Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling by Bricia Lopez and Javier Cabral

  • Frutero salad
    • Categories: Quick / easy; Salads; Sauces, general; Appetizers / starters; Entertaining & parties; Mexican; Vegetarian; Vegan
    • Ingredients: jicama; seedless watermelon; pineapple; mangoes; Persian cucumbers; Key limes; sea salt flakes; chile and lime salt; dried hibiscus blossoms; dried apricots; prunes; unsweetened dried cranberries; chiles de árbol; oranges; limes
    show

Notes about this book

  • SULibraries on October 18, 2025

    641.5784 L864a 2023 (LOU)

  • carolwatson on July 24, 2023

    The recipe for Salsa Burracha Ribs has left out adding the beer to the mix. It is very much needed as it is far too acid without. Great dish.

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Frutero salad

  • Homemade tostadas (Tostadas caseras)

    • SheilaS on July 28, 2023

      Frying the tortillas in a duck fat/peanut oil mix was kind of fancy but they came out very flavorful and shatteringly crisp!

  • Grilled salpicón tostadas

    • kathryn_rlcc9i on April 27, 2026

      Steak cooking times vary depending on the thickness of your cut. Mine were thick and uneven, so took 5-7 min per side to reach medium rare. Added cherry tomatoes, subbed rice vinegar for citrus vinegar & worked well. Good in soft tortillas, taco style.

  • Carne asada clásica

    • Bessp on February 22, 2026

      A spectacular meal for entertaining. I made it exactly as written, except we cooked it in a cast iron pan over very high heat because we don't have a grill and served it as burrito bowls over rice with salsa, guacamole, pickled onions, raw onions, crema, shredded cheese, refried beans, cilantro, etc, according to taste. It ended up marinating about 6 hours, which seemed quite adequate. The recipe scales very well and can stretch to serve a crowd. Next time we'll try it on my brother's smoker, I think it will work very well.

    • Baxter850 on March 13, 2026

      Delicious. Complex yet comforting flavors. The Serrano wasn’t really noticeable but I like spicy food. Don’t know if this is my go to carne asada recipe yet but it’s in the rotation for it.

  • Michelada carne asada

    • claire_txa051 on June 01, 2026

      Pretty easy peasy and straightforward for a ton of flavor. We only had a pound of skirt steak and fed a fam of four - would plan accordingly!

  • Arrachera verde

    • Stephenn31 on September 17, 2023

      I marinated overnight and it was delicious. I used cilantro instead of parsley, since I had cilantro and am not a huge fan of parsley. Excellent marinade, though I felt like it needed a bit more liquid to fully cover the meat while marinating.

  • Salsa borracha ribs

    • pattyatbryce on August 01, 2023

      Very good. Is a bit spicy, but we just reduced the Tabasco by half. Beer not mentioned in recipe, but is on ingredient list. Took a chance and put it in with everything else. Very good recipe.

    • metacritic on August 17, 2025

      Excellent ribs recipe. Perhaps the best I've found. Added the beer (they neglected that step) to the sauce as it cooked down. Borracha = boozy so clearly that's an intended step. After three hours at very low heat the ribs are melting. Briefly thought of not grilling them after the cook but their texture - wet and without any caramelization -- clearly wanted the last recommended step. Added to the grill to give them a more appealing texture and appearance. . Absolutely delicious.

    • Stephenn31 on May 23, 2026

      This was really delicious. I added the beer at the same time as the other liquid ingredients. I ended up doing in the oven, and then opening the aluminum foil and broiling on high for a few minutes to char a bit at the end. Delicious!

  • Pollo Yucateco asado

    • bernalgirl on March 14, 2024

      An easy and tasty grilled chicken to add to a taco spread or for an easy weeknight dinner. I used boneless chicken thighs for ease but I’m sure this marinade would yield excellent skin.

    • Stephenn31 on July 19, 2025

      The picture is from a different recipe. But the marinade was excellent. I used it for think slices of chicken breast to cook quickly on the bbq

  • Citrus and oregano pollo asado

    • bernalgirl on July 04, 2023

      This is a wonderful marinade that I may not have looked at twice except I had a guest who’s allergic to onion. This incredibly simple marinade permeates the chicken beautifully and is full of flavor. I used boneless thighs and breasts for a weeknight dinner so I only marinated for an hour with a good few glugs of olive oil added so the lemon juice wouldn’t change the texture of the meat. Will definitely make again!

  • Pollo in guajillo

    • pattyatbryce on July 15, 2024

      Marinade took a long time to pull together and the steps seemed in an odd order for toasting things in the pan. It didn't make sense to toast the spices after the wetter onion and garlic, so I changed those around and the prep was messy, but it was all worth it. The chicken came out wonderful after about 5 hours of marination. I would definitely make again.

  • Cecina Oaxaqueña

    • Stephenn31 on September 17, 2023

      Delicious! I'll make this again.

    • bernalgirl on July 19, 2024

      Thin pork loin chops pounded thinner and marinated in a complex and addictive guajillo marinade, this is absolutely excellent. I made no changes, it came together easily, and worked well with the Elotes and grilled Caesar from the same book.

  • Pibil-style pork chops

    • bernalgirl on August 12, 2024

      I used sliced pork shoulder, marinated for 10 hours. This was absolutely fantastic in tacos with cotija and pickled onions.

  • L.A. streets dogs

    • Melissa_427 on May 26, 2026

      Set up a handful of condiments and veggies (grilled and raw) and built some tasty dogs. A nice way to enjoy Memorial Day and the unofficial start to summer!

  • Grilled snapper al mojo de ajo

    • bernalgirl on October 12, 2025

      This is such a great preparation for a whole fish, the mojo de ajo paste is just delicious. I used a fresh-from-the-docks 3-lb. Pacific vermillion rockfish and it cooked in about 10 minutes on the grill.

  • Peel 'n' eat guajillo prawns

    • pattyatbryce on July 05, 2023

      Very spicy as written. We had precooked shrimp by accident. Made the butter sauce and cooked the garlic and chili a little. Then added lime and fish sauce, strained, and used as a dipping butter. Enjoyed it quite a bit.

    • zverboon on May 26, 2026

      So good- you get more sauce if you peel first and leave the tails on and do them like them, a lot of the good flavor gets removed when you peel them otherwise.

  • Frijoles puercos con chorizo y atún

    • rmardel on August 19, 2023

      This the first time I have cooked Mayocoba beans and I will be cooking them again. They were excellent as simply prepared followng the author's technique of cooking the beans with a quartered onion which is later removed, much the way I was taught to cook beans with a whole dried chile which would "take a walk" through the pot before being removed. I could happily eat a bowl of plain beans cooked this way every day. But the beans were also excellent with the added spices, bacon and chorizo, a rich and satisfying meal in a bowl. I would almost think that the added tuna would be too much, except that it wasn't. I used Ortiz yellowfin tuna and it was so delicious that I frankly don't see that I would ever bother to buy and prepare fresh tuna for this dish. I also only put about half the beans in the food processor to partially chop and then stirred them back in with the remaining whole beans and the result, with the tuna, was addictively satisfying.

  • Frijoles charros in broth

    • Stephenn31 on May 23, 2026

      This was really good. I only used about half the meats and it was meaty and savoury

  • Frijoles negros de la olla con nopalitos

    • SheilaS on July 28, 2023

      Made these with Rancho Gordo frijol negro de vara from Chiapas and I just loved the flavor from the epazote and the nopales. I've been using these in quesadillas but they really shine in a bowl as the pot liquor is amazing.

  • Frijoles de la olla

    • bernalgirl on July 04, 2023

      I’ve been making frijoles de la olla my whole life, and these are the bowl of my dreams, the kind I want bowl after bowl of at my favorite Mexican restaurant. I happened to have duck fat but I will likely try this with schmaltz or bacon drippings.

    • SheilaS on July 28, 2023

      Made this with Rancho Gordo pintos. I don't usually add fat to beans but tried the duck fat and they came out great.

    • rmardel on August 19, 2023

      Probably the best frijoles de la olla I have ever made, and I've been making beans for decades.

    • Stephenn31 on July 19, 2025

      A good classic bean dish.

  • Frijoles refritos

    • Stephenn31 on August 04, 2024

      Turned out a bit thick at the end. It needed more salt

    • metacritic on August 17, 2025

      Absolutely fantastic. I've never used avocado leaf but it resulted in a slightly herbacious maybe faintly liquorish flavor that I found nuanced and compelling. Terrific recipe.

    • bernalgirl on December 08, 2025

      My son prefers perfectly smooth refritos, and this recipe is perfect, not gluey at all. I make it with pinto beans, too.

    • Baxter850 on March 13, 2026

      Very good. Be careful—it splatters a lot when cooking. Used 4 cups of beens and help the rest of the recipe as written. Was a too spicy for me wife but I loved it.

  • Arroz rojo

    • Stephenn31 on July 19, 2025

      Excellent red rice recipe that worked well. A lot easier to blend the onion and tomato and add it. Tasty

  • Elotes asados with roasted garlic butter

    • shylastrath on July 24, 2023

      Used half mayo/half sour cream. Grilled corn without husks.

    • pattyatbryce on July 15, 2024

      Very good dish. I liked the esquites from this book more, but a definite keeper. We roasted the garlic a bit longer to match the time on the corn.

    • bernalgirl on July 19, 2024

      I did not love this sauce as much as the one from Kenji Lopez-Alt, which is my standard and combines mayo with crema for a less salty and more complex result. I would not make this again.

  • Esquites

    • pattyatbryce on July 05, 2023

      Enjoyed these a lot, but make a half recipe. Or... use leftover as a great corn chowder.

    • Stephenn31 on August 04, 2024

      I quite enjoyed this as a change from elotes. I let the corn char a bit in the pan before adding the liquid

  • Grilled veggies with pipián dip

    • bernalgirl on July 04, 2023

      This dip is amazing! I’d eat it on potatoes, eggs, cardboard! I had a bit of trouble getting the right consistency, I used roma tomatoes and I don’t think I grilled them long enough, my mixture wasn’t very thick, so I added more nuts and bread, and then a squeeze of lemon for balance, and still loved it but next time I’d halve the tomatoes so I could grill them on all sides and thus decrease the liquid (and concentrate the flavors. I also used a seeded jalapeño as I don’t love the flavor of habanero peppers.

    • SheilaS on July 20, 2023

      I don't have a proper grill, just a small countertop version. After 10 min, my peppers and tomatoes were soft and tender and had random stripes but weren't what I'd call thoroughly charred so I held them over a gas flame for a few minutes to blacken them up. The consistency was a very thick paste, more like a spread than a dip. The taste was OK but nothing I'd make again. I only made a half recipe and ended up with 2 and a half cups left over so it makes a lot!

    • Baxter850 on March 13, 2026

      Great “Mexican” style healthy app noting that the dip is not really healthy with all the oil, although it’s a great dip. Makes a ton. Could cut in half for a family dinner for 4. Used a small habanero and the dip wasn’t too hot even for my wife.

  • Pickled red onions

    • SheilaS on July 20, 2023

      Nice version of pickled onions. I ended up with almost a cup of extra brine.

    • rmardel on July 26, 2023

      Nice pickled onions. The grow more complex with age. I too had extra brine, but I shoved all my onions into one large jar, rather than two smaller ones as recommended.

    • jaxcap on August 29, 2023

      I was able to make 3 x 16 oz jars using the quantities in the book.

    • bernalgirl on March 12, 2026

      A good and straightforward recipe, the orange adds something special.

  • Grilled Romaine ensalada Caesar con miso

    • rmardel on July 26, 2023

      The Caesar dressing is more mellow than traditional Caesar dressing, but still umami rich. I used a slightly higher proportion of miso. I found the dressing comforting on a hot summer evening and think of this more as a summer evening, perhaps when one does not want a punch of sharp flavor. It is a good recipe to have in the arsenal, as I can see it as useful, but think I still prefer my Caesar to be a little more sharply aggressive.

    • bernalgirl on July 19, 2024

      Delicious, we fought over the last bites. I used a mayonnaise-based quick homemade dressing with cotija in place of parm, and loved the interplay with the grilled romaine. My only change would be to grill the romaine dry, rather than applying olive oil, for a more crisp-charred result.

  • Salsa taquera en molcajete

    • Baxter850 on March 14, 2026

      Great flavor. The volume of tomatillos was too much for my large molcajete. Tomatillos need to be soft to use molcajete so the Miller’s are definitely advised. Ended up blending because my non-Miller’s weren’t soft enough to crush in the molcajete. Mild spiciness.

  • Salsa de piña tatemada

    • allisonsemele on July 27, 2023

      Quite tasty--a little too sweet for me to want much of this on chips, but it was very good on salmon and I imagine great on pork tacos. Found the minced onion in foil packets a little fussier than I felt like dealing with, so I grilled thick slices of onions and chopped them in the food processer. Used the food processer instead of the molcajete, and it worked fine.

  • Salsa taquera clásica

    • Baxter850 on March 14, 2026

      This is very spicy. We didn’t love the flavor either (I’m okay with the spice).

  • Chamoy

    • SheilaS on July 21, 2023

      I made this per the recipe and it does indeed taste much better than the bottled stuff.

    • rmardel on August 21, 2023

      I made this mostly according to the recipe. I only had sweetened dried cranberries in house, rather than unsweetened, so I simply reduced the sugar. It is indeed much more flavorful than the stuff I can buy in the store, but although it is quite good, I am not sure how often I will use it.

    • Carriejean76 on May 25, 2026

      Made as written except used sweetened dried cranberries- kept sugar the same. Better than bottled stuff. Mine was too thick to strain. The grams listed aren’t accurate (1 cup of dried Jamaica isn’t 50 gm nor is 1 cup of dried apricots 50 grams ) I went with cup measurements over weights- this is probably why mine was so thick- cups uses much more of the ingredients. Overall very good.

  • Morita michelada

    • chris_l88gg6 on April 16, 2026

      Excellent michelada base! Keeps well in the refrigerator.

  • Tequila colada

    • SheilaS on July 09, 2023

      I made this with the Coco Lopez brand of cream of coconut and it was sweet but also very cooling and refreshing. The acidity from the lime juice and dilution from all the ice balanced it out and I enjoyed it very much. Next time, I'll try cutting the sweetened stuff with some regular coconut milk to see how that works or looking for the evaporated coconut milk she recommends.

  • Smoky margarita de Jamaica

    • SheilaS on July 09, 2023

      I made this with blood orange juice and, even though I reduced the amount of hibiscus syrup by half, it was still overpoweringly sweet. Very pretty, though!

    • Nrnarayan on May 30, 2026

      did this with half blood orange juice and half lime juice, really cuts the sweetness down that way. Tasty and dangerous!

  • Smoky paloma

    • SheilaS on July 20, 2023

      My adjustments: no blanco tequila in the house so I used reposado, the pink grapefruit sparkler that I used has a bit of sweetness so I skipped the simple syrup and there's no instruction as to when to add that sparkling water or grapefruit soda so I just used it to top off my glass. This was light, cool and refreshing.

  • Carajillo

    • SheilaS on July 20, 2023

      I'm an Aeropress girl, not a French Press expert and usually go with 20g ground coffee for a 6 oz cup so 40g in a quart seemed on the weak side to me, especially since it was getting diluted with ice so I went with my usual proportions, measured out 4 oz of the brew + 1 oz Licor 43 to shake and was quite pleased with the result. Sweet, but not too much. Loved the touch of foam and nibbling on the cacao nibs

  • Gelatina de Mosáico

    • pattyatbryce on July 05, 2023

      Fun and easy dessert. Light and cool for summer. Takes a bit of time, but most is just chilling.

  • Paletas de naranja con chamoy

    • SheilaS on July 21, 2023

      As written, these are kind of an icy orange juice pop but the addition of diced orange pieces and the sweet/tart/spicy chamoy on top makes them more interesting. Based on the volumes and yield given, I believe the recipe is designed to make pops of around 4 oz. My molds are smaller so I made a half recipe, using 1/2 T chamoy per pop instead of 1 T as the recipe indicates. I made the chamoy per the recipe on p 213. A fun and festive pop.

You must Create an Account or Sign In to add a note to this book.

Reviews about this book

This book does not currently have any reviews.

  • ISBN 10 1419762885
  • ISBN 13 9781419762888
  • Linked ISBNs
  • Published Apr 25 2023
  • Format Hardcover
  • Page Count 272
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher Abrams

Publishers Text

Oaxaca authors Bricia Lopez and Javier Cabral are back with the first major cookbook about how to create asada—Mexican-style grilled meat—at home in millions of backyards across Southern California, an asada means a gathering of family, friends, great music, cold drinks, good times, and community—all centered around the primal allure of juicy, smoky grilled meat with flavors and spices traditional to Mexico. The smell of asada is a cloud of joy that lingers in the streets of Los Angeles. With Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling, Mexican food authorities and the authors of Oaxaca, Bricia Lopez and Javier Cabral, are back with more than 100 recipes that show you how to prepare the right dishes and drinks for your next carne asada gathering. Asada will both guide you in crafting mouthwatering food and inspire the right laidback atmosphere.

Everyone says they love a spicy margarita and asada tacos, but very few understand the culture that informs these flavors. Divided into the eight crucial elements of any carne asada: botanas (appetizers), carnes (meats), mariscos (seafood), side dishes and vegetables, salsas, aguas frescas, cocktails, and dessert, Asada walks you through every step. From Lopez’s secret “michelada marinade” to game-changing salsas that will elevate any grilled meat, this cookbook is the ultimate guide to making and beginning to understand the magic of asada.

Other cookbooks by this author