craved endlessly while pregnant with Asher, and I’m pretty sure we took every out-of-town visitor we’ve ever had for a meal there. La Union holds a very special place in my foodie heart, and it’s one of the top 5 things I missed about our old home.

There’s nothing particularly special about this place, but the food is reliably great and the owners and staff are good people. We almost always ordered the same dish – Carne Asada for me and El Tipico for Cameron. Sometimes we shared pupusas, and margaritas (rocks, salt) were standard issue. These grilled skirt steak tacos are an homage to our beloved neighborhood haunt.

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Skirt Steak Tacos Recipe Notes

Skirt steak is the perfect choice for steak tacos. It’s a relatively fatty cut, so it’s packed with flavor. The outside gets charred and crispy while the interior stays tender. Skirt steak cooks up quickly (just 3-4 minutes per side for medium to medium rare), and as far as steak goes, you can’t beat the price.

The marinade is simple and easy, but jam packed with flavor. You’ll need to marinate the steak for at least an hour, but longer is better. Take 5 minutes to whip up the marinade in the morning, then and tuck it into the fridge before work – it’ll be perfect by the time supper rolls around.

If you want some extra heat, toss a sliced jalapeño or two into the marinade. The kid can’t take the heat, so I skip it.

To marinade the steak, start by placing the skirt steak into a resealable gallon side bag. Whisk together the marinade ingredients, pour the marinade over the steak, then press the air from the bag, seal, and place in the fridge. Easy peasy, limey squeezy.

When you’re ready to tackle taco Tuesday, remove the steak from the fridge and set it on the counter to come to room temperature while the grill or skillet heats up. There’s no need to rinse the marinade from the steak before cooking – you’ll get more flavor and more crunchy bits.

The steak cooks up perfectly on a grill, a grill pan, or in a large cast iron skillet (I’ve used all three with reliably good results). Skirt steak is a rather long cut of meat, so if using a cast iron skillet or smaller grill pan, slice the steak in half before marinating. It’s easier to cut it at this point in the process, and you’ll fit each half onto the grill pan or skillet perfectly.

Grill the steak 3-4 minutes per side for medium-rare to medium. Then allow the steak to rest, and slice it against the grain for thin, tender slices of skirt steak.

To make these skirt steak tacos just a little extra special, I drizzle them with cilantro lime crema. It’s so easy to make and really punches up the flavor. Toss some sour cream, cilantro, and lime juice into a blender, whiz it up, and then fold in even more sour cream and some lime zest. Super easy. Incredibly tasty.

I always have leftover cilantro crema, and you probably will too. For a quick breakfast the next morning, toast a piece of bread, slather on some avocado, slap on a fried egg, and drizzle some crema and cracked black pepper on top. You’re welcome.

I serve these with a variety of different toppings – queso fresco, avocado, shredded red cabbage or romaine lettuce, fresh slices of jalapeño, pickled jalapeño, red onions, diced tomatoes…you get the picture. Garnish away.

Need more Taco Tuesday inspiration? Check out our We Love Tacos gallery on Pinterest!

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Grilled Skirt Steak Tacos

These carne asada skirt steak tacos take just a few moments to prep and less than 10 minutes to grill. They are a fast, easy, weeknight dinner the whole family loves (aka totally kid friendly!). To make these simple skirt steak tacos just a little extra special, I serve them with cilantro lime sour cream.

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine Gluten Free

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 538 kcal

Author Our Salty Kitchen

Ingredients

Skirt Steak

• 1 lb. skirt steak
• 1/3 c. olive oil
• 1 lime juiced and zested
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
• kosher salt to taste
• corn tortillas
• various toppings see notes

Cilantro Lime Crema

• 3/4 c. sour cream divided
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1 lime juiced and zested
• kosher salt to taste
• cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, lime zest, garlic cloves, cumin and pepper. Place the steak in a resealable bag and pour the marinade over the steak. Squeeze as much air as possible out of the bag, then seal and place in the fridge for at least an hour and up to 10.
2. Prepare the cilantro lime crema. In a small food processor or blender (I use the smoothie attachment on my Ninja) blend together 1/2 c. sour cream, cilantro, and lime juice. Fold the mixture into the remaining 1/4 cup of sour cream along with the lime zest and salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use.
3. When you are ready to cook, heat a grill pan or grill to high. Remove the steak from the bag and discard the extra marinade, allowing the steak to come to room temperature while the grill heats up. Sprinkle each side of the steak with kosher salt. Grill 3-4 minutes per side over high heat for medium to medium-rare. Remove from heat and allow to rest about 10 minutes. Then slice thinly against the grain.
4. While the steak is resting, slice the avocados and radishes and lightly grill the tortillas.
5. Stuff each tortilla with steak slices, avocado and radishes and lightly dress with cilantro lime crema.

Recipe Notes

Serve these with seasonal topping to your preference, such as: 

• shredded red cabbage or romaine lettuce
• fresh or pickled jalapenos
• diced red onion or green onion
• fresh cilantro
• queso fresco or monterey jack cheese
• diced avocado

Nutritional information represents 2 tacos per person with 1 tbsp of cilantro lime crema per taco. Toppings are not included in nutritional calculations.

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