Instant Pot Carne Asada
Take dinner to a whole new level with Instant Pot Carne Asada. The Instant Pot makes cooking meat quick and easy to do, not to mention juicy and flavorful. You can have tender slices of seasoned carne asada meat ready in under half an hour, perfect to enjoy as a main dish or for nachos, tacos, fajitas, or even breakfast burritos.
Servings: 6 servings
Chef Alli
Ingredients
- 2 pounds skirt steak, flank steak, hanger steak, sirloin steak, or tri-tip roast, sliced across the grain into very thin strips
Marinade
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 lime, juice and zest of
- 2 Tbs. chili powder
- 2 Tbs. dark brown sugar
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed, may substitute 1 tsp. garlic powder or granulated garlic
- 2 tsp. oregano flakes
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 2 tsp. kosher salt to taste
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 3/4 cup beef broth
- 1 tsp. minced chipotles optional, may substitute crushed red pepper flakes
Pico de Gallo
- 4 Roma tomatoes diced
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeds and membranes removed diced small
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 2 limes, juice of
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For Serving
- corn tortillas, browned in a bit of oil, if desired
- Your favorite toppings, such as crumbled queso fresco cheese, guacamole, chopped cilantro, sliced limes, etc.
Instructions
Prepare the Carne (Meat)
- Thinly slice one half of the red onion; dice the other half and reserve for making the pico de gallo.
- Into the Instant Pot inner pot, add the steak strips, sliced red onion, lime zest, lime juice, and minced chipotles.
- Combine the chili powder, brown sugar, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl; sprinkle over the meat in the Instant Pot. Pour in the beef broth; do not stir.
- If there's time, let the beef marinate right in the inner pot of the Instant Pot at room temperature for 20 minutes. **Or cover at this point and refrigerate to cook later. This will intensify the flavors, too.
Prepare the Pico De Gallo
- While the beef marinates or as it cooks in the Instant Pot, make the Pico de Gallo. Combine the reserved diced red onion with the tomatoes, jalapeño pepper, and cilantro in a medium bowl.
- Add the juice from the 2 limes, then gently toss all the ingredients to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Cover and refrigerate the Pico de Gallo until serving time.
Pressure Cook the Carne
- Cover the Instant Pot with the lid, securely locking it into place. Turn the pressure release valve to the sealing position. Choose manual or pressure cook, then select the high-pressure setting. Set the timer for 6 minutes, bringing the Instant Pot to full pressure. (It can take the Instant Pot up to 10 minutes to fully pressurize.)
- When the timer sounds, use a natural release of pressure for 10 minutes
- Carefully turn the pressure release valve to the venting position to release any remaining pressure that may remain in the Instant Pot. Carefully unlock and remove the lid; use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the juices in the pot.**If desired, you can brown the beef in a bit of hot oil at this point, if desired. This gives the meat a crispy exterior and added flavor.
Serve the Carne Asada
- Serve the Carne Asada meat as desired. We tucked it into corn tortillas, topped with the prepared Pico de Gallo and assorted additional toppings, as desired. Serve at once.
Notes
RECIPE TIPS
To make slicing the meat or poultry easier, partially freeze it first. The firmness of the partially frozen meat makes it much easier to slice into the thin strips you want. You can marinate the Carne Asada meat for a few minutes before cooking, or put it into the marinade and let it rest 8-10 hours to really make it flavorful. Pressure cooking the beef in the marinade also makes it super flavorful. If you want to add lots of extra savory flavor to the carne asada beef after you’ve cooked it in the Instant Pot, heat a bit of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When the oil is nicely hot, add the slices of cooked carne asada to the skillet, caramelizing them a bit in the hot oil. Be sure not to stir in the ingredients in the Instant Pot once you’ve added the beef broth as the final step before pressure cooking. You want the liquid to stay on the bottom and exterior of the pot (not stirred into the ingredients) so it can circulate to create the pressure.Nutrition
Calories: 277kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 34gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 95mgSodium: 281mgPotassium: 677mgFiber: 3gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 876IUVitamin C: 18mgCalcium: 57mgIron: 4mg
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