Let's get cooking with Chef Tom's Carne Asada Fries! This dish features grilled, marinated flank steak, french fries, creamy queso blanco, guacamole and more, giving you a tantalizing mix of flavors for a truly unforgettable meal. Dare to savor deliciousness!
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Vacuum-sealing the steak in its marinade: Vac-sealing the pounded flank steak with the marinade forces contact between the meat and liquid, letting the chile-soy marinade penetrate faster than a loose zip-top bag would in the same 45-60 minutes.
- Frying the fries directly on the grill grates: Cooking frozen fries in beef tallow on GrillGrates over direct fire gets them browned and crispy while picking up live-fire flavor that an oven or air fryer couldn't replicate.
- Building the queso in stages over direct heat: Melting the cheeses into simmering milk one handful at a time, whisking constantly, keeps the sauce smooth instead of breaking or turning grainy the way dumping all the cheese in at once might.
- Pounding the steak thin before marinating: Flattening the flank steak to an even 1/2"-3/4" thickness lets the marinade penetrate more evenly and helps the steak cook quickly and consistently once it hits the grill.
Carne Asada Fries On a Pellet Grill
Tom Jackson
Rated 2.2 stars by 5 users
Category
Side Dish
Cuisine
American
Servings
11
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
57 minutes
Calories
445
Chef Tom fires up the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill for Carne Asada Fries featuring french fries piled high with toppings like grilled, marinated flank steak, creamy queso blanco, guacamole and more!
Ingredients
- 1 bag frozen fries
-
2-3 tbsp beef tallow, melted
-
Cattleman's Grill California Tri-Tip Seasoning, finely ground
-
1 Creekstone Farms Prime Flank Steak, pounded thin
- Marinade (below)
- Garlic-Lime Crema (below)
- Guacamole (below)
- Queso Blanco (below)
- Cotija or queso fresco, for garnish
- Cilantro, for garnish
- Lime wedges, for garnish
-
1/2 cup Sweetwater Spice Tres Chiles
- 1/4 cup water
-
2 tbsp Colonial Chile Infused Oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
-
1 tbsp Cattleman’s Grill Mexicano Seasoning
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 2 cloves garlic, finely grated on microplane
- Water, as needed
- 2 small avocados
-
3 tbsp Holmes Made Marty’s Green Chile Salsa
- 3 tbsp cilantro, minced
- 1 tbsp lime juice
-
Jacobsen Habanero Salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups (6 oz) American cheese, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 cup (6 oz) Queso Chihuahua, grated
- 1/4 cup pickled jalapeños, minced
- 1 tbsp pickled jalapeno juice
-
1 tbsp Heat Maverick’s Jalapeño Vice Hot Sauce
For the Marinade:
For the Garlic-Lime Crema:
For the Guacamole:
For the Queso Blanco:
Directions
- Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 450ºF, set up for direct grilling with GrillGrates grilling panels over the fire box.
- Pound your flank steak thin (about 1/2”- 3/4” thickness). Combine all ingredients for the marinade and whisk. Place the marinade and thin pounded steak in a vacuum bag (if you have a chamber vacuum, otherwise place in a zip-top bag). Vac seal the bag and marinate for 45-60 minutes.
- Toss your frozen fries in the melted beef tallow and season with Creekstone Farms California Tri-Tip Seasoning. Spread out in a single even layer on a parchment lined sheet pan. Transfer the pan to grill. Cook on the GrillGrates directly over the fire. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the fries are browned and crispy, about 45 minutes. Slide the pan to the right side of the grill (away from the fire) and crank the grill temperature up to 500ºF.
- While the fries cook, prepare the guacamole. Combine all ingredients in a zip top bag. Seal the bag and smash and mix to combine. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Also prepare the crema. Combine ingredients in a bowl and whisk. Transfer to a squeeze bottle. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Scale the ingredients for the Queso Blanco so that you’re ready to cook the queso while the steak is on the grill later.
- Remove the steak from the marinade. Transfer directly to the got GrillGrates.
- While the steak is cooking, prepare the queso. Pour the milk into a Finex 10” Cast Iron Skillet over medium high heat. Bring to a simmer. Begin adding the cheeses, one handful at a time, whisking constantly. Add more cheese as it melts into the liquid. When all cheeses are melted, lower the heat to low. Whisk in the pickled jalapeños, pickled jalapeño juice and Heat Maverick’s Jalapeño Vice Hot Sauce. Hold warm until ready to serve.
Flip the flank steak to get some grill marks and light char on both sides. Remove from the grill when the internal temperature reaches 125ºF-130ºF, about 12 minutes totat cook time.
- Remove the steak and fries from the grill. Dice the steak into very small pieces.
- Build your carne asada fries. Start with a base of fries. Layer on the steak, queso blanco, garlic-lime crema, crumbled cheese, guacamole and cilantro. Garnish with a lime wedge.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why vacuum-seal the steak with its marinade instead of using a zip-top bag?
Vacuum-sealing forces the marinade into direct contact with the meat by removing air, letting the chile-soy marinade penetrate faster and more evenly than it would in a loose bag over the same 45-60 minutes.
Why fry the frozen fries directly on GrillGrates instead of baking them?
Cooking them in beef tallow over direct fire browns and crisps the fries while picking up live-fire flavor that an oven can't replicate, even though it takes about 45 minutes of tossing occasionally.
Why build the queso by adding cheese gradually instead of all at once?
Whisking in the cheeses one handful at a time as the milk simmers keeps the sauce smooth. Dumping all the cheese in at once risks it clumping or breaking into a grainy, oily texture instead of melting evenly.
Why pound the flank steak thin before marinating it?
Flattening the steak to an even 1/2"-3/4" thickness helps the marinade penetrate more evenly and lets the steak cook through quickly and consistently once it hits the grill.
What internal temperature should the flank steak actually reach?
This recipe pulls it at 125-130°F, a rare-to-medium-rare finish. As a whole-muscle cut of beef, this is a safe, standard target — there's no minimum cook temperature requirement the way there is for ground meat.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
3 out of 5 — the queso, guacamole, and crema all come together on the stovetop; a broiler or air fryer can crisp the fries, and a hot cast iron skillet can sear the steak in place of the grill.
Recipe Highlights
Vacuum-sealed marinade: Speeds up and evens out flavor penetration into the steak.
Grill-fried fries: Beef tallow and live fire add flavor an oven can't match.
Staged queso building: Gradual cheese melting keeps the sauce smooth.
Pounded-thin steak: Ensures even marinade penetration and consistent cooking.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 8.85 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 445
- Carbs
- 24 grams
- Protein
- 21 grams
- Fat
- 31 grams
- Sodium
- 907 milligrams
