We have been fascinated with flambéed desserts and dishes for some time. Having a little fireworks in one’s life can always be a little exciting, and during these times, who doesn’t want dinner and a show? We have scanned through various recipes trying to find just the right flambe’ to try. Most looked enticing, but were a little high maintenance. (Craig is biting his tongue right about now. ;)) During the COVID lock down, this recipe came across our laps in the Dallas Morning News. We made some minor adjustments to the recipe. Some of the ingredients listed in the original were very difficult to find. Our version was delicious. We hope that this recipe will ignite your curiosity and you will give it a try.
The most important part of this recipe is to purchase the right steak. The recipe calls for tenderloin, skirt steak or flank steak. We used tenderloin. It was a little more pricey, but it paid off because the cooked meat was very tender. Other steak cuts can sometimes get a little over cooked and tough.
Other ingredients you will need are olive oil, garlic cloves, lime juice, reposado or anejo tequila, vegetable oil, paprika, white vinegar, oregano, ground cumin, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
To start you will make a garlic/oil mixture by placing olive oil and garlic in a blender processing until garlic is liquified. Slice the tenderloin across the grain in thin slices. Place the steak in between wax paper and tenderize with a wooden mallet or rolling pin until about 1/2 inch thick. Place steaks in a baking dish and brush with the garlic mixture. Set aside.
Next place the other ingredients in a blender and blend until liquified. Pour the marinade over the steak and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Heat the tequila to warm. We placed ours in the microwave for about 15 seconds. Heat oil in a large skillet. Remove the meat from the marinade. Saute’ the meat over medium high heat turning once- about 2 to 3 minutes per side. You want the meat cooked medium rare.
Are you ready for the fun part? Pour the tequila into the pan and carefully ignite it. Rhonda was scared to do this part, so she got some extra help from Blind Piglet #2. Wait 5 seconds and then shake the skillet gently until the flames die out.
Add some fresh sliced peppers and onions to the pan for a few minutes to create fajitas.
We served our Carne Al Tequila on tortillas with some pico and cheese with a side of rice and some fruit salsa. Wash it down with one of The Blind Pig’s margaritas — so satisfying. The piglets loved this dinner, so we will be making it again soon, not to mention the flambe’ was fun entertainment for all!
If you are viewing this post via email, make sure to visit us at www.theblindpig.blog for a complete recipe of Carne Al Tequila.
Carne Al Tequila
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 8 medium garlic cloves
- 1 1/2 pounds of tenderloin steak
- 8 tsp. paprika
- 2 T white vinegar
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 T soy sauce
- 1 T Worcestershire Sauce
- 3/4 freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/4 cup anejo or reposado tequila
- 3 T vegetable oil
- 1 cup sliced onions
- 1 cup sliced red and green bell peppers
Instructions
- Place 4 cloves of garlic and olive oil in a blender. Blend until liquified.
- Slice beef across the grain into 6-8 equal rounds. Place each steak between two pieces of waxed paper and pound steaks with a wooden mallet or rolling pin until 1/2 thickness.
- Place steaks in a large baking dish and brush both sides with the olive oil mixture. Set aside.
- Place lime juice, paprika and next 6 ingredients in a blender and process until liquified. Pour marinade over steaks and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Warm tequila and set aside. Heat oil in large skillet. Remove meat from marinade. Saute' meat over medium-high heat, turning after about 3 minutes. Cook until medium rare.
- Pour tequila into the pan and carefully ignite. Wait 5 seconds and then shake the skillet gently until the flames die out.
- Add onions and peppers to the pan stirring gently for about 5 minutes.
- Serve over warm tortillas with pico and cheese.
Now that we have ignited your curiosity, perhaps we will try a flambe’ cocktail or dessert next. What lights your fire? Try out this recipe and let us know what you think!
