Carne Asada Torta
This is the torta of your dreams! These Mexican sandwiches are packed with the most juicy and flavorful carne asada and when you didn’t think it could get better, it gets finished off with a creamy avocado tomatillo salsa verde. If you’re looking to elevate your sandwich game, this recipe is it!
The Carne Asada Marinade
Making restaurant quality Carne Asada at home is a lot easier than you think! It turns out so tender and packed with lots of flavor. This steak is delicious in tacos, in burritos, on top of nachos, or in a salad but today we’ll be using it for tortas!
Let’s start off with the cut of steak! The most popular steak used is flap or skirt steak. I highly recommend using those options. They’re super thin so the steaks cook really fast but still turn out so soft.
Now here are all the ingredients you will need for the marinade:
- orange juice
- lime juice
- soy sauce
- olive oil
- white vinegar
- smoked paprika
- cumin
- oregano
- salt
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- black pepper
- cayenne powder
Just add all the ingredients above to a large bowl along with the steak and mix them all together. Cover and depending on how much time you have, let it marinade as long as possible. Thirty minutes is good, one hour is amazing, and overnight is even better!
You can also add some cilantro or fire-roasted diced jalapenos into the marinade if you’d like. If I have it on hand, I usually will add but it is not necessary at all.
To cook the carne asada, I like to use a cast iron skillet but if you have a BBQ, that is the most traditional method. Since flap steak is really thin, it cooks pretty fast so cook it on high heat so you can get a beautiful sear on each side for more flavor – about 3 minutes on each side.
Once cooked, chop it into pieces on a cutting board and it’s ready to go!
The Salsa
Now to take this sandwich to the next level, we are going to make a salsa from scratch! If this is your first time making salsa, nothing to be intimidated about. The recipe is super simple and it comes together in under 10 minutes.
The first step is to toast the tomatillos and onions in a pan with a bit of olive oil just to get some char on the tomatillos and caramelization on the onions.
Then add the tomatillos and onions to a food processor along with avocado, cilantro, garlic, jalapenos, lime juice, and salt. Blend together until smooth and that’s it!
Where to Buy the Bread
Traditionally, the bread used for tortas is called telera or bolilos. I used telera bread, it is more round shaped. Bolilo bread is football-shaped, it just depends on what you prefer. You can find telera rolls at most grocery stores. I went to Cardenas Market which is a Mexican supermarket and you are guaranteed to find it there.
Assembly and Variations to Try
Once the steak and salsa are ready to go, it’s time to assemble the sandwich. You can toast the bread before assembly or toast it after filling it. I prefer to do it before so all the greens stay fresh and crisp inside. You can also choose to not toast it.
Here are all the toppings I added inside from bottom bread to top bread:
- refried beans
- carne asada
- oaxaca cheese
- cotija cheese
- lettuce
- avocado
- sour cream
- red onion
- salsa verde
Some other toppings you can add in there are tomatoes, pickled jalapenos, chipotle sauce, and mayonnaise.
Craving More Sandwiches? Try These Recipes!
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Dinner | Main Course
Carne Asada Torta
Ingredients
CARNE ASADA- 1 pound flap or skirt steak
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- juice of 1 orange
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder, more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 5 to 6 tomatillos, peeled and chopped
- 1/3 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 large avocado
- juice of 1/2 lime
- 2 jalapeños
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- telera rolls, toasted
- refried beans
- avocado, thinly sliced
- lettuce, chopped
- oaxaca cheese, sliced
- cotija cheese, crumbled
- tomatoes, optional
- pickled jalapenos, optional
- white onion, diced
- sour cream
- cilantro, finely chopped
Instructions
MAKE THE SALSA- To a hot pan over medium heat, add the olive oil, tomatillos, and onion. Sear for 4 to 5 minutes and then take off the heat.
- Add the seared tomatillos and onions to a food processor along with the garlic cloves, cilantro, avocado, lime juice, jalapenos, and salt.
- Blend until completely smooth.
- Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add olive oil, orange juice, lime juice, soy sauce, white vinegar, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, and black pepper.
- Whisk all together to make a marinade.
- Add the flap steak to the marinade and mix togethet evenly.
- Cover and let it sit for at least 30 minutes or overnight, the longer the better.
- Preheat your skillet or grill over high heat.
- Add the steaks and sear until one side is browned, about 3 to 4 minutes. Flip over and sear the other side until browned for about 3 to 4 minutes. The thinner the steak, the less time it takes to cook.
- Slice the steak into small cubes or cut against the grain into thin strips.
- Take a toasted telera roll and spread refried beans along the bottom. Then add the steak, oaxaca cheese, cotija cheese, lettuce, avoado, white onion and cilantro, sour cream, and tomatillo salsa.
- Seal the sandwich shut and enjoy!
Tips & Notes
- To get the oaxaca cheese nice and melted, you can add it in the oven on broil to get it toasted and then finish adding the rest of the toppings after.
- Feel free to add any toppings you like or leave out any you don't like. If you like tomatoes add them. If you love pickled jalapenos, add them in. If you prefer not to have onion, leave it out or swap it with red onion! The options are endless.
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HI, I’M HAJAR
Welcome to Moribyan! This is my blog where I love to share all my favorite recipes and lifestyle tips with you all. If I’m not cooking here, I’m either at Trader Joe’s, the gym, or eating a bagel.
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Weapon of Mass Destruction for my taste buds do good!
I started this recipe on Saturday, and we had the sandwiches for Sunday lunch/dinner. My only complaint is that I didn’t make enough! I could seriously eat this every day. I used ciabatta because it’s all I could find, and it came out perfectly! Thanks for sharing
I loved this recipe! I made it for my dad, and he LOVED it. Thank you for sharing this creation with the world, habibiti! Your recipes are so inspirational.
This recipe is so bomb! It’s delicious and flavorful and so easy to make! I am not a huge fan of cooking but this recipe really boosted my confidence in the kitchen!