Joseph
Produced in partnership with Founders Brewing Company.
The best and most exclusive backyard hanging sessions seem to have come together at the last minute – maybe you met a neighbor, or maybe you just spent an afternoon with a friend. Now the evening is creeping in and you want the good times to continue. Hunger arises, but you don’t want to stop the flow of happiness by trying a complicated recipe or ordering a pizza (again). What should you serve at such a prom? Our goal is the dry carne asada tacos. Simple and fast? Yeah. But it’s also delicious as hell and completely sustainable – so you spend less time preparing and more time actually enjoying yourself.
The translation of carne asada is “roast beef,” which is what you get here. Its natural flavors are amplified by spices like adobo and cumin. You can adjust to your liking – no long seasoning, no hours of slicing and preparation. Use delicious, thick-grained cuts like the skirt steak – preferably the “outer” skirt steak, which is softer than the inner bits – and cook quickly on a hot grill. Pair the meat with a fresh tortilla, if you can find it, and you will find that the layers of the dish disappear almost as quickly as you can prepare.
Weeknit Carney Asada Taco
Ingredients:
2 tsp cumin
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon crushed adobo pepper, more or less to change the heat
Salt and pepper to taste
The tortilla
Fresh coriander
Fresh avocado
- Shot on the grill. Put the spices in a bowl and mix together. Then completely envelop the skirt steak in the batter by rubbing it on both sides. (You can do this up to two hours in advance for deeper flavor.)
- Cover the steaks with a little olive oil, then grill them for 3 minutes per side, or until they are medium rare. Let the steak sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then slice it into thin slices with the direction of the grain. Serve with grilled tortilla, fresh avocado or simple guacamole and fresh cilantro.
- And to drink the pairing? You might conjure up your margarita for a meal like this, but it’s time to rethink: Why usher in your sugar rush and potential hangover? We’ll get to Agave diamond founders Hard Seltzer. Since the sweet is re-ordered with all-natural agave, and the natural fruit juice provides flavor, it is in a world of its own.
Great equipment for a (moderate) backyard bash
Three items you need to easily upgrade your entertaining game.
Most backyard fire pits are great in theory, and less in practice: They tend to be heavy and messy and can soak your guests’ clothes in the smoke. Not so with Yukon single burner, Which uses a smart design that directs airflow in a way that burns wood hotter and more efficiently. It gets all the warmth (visible and heat) with much less smoke, and fewer burnt wood and ash bits to clean in the morning. The new Yukon unit has a 23-inch wide mouth, which means most standard-sized firewood should fit. [$500; solostove.com]
Everyone wants to take their movie night out these days – but a lot of people buy substandard portable projectors with very dim output for all but the darkest nights. Not so with Epson EpiqVision Mini EF11It produces 1000 lumens of brightness via a 3LCD laser projection system, and features built-in amplifiers. Plug something like your Roku Streaming Stick into one of its two HDMI ports and you’re good to go. [$799, epson.com]
These vintage style string lights look great … but they are just about everywhere. So how can you get a warm glow in the yard without it? Answer for Articture element. These portable globe lights sit on the floor and cast an even light that will delight you and your guests. Element features a rechargeable LED light, so you don’t need to run a power cable to the ground. [From $99; articture.com]
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