Steak Picado! One Skillet Beef Tacos!

Steak picado or chopped steak is one of the easiest and fastest Mexican home cooked meals. Also known as bistec, bistek, and carne picada. It could not get any easier when it comes to this steak picado recipe!

I love grilled steak tacos, but firing up the grill is not always possible. When I need a tasty beef taco, this is the next best thing! The key is finding a good quality steak or carne asada seasoning and cooking at high heat in a cast iron pan. If you don’t have a seasoned cast iron pan in you kitchen yet, I highly recommend one.

My mom prepared this dish often with carious cuts of beef. To save money, she most often used a thin milanesa style steak or top round. Peppers, onions and tomatoes were typically added. Most times she would blend one or two small roma tomatoes to create a wonderful tomato sauce. I decided to not blend any tomatoes since I knew I would be serving as a taco filling.

The cactus paddles were an after thought, but I am so happy I added them! I had just finished cleaning them and wrapped them up for the freezer. If you have never tried cactus, it has a lemony flavor and has the texture of a green bean.

Steak Picado-One skillet Beef Tacos

Fast, easy and delicious are these steak picado tacos for any night of the week!  

4.41 from 5 votes

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Course: Main Course, Tacos

Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients

Ingredients

• 1 pound chuck steak chuck eye steak or top round steak, chopped small
• Carne asada steak seasoning. Look for a coarse seasoning that may contain chili powder
• Extra fresh cracked pepper
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 large red or white onion sliced into strips
• 1 large poblano sliced into strips
• 1 jalapeño or serrano sliced thin
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup grapeseed oil plus more for cooking
• 3 large roma tomatoes sliced into thin wedges

You Will Also Need

• Warm corn tortillas
• Your favorite salsa
• Lime wedges
• 3 fresh cactus paddles previously cleaned

Instructions

Directions

• In a large bowl, add all of the ingredients in the order listed, minus the tomatoes. Toss well so every ingredient is well coated. Set aside.
• If using nopales, cook nopales first according to instructions in the notes section.
• Preheat large cast iron skillet to medium high heat for 1 minute. Add 3 tablespoons of oil and continue to heat until the pan begins to smokes. 
• Using tongs, add your steak picado and all other ingredients in the bowl to the preheated skillet. Shake off excess marinade as you remove from the bowl. Spread out evenly so they are not overcrowded. Cook without stirring for at least 3-4 minutes.
• Toss using tongs, turning the ingredients. Let cook for 3 more minutes. Add the tomatoes and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir well to combine and continue cooking until tomatoes start to break down and release some of their juices. Serve right away with warm tortillas, salsa, sliced nopalitos and lime wedges.

Notes

For Nopalitos: Drizzle oil onto cactus paddles. Season lightly with salt and pepper on both sides. Cook cactus on a preheated cast iron grill pan or skillet for 4-5 minutes per side. The cactus should turn a dark olive color and have some char marks. The more you let the cactus release it's juices, the less slimy it will be.

Tried this recipe?Mention @pinaenlacocina or tag #pinaenlacocina!

I literally just tossed all my ingredients in a bowl! Didn’t make any sense to add ingredients separately when I knew the would cook fast at a high heat.