I was asked by Carusele to participate in the #SaveMartSummer campaign, sponsored by Save Mart. Although I have been compensated, all opinions are my own. I hope you enjoy this recipe for chili rubbed ribeye tacos with esquites.
Summer is officially here, which means grilling season is underway! One of my favorite things about summer is the abundance of fresh fruits and veggies that are in season that compliment all of those tasty grilled meats so perfectly. Every time I go shopping I am always grabbing all types of colorful fresh ingredients, I just can’t help myself! This Fourth of July will be spent enjoying family time together over some super easy chili rubbed ribeye tacos with esquites (think of an elote in salad form!). For summertime get-togethers I love to create easy meals that taste amazing and are such a cinch to put together. More often than not we have guests over that offer to help, so simple recipes make it so much easier for anyone to help put them together. Plus you get to enjoy your company a bit more that way!
For this amazing meal, I ventured over to Save Mart for all of my grilling essentials. Save Mart always carries high quality fresh ingredients at a reasonable price, sourcing from local Northern California farmers. They even carry some harder to find ingredients, like the jicama that I used for the fruit cups that was served with this meal!
In addition to the huge variety of fresh ingredients, Save Mart has a robust assortment of fresh meats available in the meat department. I also love that if you find a particular meat you want, they will slice or dice it how you want and there are so many premade marinades available. The service in the meat department is always friendly and helpful. If you don’t know exactly which cut you might need for a particular recipe, they will help guide you! If you’re really short on time you can also purchase meat that’s already prepared with marinade and seasonings, so all you have to do is cook or grill it!
For this meal I went with Save Mart’s Angus 43 Thin Cut Boneless Ribeye. This meat is great for a quick grill and doesn’t need to be marinated for hours. Perfect for an easy summer meal!
The Angus 43 Ribeye is placed in a dish and covered with lime juice for 30 minutes. That’s it! The lime juice helps to tenderize the meat helps keep it moist during the grilling process, and adds such a great flavor when paired with the chili rub. A quick 10-12 minutes of cooking on a hot grill and ten minutes to rest and you’re left with a delicious, finger licking flavor!
While the meat is marinating in the lime juice, we put together these ingredients for esquites. We love elotes, however with two kiddos in braces it can get a bit tricky. If you’re not familiar with elotes, they are ears of corn slathered with mayonnaise and/or sour cream, topped with a combination of chili powder, paprika and/or tajin, with lime juice, cilantro, hot sauce and crumbled cheese (like cotija). They are amazing, however they can be a bit messy! Esquites is basically the same thing as an elote, but in a bowl or salad form. I’ve added a few extra ingredients like jalapeno, red bell pepper and green onions. Esquites is perfect for a side dish for an outdoor barbecue, especially for folks that prefer smaller portions or smaller plates!
Since I’m grilling the corn, I combined all of the ingredients for the esquites in a bowl before grilling the corn, adding the cotija when I added the grilled corn kernels after they’ve been shaved off the husk.
The grilling time for this meal is minimal, just 10-12 minutes for the meat. The corn may take a few more minutes to get the char you need, but by the time the meat is ready to cut the corn will be ready as well. 
Since kids can be picky, I didn’t char my corn too much. Just enough to give it some color. I keep the husks on while grilling because it gives something to grab when turning on the grill, and also when slicing the corn off the husk.
Once the corn has cooled enough, cut it off the ears and add to the bowl with the cheese. Stir it all together and it’s ready to serve!
The meat is so easy to slice into strips. It took all I had not to snack on it while getting it ready to serve. This rub is so flavorful and smells simply amazing!
For summer get-togethers, create a taco bar with all the ingredients you need and everyone can self-serve! I made a delicious peach pico de gallo, threw together my guacamole, added some sliced radishes, lime wedges, Mexican crema, chopped cilantro and a bit more crumbled cotija cheese with some warmed street taco corn tortillas.
I also cut up some mango, watermelon and jicama into strips and added to plastic cups with a bit of lime juice and Tajin to serve as a refreshing side.
This is the perfect Fourth of July meal!
Enjoy!
- 2 lb Angus 43 Thin Cut Boneless Ribeye from Save Mart
- juice of 3 limes
- zest of 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon ancho chili powder
- ¾ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- ¾ teaspoon dry oregano
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon lemon pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of nutmeg
- 12 street taco corn tortillas
- homemade guacamole (check my recipe!)
- Mexican crema
- sliced radishes
- peach pico de gallo (check my recipe!)
- crumbled cotija cheese
- chopped cilantro
- lime wedges
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 1 jalapeno with seeds removed, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ red bell pepper, diced
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- ¾ cup Mexican crema
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1½ teaspoons ancho chili powder
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 5 ears sweet corn, grilled then corn cut off the ear
- 1 cup crumbled cotija cheese
- Place the Angus 43 Thin Cut Boneless Ribeye steaks in a large dish and cover with the juice of all three limes.
- While the meat is marinating in lime juice, combine lime zest, sea salt, brown sugar, ancho chili powder, fresh ground pepper, dry oregano, ground cumin, lemon pepper, smoked paprika, onion powder, ground cayenne pepper, ground cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl.
- Prep the grill and bring it to about 400-420 degrees.
- After 30 minutes discard lime juice and rub the chili powder mix onto both sides of the meat.
- Brush oil or spray the grill with oil, then place the steaks on the grill just next to where the hottest part is. (This is when you can add the corn as well.)
- After about 5-6 minutes, flip the meat to the other side and let cook an additional 4-5 minutes.
- Remove the steaks from heat, and place in a dish or on a sheet and tent with foil for about 10 minutes.
- Cut against the grain into slim strips that are suitable for tacos, squeeze another lime all over the meat.
- Place the tortillas for the tacos on the grill to warm prior to serving.
- Add meat to the insides of each tortilla, then top with guacamole, crema, sliced radish, peach pico de gallo, crumbled cotija cheese and a bit of chopped cilantro. If you like a bit more heat, add your favorite hot sauce too!
- Serve with a few more lime wedges, and enjoy!
- Add the chopped green onions, chopped jalapenos, minced garlic, diced red bell pepper, chopped cilantro, Mexican crema, mayonnaise, ancho chili powder, sea salt, smoked paprika, ground cumin and ground black pepper to a medium sized serving bowl. Stir until combined.
- Add the ears of corn directly to the grill over indirect heat as you're grilling the meat. Turn every 5 minutes or so until you are satisfied with the amount of char on the corn. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Using the husks to grip, take a sharp knife and carefully shave the corn off the ear of corn.
- Add the cut corn to the bowl with the cotija cheese and stir until well combined.
What is your favorite cut of beef?
See what’s on sale this week at your local Save Mart and find out how you can get rewards from your purchases with Save Smart Rewards.
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I was asked by Carusele to participate in the #SaveMartSummer campaign, sponsored by Save Mart Although I have been compensated, all opinions are my own.
