In Mexican cuisine, carne asada (literally "grilled beef", though any type of dry heat cooking may be used) is made from thin beef steak. The meat can be marinated by rubbing with olive oil and salt or with spice rubs such as lemon and pepper or garlic salt, lime, or Worcestershire sauce, before being cooked on a grill. The meat can be served alone or chopped and used in tacos, burritos, piratas, or quesadillas. Carne asada is often served with fresh guacamole, grilled onions, black beans or frijoles charros, and fresh salsa.
The dish is commonly prepared in the northern and western parts of Mexico (in the states of Sonora, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Coahuila, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Nuevo León, Durango, Tamaulipas, Nayarit, Zacatecas, Colima, Michoacán, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí and Jalisco) as well as in the American Southwest (especially Southern California and Texas). It can be found as the main ingredient in tacos and burritos, or is simply served stand-alone. It is sold at Mexican meat markets called carnicerías in the American Southwest and especially those states with Mexican/Mexican American enclaves.
Carne asada can be purchased from meat markets either prepared (preparada, i.e., already marinated) or not (no preparada), for marinating at home.
When describing an event in Mexico and the American Southwest, the phrase "carne asada" is the equivalent of describing the social barbecue.