Carne Asada Burritos

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Carne Asada Burritos are popular in Southern California, and I happen to think that they are the best burritos ever!

April 1st is National Burrito Day, so it’s a great day to make your very own homemade carne asada burritos at home! Make it a complete meal by whipping up my sheet pan chicken quesadillas too. Alternately, visit your favorite Mexican restaurant and order your favorite burrito. Be sure to follow my April Food Holidays page so you never miss a food holiday in the month of April!

“Everybody likes to have a place to think, to meditate, to eat a burrito…”

-Sherman Alexie

The History of Burritos:

Roots of the burrito date back thousands of years. In 10,000 BC, using corn tortillas to wrap around food was a common practice among the people who lived in the region that we know as Mexico today. It’s believed that this was the pre-cursor to modern-day tacos and burritos.

It’s believed that the “burrito” emerged sometime in the early 20th century.

One theory about the origin of the burrito surrounds a man named Juan Mendez. Mendez rode around on his donkey and sold tacos to people during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). He wrapped his food in flour tortillas to keep it warm. “Food of the donkey” became popular, and this wrapped food became known as burrito (little donkey, in Spanish).

Another street vendor in Mexico may have been the one to create the burrito. He sold tortilla-wrapped food to poor children, and he nicknamed the children burritos (derogatory).

And yet another story is that the burrito was invented in Sonora (a region that became known for growing wheat). People in Sonora found that burritos were easy to carry around while traveling (on a donkey).

In 1923, the burrito first appeared on a restaurant menu in Los Angeles.

In 1934, a recipe for a burrito appeared in Erna Ferguson’s Mexican cookbook.

Migrant workers from Mexico in the 1940’s through 1960’s brought the concept of the burrito with them to the United States. Burritos began becoming a popular restaurant item in Southern California. Home cooks started making them for dinner too.

Ingredients needed for the Carne Asada steak:

• flank steak or skirt steak
• olive oil
• freshly squeezed lime juice
• freshly squeezed orange juice
• white vinegar
• fresh cilantro
• jalapeno
• garlic
• oregano
• cumin
• chipotle chile powder
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to make Carne Asada:

The full, printable recipe for carne asada burritos is at the end of this post.

Add the oil, lime juice, orange juice, vinegar, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, salt, oregano, cumin, black pepper, and chipotle chili powder to a bowl and stir to combine. Remove 1/4 cup of this mixture and set aside for topping the carne asada later. 

Put the steak into a gallon-sized zip-top plastic bag along with the rest of the marinade. Let it marinade in the fridge for at least 2 hours, but up to 24 hours. 

When you’re ready to grill the steak, preheat a grill to high.  

Remove the steak from the marinade, and discard the marinade.  

Grill the steak until it’s done to your desired level of doneness, about 7 to 10 minutes per side. If you want to cook it to medium doneness, the internal temperature should be around 135 to 145 degrees F. 

Let the steak rest for 10 minutes before slicing it across the grain. Spoon the reserved 1/4 cup of marinade on top. 

What do you need to make Carne Asada Burritos?

• large flour tortillas
• cooked carne asada
• cooked Mexican rice
• beans or refried beans
• guacamole
• pico de gallo or salsa
• Mexican crema or sour cream
• cheese- such as queso fresco or Monterey Jack

Serve the burrito flour tortillas along with the carne asada and any fillings you like. 

Wrap up the tortilla to enclose the filling and create a burrito. Cut in half for easier eating!

Fun Facts About Burritos:

• Original Mexican burritos are small and thin and contain just a couple of ingredients.
• The first frozen burrito was developed in 1956 in Southern California.
• The extra large Mission Style burrito was invented by a grocery store called El Faro in 1961. It’s stuffed with rice, meat, beans, cheese, guacamole and sour cream.
• A carne asada burrito is considered one of the regional foods of San Diego.
• The California burrito originated in San Diego in the 1980’s. It has carne asada and French fries inside!
• A “wet” burrito is covered with red chile sauce and melted cheese.
• In a “burrito bowl,” all of the burrito ingredients are piled into a bowl without a tortilla.
• You can eat burritos for breakfast when you eat a breakfast burrito stuffed with scrambled eggs.
• A chimichanga is a deep fried burrito.