Grandpa Gotta Cook—Carne Asada, Arroz Y Frijoles

Food Fight Friday, Mexican Style

You've heard of the old adage, Don't bring a knife to a gunfight? Well, if Carne Asada with all the fixings were a weapon, it would be like bringing a small atomic bomb of flavor to Food Fight Friday!!

Okay, it's not like that at all. As a Grandpa, I need to be careful. There's little ones observing my every move. I just thought I would show you all that I too can get seriously competitive when it comes to Food Fight Friday. Just in a low key, under control, slower moving kind of way. I'll just jab you in the neck, pull your ear, or pinch your cheek. Or something.

Let's get this fiesta rolling.

Ay Yai Yai Yai! [cue mariachi band].

If there were comfort foods in Mexico, among them would have to be Carne Asada, Arroz Y Frijoles. For those of you who aren't in the know, Carne Asada translates more or less to seared meat, while arroz is rice and frijoles are beans. You've probably seen enough Westerns or Speedy Gonzalez to guess at that. Okay, maybe Dora the Explorer.

Since this is a multi-layered meal with a few more moving parts (and because I have no idea even after nearing 30 years of marriage what exactly my wife does with the Mexican rice—why would I?), I'm being assisted this week by my better half, who took care of the arroz and frijoles while I fired up the grill.

You can have Carne Asada fried up in a pan, or you can actually do it the right way and grill it. That's where I come in.

Prior to this moment when the finely cut selection of meat is tossed over the gas flames (okay, I'm still using tin foil but I'm loving the less cleanup), they are marinated in lemon juice and salt for as long as you want. In this case, probably an hour, but you can definitely go longer.

After that, it gets the heat treatment, but not for very long, since Carne Asada doesn't need a whole lot of coaxing. Five to seven minutes max, turning them over once is basically all you need. In fact, less may be better here, depending on your families' red meat eating preferences. Whatever you do, avoid dry Carne Asada at all costs.

Now, before all of that gets going, my wife has been working on the rice and beans. In the one pan, you have the rice, which you can't really see through the boiling red sauce that it cooks in, but trust me, it's in there. In the orange pot are the beans, which can be Pinto, but my wife and I both prefer a Peruvian bean. More flavor, less gas. You can also use black beans if you wish.

Those two take the bulk of the time to cook and prepare. I'd say we're looking at things from already thirty minutes in with another 20 minutes to go.

Once that's all done, there's not much left do but add the homemade salsa verde, slice up some aquacate, and bring on the warmed up tortillas de maiz.

I have plenty of favorite Mexican dishes, but this combination of flavors is hard to beat. It just makes you want to sit there and eat for as long as you possibly can. Then, try to eat some more. Sighing satisfactorily all the while.

Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh.

You really need a favorite beverage to wash this down. We usually go for a Coca-Cola, but we were out. It was the only thing missing from total culinary perfection. Even if I do say so myself.

And finally I leave you with some dinner music from Mariachi Los Cabritos doing a mariachi mashup of the Disney Coco movie songs.

About The Post

Grandpa Gotta Cook has joined forces with the folks at Food Fight Friday to bring you this latest installment. If you're interested in joining the food fight, simply a) post on Friday and b) use the #fff tag.