Our Adobo Ranch Steak Taco Bowl Recipe Is Bold With Tex-Mex Flavors – Chowhound

It’s hard to beat a good steak dinner, though any true steak enthusiast knows that there are quite a few ways to serve up your favorite cut. You could go the classic and simple route, and pan-sear a steak to serve alongside potatoes or a leafy salad. You could also take a cue from recipe developer Patterson Watkins, who always likes to explore a more creative route, which is exactly what she does in her adobo ranch steak taco bowl recipe. This bright, satisfying, and balanced bowl features an adobo-marinated skirt steak, a cilantro- and adobo-infused ranch dressing, and a whole slew of taco-inspired bowl toppings: corn, black beans, cherry tomatoes, pickled red onion, and even plantain chips for extra crunchy goodness.

Needless to say, the resulting taco bowl is one packed with some undeniable adobo flavor. “I loved everything about this steaky taco salad bowl,” Watkins says. “The marinade is zesty and aromatic and chock-full of Tex-Mex flavor,” she adds, noting that the smoky chipotles in adobo sauce and earthy, fragrant cumin were strong components when it came to achieving this flavor profile. “I wanted to make sure those elements were really pronounced throughout this dish, so I used the marinade in the dressing as well as for seasoning the steak.” Watkins describes herself as pro-topping, and she didn’t hold back in this recipe. The savory steak is complemented perfectly by juicy tomatoes, sweet corn, and zesty pickled onions, and gets plenty of hearty protein from yellow rice and black beans.

To kick off this recipe, you’ll start by making a marinade (which you’ll use both on the steak and in the ranch dressing). Necessary marinade ingredients include canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (minced), orange juice, olive oil, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, honey, minced garlic, minced yellow onion, cumin, salt, and dried oregano. 

You’ll also need a skirt steak for this recipe, of course, and one that’s cut up into four pieces (which both makes the steak easier to grill and guarantees more marinade coverage and absorption). If you aren’t a fan of skirt steak, Watkins notes that flank steak, flat iron steak, hanger steak, or tri-tip are all great alternative cuts. 

Next, for the ranch, you’ll reserve some of the marinade and mix it with mayonnaise, sour cream, and fresh chopped cilantro. Finally, to assemble the taco bowls, you’ll want salad greens, cooked yellow rice, halved cherry tomatoes, black beans, corn, pickled red onions, grated cheddar cheese, fresh cilantro, and crushed plantain chips for that tortilla chip-like crunch.

Place the chipotle peppers, orange juice, olive oil, lime juice, vinegar, honey, garlic, onion, cumin, salt, and oregano in a medium bowl, and whisk to combine the marinade.

Remove 2 tablespoons of the marinade from the bowl and set it aside to be used for the dressing.

Place the skirt steak pieces in a zipper baggie or casserole dish, cover with the larger portion of the marinade, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

While the steak is marinating, place the mayonnaise, sour cream, chopped cilantro, and the reserved marinade in another medium bowl.

Whisk to combine the dressing and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Once the steak has marinated, remove it from the baggie, and set it aside to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Preheat either a grill or a grill pan over medium-high heat.

Once hot, grill the steak pieces for 6 to 8 minutes, flipping halfway through, for medium-rare (130 F to 135 F internal temperature).

Remove the steak from the grill and set it aside to rest for 15 minutes.

Once rested, thinly slice the steak.

To assemble, divide the salad greens, yellow rice, tomatoes, black beans, corn, pickled onion, cheddar, and cilantro between bowls.

Divide the steak slices between the bowls.

Sprinkle the bowls with crushed plantain chips and serve with the dressing on the side.

As written, this recipe ends up being “medium spicy” according to Watkins, meaning that you’re going to taste some heat in both the steak and ranch, but nothing that’s incredibly or overbearingly spicy. The main culprit for providing that wonderfully smoky, slightly spicy flavor profile is the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and as such, either increasing or decreasing the amount of these peppers is the key to customizing the spice level in this dish.

“If you’d like something a little less spicy, reduce the amount of chipotle peppers by half (1 tablespoon instead of 2),” Watkins recommends. “If you’d like to increase the heat, add another tablespoon of chipotle peppers (3 tablespoons, instead of 2).” We certainly don’t recommend omitting the chipotle peppers altogether, however, because then you’ll be eliminating that dose of smoky, spicy adobo flavor, too. If you’d like to play up the smokiness of the marinade without necessarily adding much more spice, a dash of smoked paprika would go a long way in adding some extra depth. 

If you’re someone who frequently marinates meat, then you’ll know that marinating times can vary drastically. Some recipes call for 30 minutes, some can go overnight, and others call for a couple of hours, with this steak taco bowl recipe falling into that latter category. According to Watkins, it all comes down to the acidic elements at play in a given marinade. “Anytime a marinade contains a good bit of acidity (in this case: vinegar, orange juice, and lime juice), you don’t want to go overboard on time,” she explains. “Too long in the mix, and you risk having mushy meat. Too little, and you risk not seasoning enough.”

As such, Watkins found that two hours is the optimum time frame for marinating the skirt steak in this recipe. In fact, it’s a common mistake to marinate skirt steak for too long, which will make for a steak with a mushy, unappetizing texture. “Two hours is the sweet spot, generously seasoning the steak, and greatly reducing the risk of those acidic ingredients affecting texture/protein stability,” Watkins explains. So, don’t try to cut corners by prepping the steak and leaving it to marinate overnight, or by marinating the steak for less than the allotted two-hour time frame. “If you’re looking at ways to save some time, you can absolutely make the marinade ahead of time,” Watkins adds, noting that both the marinade and ranch dressing could be prepped days in advance.