Carne Asada Cheese Fries
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- ¾pound skirt steak or flank steak, cut into ½-inch cubes
- 1½tablespoons lime juice (from 1 lime)
- 1tablespoon chili powder
- ¼teaspoon ground cayenne (optional)
- ¾teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼teaspoon black pepper
- 1tablespoon neutral oil
- 4ounces cream cheese, cubed
- ⅓cup beer (preferably a lager or other beer without a pronounced flavor)
- 2cups finely shredded sharp Cheddar (about 8 ounces)
- ½teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼teaspoon smoked or sweet paprika
- Kosher salt, to taste
- ½cup finely chopped yellow or white onion
- ½cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 1tablespoon fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving
- 1½pounds homemade French fries or any fresh or frozen fried potato variety, such as home fries, waffle fries, curly fries or tater tots
- Crema Mexicana or sour cream (optional)
For the Carne Asada
For the Beer Cheese
For Serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
458 calories; 29 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 25 grams protein; 619 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Add steak to a medium bowl, and toss with the lime juice, chili powder, cayenne (if using), salt and pepper until thoroughly coated. Let marinate at room temperature while you prepare the remaining components.
- Step 2
Prepare the beer cheese: In a medium saucepan, melt the cream cheese over medium heat, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. Add the beer in a slow stream, whisking until smooth. Let the foam die down, about 1 minute, then decrease heat to low and add the cheese one handful at a time, whisking until smooth before adding the next. Once you’ve integrated all the cheese, whisk in the Worcestershire, mustard, garlic powder and paprika. Season to taste with salt, cover and set aside, off heat. (Makes 1¼ cups.)
- Step 3
Prepare the garnish: In a small bowl, stir together the onion, cilantro and lime juice. Set aside.
- Step 4
Make the carne asada: Heat the oil in a large cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium-high. Add the meat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and the sauce reduces to a glaze, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Step 5
Arrange cooked fries on a serving platter in an even layer, and drizzle beer cheese on top to taste. Top with the carne asada and onion-cilantro mixture. Serve with lime wedges, and crema, if desired.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Tamzin Harris
O.M.G. This was the richest, dirtiest dish, my husband barely spoke whilst eating it other to say ‘oh my word’ repeatedly. I used Barbacoa spice blend on sirloin steak instead of cayenne and left to marinate for a couple of hours. It was seriously good. A few days later and my husband it still randomly saying ‘mmm, ..beer cheese’ out of the blue.
WherestheBeef
Proportions for the fries, onions, cilantro and lime juice are omitted from the ingredients.
Chris
grill the steak whole--not cubed--and cube/shred after. use ancho chillis for the powder. add some minced cilantro root to the marinade. don't use cream cheese--use queso fresco. much better!
Tony
How about you give the people the original, Lolita's carne asada fries from San Diego... Where it was originated..
Mark S
I read the preparation for the carne asada; as a Hispanic man, I made my own version.I've also made plenty of cheese sauces before. This recipe was the worst I've ever tried. It was grainy and very unappetizing. I went back to making a béchamel, then added to cheese sauce with milk. Much better. It's also easier to add some Veletta. It was good idea to use french fries instead of chips.
banana
I accidentally burned the french fries making this, so warmed up some corn tortillas and made carne asada & beer cheese tacos instead...mega yum.
Brian Haley
When a food writer defines carne asada as "the toppings for a plate of beef nachos," you should move on to other reading as quickly as possible.
Janet H.
lCJ remove the cream cheese from its foil wrap, rewrap in plastic wrap, place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. you wont get clear edges on your cubes, but the idea is small uniformly-sized chunks of cream cheese.
emilyg
Delicious. Those that are pointing out the lack of fidelity with original carne asada fries should have read the accompanying article which clearly identified this as a pub’s take. Added some cubed avocado to the toppings, since, well, what isn’t better with that? We are big fans of Trader Joe’s frozen fries which have great potato flavor and can be deep-fried nice and crispy. Fried some shishito peppers with sprinkled cumin for the side. Fun Saturday night splurge!
Karen Kressenberg
Well, it comes in a big cube, or rectangle. I would stick it in the freezer for 15 minutes or so then get after it.
Marie D.
Carne Asada fries are not made with beer cheese. This recipe is like someone took inspiration from movie theater nachos with that horrible liquid cheese. Go to San Diego and eat the real thing then revise this recipe. (or just call it something else because this is not Carne Asada Fries)
Judi Rana
This was fun to prepare and delicious to eat! Our plated food looked just like the picture and was absolutely scrumptious. My only "add" was a little more beer to the cheese sauce as it cooked to make it saucier. Additionally, servings were perfect for 4 adults.
Anna W.
I don’t know, but I made it exactly as directed and the cheese sauce came out super grainy and without the cheesy flavor I’d hoped for for cheese fries. Next time, I’ll do what Mark S. suggests and go back to a tried and true bechamel Velveeta.
k
Beer cheese suspended, turned into a stringy cheese lump. Added the other half of the block of cream cheese (another 4 oz) and more beer, which freed it up to a smoother, thinner consistency. Everything else was followed as written, was pretty delicious!
Hamid
We really enjoyed this meal but made a couple of minor substitutions. We decided to make our own French Fries by cutting and seasoning russet potatoes. We used garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper to season the fries before baking them for 25 minutes at 425F and flipping mid way through. The only other substitution was using a non-diary cream cheese because that's all we had but it turned out pretty good. The serving size for the butter cheese is huge so it might be good to do half 1st.
Al
Really nice beer cheese sauce; no idea what the complaints about grittiness are on about unless they used a pre-shredded brand that uses cellulose. Don't worry about cubing the cream cheese, just mash and whisk it around as it melts. I might add some fresh chopped cherry tomatoes next time for some extra acid with the lime and a little more color.
DCherry
This was delicious! The skirt steak was tender and the cheese sauce seasoned was seasoned very nicely. This is on my go to list.
Liza
Guilty pleasure.
Very easy, lots of leftovers
Some of the comments-wow. People seem to feel the need to haughtily tell us How It Should Be Done. Loosen up! This is like a Mexican-inspired poutine! Delicious! Health food? Nah. So what? Eat what you like. This tastes great and will be in my winter rotation.
Chris W
This has become a treat we enjoy in front of big football games. Fun, festive and definitely naughty. Especially when you substitute tater tots for fries. My boys love it!
Francine
We live five minutes from the Piper Inn, which is about as Dive Bar as they come, but yes, this is the signature dish. Nice to know what goes into it.
Jim Thehaz
I would marry this dish
Asiah G.
Meh. I agree with another commenter the cheese sauce was horrible, definitely grainy and not smooth. Definitely should’ve went with my gut and start with a roux base. The flank definitely is better seared off whole too, and the marinade itself needs more flavor.
AEM
MAKE THE FRIES FIRST!!!! The recipe totally neglects to mention cooking the fries. Otherwise very tasty.
JustinH
Although this marinade leaves a lot to be desired if you’re striving for authentic carne asada flavoring, it does help somewhat to marinate this the day prior.
Annie S.
Delicious! I was alone for Christmas this year, due to the COVID. This sounded like it would be a special treat, and indeed it was, though of course the quantity was a bit much for one person. The only change I made was to cook the carne asada in a slow cooker, for 8 hours, whole rather than cut into cubes. I also omitted the onion, cilantro leaves and lime juice, as the cheese sauce provided plenty of flavor.
emilyg
Delicious. Those that are pointing out the lack of fidelity with original carne asada fries should have read the accompanying article which clearly identified this as a pub’s take. Added some cubed avocado to the toppings, since, well, what isn’t better with that? We are big fans of Trader Joe’s frozen fries which have great potato flavor and can be deep-fried nice and crispy. Fried some shishito peppers with sprinkled cumin for the side. Fun Saturday night splurge!
Gail
Ugh. Sauce was grainy and inedible. I wound up sending my husband to a Mexican restaurant for queso. Too much chili powder; it's all you can taste in the meat.
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