California Burritos
Iconic California burritos stuffed with marinated steak, crispy french fries, and fresh guac! This recipe calls for tri tip steaks instead of the classic carne asada.
Ingredients
- 1 lb tri tip steaks or similar (see notes)
- 4 8" flour tortillas (or larger) uncooked tortillas strongly suggested, see notes
- 8 oz prepared French fries see notes!
- 1 ½ cups shredded Oaxaca or low moisture mozzarella cheese
For Quick Guac (or sub premade):
- 2 medium-sized ripe avocados
- 1 tablespoon lime juice or more, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon salt or more, to taste
- ¼ cup diced red onion optional
- ~2 tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped, optional
For Steak Marinade:
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Marinate the meat:
- Combine all ingredients of the marinade. Trim excess fat from the steaks if desired and place in a zip bag with the marinade. Marinate in fridge for at least 6 hours before cooking (preferably overnight).
Optional, prepare the guac:
- Scoop the avocados out of their shells into a medium bowl. Add the lime juice and salt and mash with a fork (or similar) until smooth. Taste and add more lime or salt as desired, then mix in the cilantro and red onion.
Make the burritos:
- Prepare the french fries per package instructions in the oven or air fryer. Preheat a sandwich press to 400 °F (for pressing the burritos) if you have one.
- When ready to cook, remove the steak from the bag and discard the rest of the marinade (shake off excess but do not pat the steaks dry). Grill steak to desired doneness, or cook in a cast iron pan with a swirl of olive oil. I cook in mine in a cast iron pan over high heat, turning every few minutes, until an internal temp of 135°F, about 8-10 minutes. (Note, the marinade may cause some additional charring on the outside, but this contributes to the flavor and isn't noticeable after slicing)
- Let the steak rest for a few minutes, then slice into small pieces as pictured. Toss the steak in the juices after cutting.
- If you're using uncooked tortillas, cook them now and set them aside. If you're using pre-cooked tortillas, warm them up in a skillet or the microwave before rolling the burrito to make them more flexible
- Assemble the burritos: Divide the fillings into even portions, then top each tortilla with the fries, steak, guac, and cheese. Carefully roll the burritos.
- Place the burritos seem-side-down in a preheated sandwich press and cook, until slightly golden on the outside, about 2 minutes. Alternatively, use a skillet set over medium heat, turning as needed. Serve immediately, with your favorite salsa for dipping (I use avocado salsa).After pressing, burritos can be wrapped in foil if they are starting to fall apart, to help keep them together.
To prepare the tri tip in bulk for freezer:
- Trim steaks and prepare appropriate quantity of marinade. Package steaks, in marinade, in a freezer safe zip bag or vacuum bag. The package size should be the quantity you will want to defrost at a time (I do 1 lb).
- Place marinated steak packs in the freezer directly after preparing.
To prepare from frozen:
- Defrost steak at least 6 hours before you plan to cook it, giving the steak time to marinate. I suggest moving from the freezer to fridge the night before.
- Follow the rest of the recipe as written, preparing the other ingredients fresh.
Notes
I use Ore-Ida brand extra crispy fast food french fries, prepared in the air fryer.
If you buy a whole tri tip, slice it into ~1 inch thick steaks before marinating.
Uncooked tortillas are one of my favorite new products. They come in the refrigerated section at the grocery store, and can be prepared in just a few minutes. They make super high quality fresh tortillas that take these burritos to the next level!
If you're struggling to roll the burritos, check out this video for some help: How to Roll a Burrito
My grocery store will occasionally have tri tip steaks on sale for $4-$7 a pound. When they do, I typically by about 4 lbs and make 4 freezer packs for later. After the steak has marinated, the rest of this meal comes together in about 15 minutes! You can also tri this tri tip in my Steak Quesadillas and Tri Tip Tacos.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 burritoCalories: 775kcalProtein: 46g
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