Recipe for Sonoran-style carne asada burritos stuffed with charro beans and crunchy cabbage. Served with Jackie’s famous chiltepin red salsa. Sonoran-style carne asada is not marinated. The meat is finished with pineapple juice which caramelizes over the hot fire. This is one of the most popular varieties of beef and bean burritos in the Sonoran Desert region north of the Arizona-Mexico border.
Sonoran flour tortillas are made with Sonoran White Wheat, a heritage grain that produces super-stretchy dough formed into huge tortillas. They can be ordered from La Mesa Tortillas in Tucson, who ships nationwide. If you can’t get them, use the best quality flour tortilla you can find.
Charro beans are whole pinto beans, Use my recipe or well drained canned pinto beans. Raw cabbage adds a satisfying crunch that balances out the other softer textures beautifully.
Ingredients
- 1 lb 1/8-to-¼-inch thick skirt steaks or bottom round steaks
- 1 tablespoon sea salt preferably Sonoran
- ⅛ tsp dried Mexican oregano optional but recommended
- ⅛ tsp red chile powder
- ⅛ tsp garlic powder
- 1 squirt bottle filled with pineapple juice about ½ cup
- 4 large 10 to 12 inch or larger good quality flour tortillas
- 1 cup finely shredded cabbage
- 1 cup prepared charro beans warmed and drained of any liquid
- Salsa for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to 500℉. You want a very hot grill.
- Combine sea salt, oregano, chile powder and garlic powder in a small bowl.
- Pat to dry the steaks, then sprinkle them generously on both sides with the seasoning blend.
- Sear the steak on one side for about a minute; you want to flip the steak before you start to see the juice on the surface of the meat. Flip the steak and sear on the other side for another minute. Squirt about a tablespoon of pineapple juice on the steak, flip it and repeat on the other side. Flip the steak again to caramelize the meat. Let steak rest for a minute or two. Thinly slice the meat against the grain, then dice into ¼ inch pieces.
- Place the tortillas on a large flat surface. Layer the chopped carne asada, beans and cabbage down the middle of each tortilla, leaving about ½ inch of space on either side and an inch or two at the top and bottom. Roll the base and filling one turn up so that the fold is in the center/widest part of the tortilla. Then fold the two shorter ends in and roll again until the filling is fully enclosed. Wrap in foil until ready to eat. Serve with salsa on the side
