Flank And/Or Skirt Steaks

[ouchithurts]

Anyone have any good flank or skirt steak recipes? No BBQ method.

[burgeranacoke]

It is very tasty but naturally tough so marinate well and or cut in strips, How about fajitas, also check Mexican food recipes.

[nettiesaur]

QUOTE (burgeranacoke @ Jul 9 2011, 01:55 PM)

It is very tasty but naturally tough so marinate well and or cut in strips, How about fajitas, also check Mexican food recipes.

Fajitas!

That was my first thought too.

I did a search on all recipes, and there are many things that I didn't think of!

 

Flank Steak recipes

[Queen of Megadon]

my stepdad used to marinate them in red wine and onions, grill 'em quick, served on potato rolls...man, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

[The Owl]

The only use I can think of for skirt is fajitas..

 

But I like to use flank steak for sliced steak sandwiches.... Just marinade, cook to med rare, slice (against grain), put on toasted garlic bread, and top with sauteed mushrooms and onions.

[ozzy85]

We just had flank steak a couple of days ago... made fajitas.

 

Marinated in Tapatio (a Mexican hot sauce), lime, and a bit of salt. Sealed up to soak in a Ziploc bag overnight.

 

Yes, I BBQ'ed it, though I imagine it would work in an iron skillet.

[PassTheAmmunition]

Both skirt and flank can be cooked without a grill, but both have a very high fat content (especially skirt) and therefore make for a somewhat challenging broil and/or sear indoors via traditional methods. If you don't elevate the meat off the tray (if you broil) the meat will sit in the rendered fat and won't be very appetizing. Thats why I feel that grilling is really the only way to go with both of these cuts (moreso with skirt, as flank can be broiled quite adequately) - but nothing beats the flavor of the slight char they get when grilled due to the fat content they both have.

 

At the same time, both cuts are extremely absorbant because they are fiberous and for that reason simply MUST be marinated. They literally soak up flavor within a mere hour in a marinade. They soak up oil too; so be careful how much oil you add to your marinades as you could quite literally set your dinner ablaze quite easily on a grill.

 

I prefer to use skirt steaks for fajitas over flank steaks. The narrowness of the cut makes it a perfect fit for thinly slicing and rolling inside a flour tortilla. The below recipe is one I have modified over the years to the point where I don't think that I can make it any better - but perhaps some of you will have ideas of your own for it:

 

Skirt Steak Fajitas

Ingredients

1.5-2 lbs skirt steak

2 whole limes

1 bunch fresh cilantro

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 cup white vinegar

2 tbsp kosher salt

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

dash ground cayenne pepper

Directions

 

In a large mixing bowl combine the juice of 2 limes, along with the zest of one lime. Add about a cup of finely chopped fresh cilantro, minus the stems. Add the cumin, vinegar, kosher salt, olive oil and cayenne and mix well. Use a large freezer/Ziploc bag and marinate skirt steak for 3-4 hours. I dont recommend marinating overnight as the lime juice and vinegar will tend to "cook" the steak permaturely. Grill steak over medium/high heat a few minutes each side - being extremely careful when flipping as it will flare up considerably. Should be grilled to a dark char on the outside and medium/pink inside. The meat will coninue to cook when removed so plan accordingly. Let meat rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Slice across the grain (narrow width) and on a slight bias. Serve with peppers/onions/shredded cheeses/sour cream/guacamole/hot sauce etc etc on flour tortillas.

 

The below recipe is my favorite flank steak recipe (for the grill)

 

Flank Steak Haddad

 

Ingredients

2 lb flank steak

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp fresh garlic, minced or crushed

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 sherry wine vinegar

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced

1 tsp red pepper flakes

 

Directions

Prepare marinade using all listed ingredients in a large mixing bowl. You can substitute rice vinegar if you cannot find sherry, or, you can add sherry as well. The ginger and sesame oil are the keys to this marinade. Use a hand blender to blend marinade so it does not seperate. marinate in large bowl or ZipLoc freezer bag 6-8 hours or overnight. Grill over medium high heat 4-5 minutes per side for medium doneness. Serve sliced thinly against grain (narrow width) over grilled garlic bread.

 

 

 

[PassTheAmmunition]

A friend of mine is Brazilian and passed along a wonderfully simple way to serve a sirloin, flank or skirt steak on a bbq grill. Simply cube or cut the meat so it can be threaded onto metal skewers. Marinate the meat in a cup of white vinegar for 30 minutes. Remove from vinegar and sprinkle with kosher salt. Sear on high grill on all sides until desired doneness.

 

Sounds perhaps uninspired, but have to say I tried this with a Tri-Tip cut I found at a local butcher and it was simply unbelievable.