Chipotle Steak Tacos on the Grate
Flank steak marinated in a cooler, seared over fire, folded into warm corn tortillas.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 58
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 27 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Grill grate
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Flank steak | 1 1/2 lb | marinated at home, frozen flat, thaws in the cooler |
|---|---|---|
| Garlic cloves | 2 | |
| Chipotles in adobo | 4 peppers plus sauce | small can, the rest keeps a day |
| White onion | 1 large, sliced | half goes in the marinade, half on the grate |
| Lime juice | 1/4 cup | |
| Paprika | 1/4 tsp | |
| Ground cumin | 1/4 tsp | |
| Dried oregano | 1/4 tsp | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste | |
| Corn tortillas | 8 | |
| Queso fresco | 1/2 cup, crumbled | cooler item; skip it and the recipe still works |
| Limes | 2, quartered | |
| Salsa verde | 1/2 cup | a jar or a squeeze pouch |
| Oil | 1 tbsp | for the grate |
Method
- At home: blend the garlic, chipotles, half the onion, lime juice, paprika, cumin, and oregano into a rough paste. Salt and pepper it.
- Put the steak and the paste in a freezer bag, press the air out, and freeze it flat. It thaws over the first day or two in the cooler and marinates the whole time.
- In camp, pull the steak out of the bag and wipe off the thick stuff. Dump the leftover marinade in the trash bag, not on the food.
- Get a bed of coals or a hot grate. Give it five minutes to come up to heat, then oil it.
- Salt and pepper the steak and lay it down. Four to six minutes a side for medium-rare on a thick flank, less on a thin one. Push the remaining onion slices onto a cooler edge of the grate while it cooks.
- Move the steak to a plate and leave it alone for ten minutes. Warm the tortillas directly on the grate, a few seconds each side.
- Slice the steak thin and across the grain. Cutting the long way gives you rope.
- Build the tacos: steak, grilled onion, queso fresco, salsa verde, a lime wedge.
This is a car-camping recipe and it stays one. The marinade does its work in the cooler on the drive out, which is the only fridge you have, so the bag goes in frozen and the meat marinates as it thaws. That removes the one-hour wait at camp entirely.
Flank is cheap and lean, which means it goes tough fast. Two things save it: high heat for a short time, and slicing across the grain at the end. The rest ten minutes off the fire is not optional either, or the juice ends up on the cutting board instead of in the taco.
Packing
Steak goes into the cooler frozen in its marinade bag and doubles as an ice block for the first day. Tortillas travel in a rigid container or they arrive as crumbs. Cheese, salsa, and limes in a small cooler bin so you are not digging through meltwater.
Variations
- No cooler: swap in a foil pouch of shredded beef or a pouch of seasoned chicken, warm it on the grate, and use the chipotle blend as a sauce instead of a marinade.
- Cook it in a cast iron skillet on a two-burner stove if the fire ban is on.
- Flour tortillas hold more, corn tastes more like the fire.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/carne-asada-tacos