Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill, and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section. To make meat: Carefully trim steak of any fat. Any less, and the marinade simply didn't stick as well. I may? Seriously Asian: Korean Meat Marinades Korean Meat Marinade (Spicy or Non-Spicy) Recipe Zesty Beer, Lemongrass, and Ginger Steak Marinade for Grilling Recipe Smoked Bacon Rub From 'Pitt Cue and Co.: The Cookbook' Recipe Sweet and Spicy Grilled Tri-Tip Recipe 3 Steak Marinades to Jazz Up Your Grilling Routine The history of fajitas in most of the United States isveryrecent. Transfer steaks to a large plate, tent with foil, and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. The main exceptions to this rule involve salts, acids, and some enzymes, which are able to penetrate more deeply over time. In a large heavy duty, zip top bag, put pieces of skirt steak and pour in marinade.. Thinly slice meat against the grain and transfer to platter with vegetables. 8. Marinating is mostly a surface treatment, so even an hour is enough to get plenty of flavor onto the meat. If skirt steak is unavailable, substitute with hanger or sirloin flap (also sold as sirloin tip in New Englandit's different from sirloin steak). Place the bag on a rimmed pan or in a shallow dish, and refrigerate. Unfortunately, excessive acid can also start to chemically "cook" meat, denaturing its protein and causing it to firm up and eventually turn chalky (think ceviche). Serves 8. Remove steak from bag and pat dry with paper towels. In a large zipper-lock bag, combine Worcestershire, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, and a generous grinding of black pepper. Even McDonald's jumped into the fajita game in 1991 (the 12-year-old-me was a big fan). This Steak Fajita Marinade is made with olive oil, orange juice, lime juice, garlic and flavorful herbs and spices that result in tender and juicy fajitas! The waiter would plot a circuitous route around the restaurant that would take the platter past as many intermediary tables as possible. Ones that might actually affect the meat more intimately? and cook without moving for 15 seconds. The steak is stronger in one direction than in the other. Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. Charcoal grill, cast iron skillet, instant-read thermometer. Pan Sear Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a cast-iron pan over high heat. It tastes the way I remember those Black Diamond steaks from my childhood tasting. Marinate your meat in a plastic zipper-lock bag with all the air squeezed out, for best contact with a minimal amount of marinade. I always love it when I can take a zero-flavor-down-the-drain approach to dishes. Coffee and chocolate sound like strong flavors, but they take on a delightfully mild tone in this steak marinade. Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. There's one golden rule for cooking skirt steak: Make sure your grill is hot as hell. Salty ingredients in the marinade help the beef retain moisture during grilling. Flavoring: Whatever seasonings or spices you happen to have on hand will suffice. Massage 1 tablespoon of salt into crevices of the cross-hatched fat layer of the steak. Preheat the grill to high or heat a skillet over high heat. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Omitting it detracts from all three of these qualities. Get fresh recipes, cooking tips, deal alerts, and more! Add pepper and onion mix and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and beginning to char in spots, about 10 minutes. I tested cooking fajitas with a variety of cutsskirt, hanger, flap, flank, short rib, and tri-tip. For a couple years in a row, we bought these "Black Diamond" steaks, which came pre-marinated. Just try them side by side, and come to your own conclusion. See, skirt steak has a very pronounced grainmuscle fibers that are all aligned in the same direction. Food. But as things progressed, the dish moved further and further from the original, leading us to not just other cuts of beef but to chicken fajitas, pork fajitas, shrimp fajitas, and the like. The approaching noise of sizzling meat would halt all conversation in its tracks as diners would gently lift their chins, tilting their noses in the air to catch a whiff of beef, onion, garlic, and chile as the aromas wafted by on thin wisps of smoke and steam. Serves 4 Marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours. Any more, and the meat started to get a bit too mushy and chalky around the exterior, having a slightly cooked appearance from the lime juice and the soy sauce before it even hit the grill. 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (90 ml) soy sauce. Add tri-tip steak and make sure it is well coated. Steak Fajita Recipe . Better to be able to bite that camper in half, right? 1/2 cup (120ml) lime juice, from 6 to 8 limes, 3 medium cloves garlic, finely minced (about 1 tablespoon), 2 pounds (900g) trimmed skirt steak (about 1 whole steak; see note), cut crosswise into 5- to 6-inch pieces, 1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips, 1 large yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips, 1 large green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips, 1 white or yellow onion, cut into 1/2-inch slices, 12 to 16 fresh flour or corn tortillas, hot, 1 recipeguacamole, for serving, if desired, 1 recipepico de gallo, for serving, if desired, Sour cream, shredded cheese, and salsa, for serving, if desired. Picture this six times in a row: Taste-wise, however, I found the ideal marinating time to be between three and 10 hours or so. Grilling Recipes Sides. There were also a few minor strands of membrane and connective tissue that were more noticeable without the acid. (Kenji offers a more in-depth explanation of what makes a great steak marinade here and here.) While these fajitas might not have the sizzle of my childhood memories, they've certainly got all the swagger of a smoking-hot plate weaving its way through the dining room, making everyone else envious of what you're about to sink your teeth into. Whisk: In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, lemon juice, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, pepper, salt, and a pinch of red pepper. Seal the bag and turn it several times to coat the meat. I combine them with some brown sugar, which helps the steak develop a deeper crust more quickly on the grill, and a pinch of chili powder for a subtle, spicy warmth. You need to absolutelyscorchit with heat in order to get it nice and charred on the exterior before the center ends up overcooking. For this one, I popped a bottle of light lager, then infused it with fresh ginger, lemongrass, coriander seed, thyme, and lemon zest. Ingredients. Transfer 1/2 cup (120ml) marinade to a large bowl and set aside. Skirt Steak Recipe: 5 Skirt Steak Marinade RecipesThese 5 skirt steak marinade recipes are quick and easy to prepare with just a few pantry ingredients. The Best Steak Marinades Grilling Recipes on Yummly | Zesty Flank Steak Marinade, Pepperoncini Steak Marinade For Grilling, Easy Steak Marinade Recipe For Grilling! Cover and cook for 1 minute. Flip steaks and repeat on the opposite side for 15 seconds. Gather the Ingredients To make a marinade, you will need: An acid to tenderize: Vinegar works well, but you can also use lemon juice, orange juice, or wine. I would highly suggest a grilling, or even a pan frying of the meat of your choice. Toss to coat. Add steak to bag, press out air, and seal. My three marinades here aren't particularly high in acid, so that shouldn't be too much of an issue, but it's worth keeping in mind if you make your own marinades with vinegars or citrus juices. For the Fajita Marinade: Combine soy sauce, lime juice, canola oil, brown sugar, chili powder, garlic, cumin, and black pepper in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. First it was hanger, sirloin flap, and flank steakall reasonably good options, with a similar texture and flavor. Cooked anywhere shy of medium-rare, skirt steak will have a squishy, unpleasantly slippery texture. In a large heavy duty, zip top bag, put pieces of skirt steak and pour in marinade. Second is the fact that skirt is one of those cuts of steak that benefit from being cooked slightly more than you'd normally cook a premium steak. Transfer 1/3 of marinade to a small container, add chives and shallots, stir to combine, and reserve. Second, many of the flavorful compounds found in the garlic and the ground spices in the marinade are oil-soluble. Muchsimas gracias! Cover and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. The muscle protein myosin will dissolve in a salty liquid, leaving the meat with a looser texture and a better ability to retain moisture. When ready to cook, remove steaks from marinade, wipe off excess, and transfer to a large plate. Don't believe me? It was a well-known phenomenonif a waiter could sell one order of our Extreme FajitasTM to a table in their section, a half dozen more orders would quickly follow. Pro tip! (Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.). Place meat on the hot grill and grill for 3-4 minutes per side, until internal temperature reaches 120 degrees. Residents and visitors of Houston might be happy to know that Ninfa's on Navigation Boulevard is one of the oldest fajita-slinging restaurants in the country, though, when I visited it last summer, I was more impressed by the quality of its cooked-to-order flour tortillas than the fajitas themselves. This is the theory behind brining meats like chicken or pork, and the same theory applies to our fajitas. When I was a kid, I spent summers on Cape Cod visiting family. Seal bag, and let the steak marinate for 2 to 6 hours, or up to overnight. The muscle protein myosin will dissolve in a salty liquid, leaving the meat with a looser texture and a better ability to retain moisture. Refrigerate the steak for 4 to 8 hours, flipping the bag over every so often to allow the marinade to cover both sides. Serious Eats / J. Kenji Lpez-Alt The final ingredient in a good marinade is a salty liquid. Place the steak of choice in a resealable plastic bag and pour the marinade over the top, massaging it into the meat and making sure all surfaces are coated well. When you're ready to grill, use tongs to transfer the steak to a preheated grill or a cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Thinly slice meat against the grain. Add the steak, coat with the marinade, squeeze out the excess air, and seal the bag. 1 Flank steak, whole Seafood 4 Anchovy filets Produce 2 tbsp Chives 2 cloves Garlic 1 Shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons), medium Canned Goods 2 tbsp Tomato paste Condiments 2 tbsp Dijon mustard 1/4 cup Soy sauce 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce Baking & Spices 3 tbsp Brown sugar Oils & Vinegars 1/2 cup Vegetable oil Make it More like this When you grow up eating something, it's hard to remember that at one point it didn't exist. And yet, sometimes we want more, or at leastdifferent. These are flavors that go well with a wheat beer, but I figured I'd rather save that for actual drinking and not just marinating. But slice it thinlyagainstthe grain, and you increase its tenderness dramatically. As a bonus, the pan full of vegetables proved to be the perfect place to pour off the meat juices and drippings that collected on the platter where my steaks were resting. Put the steak in a large food storage bag or nonreactive container and pour the marinade over. I may be a fool, but I'm notthatkind of fool. Let steaks marinate for at least 30 minutes on the counter covered or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. Get fresh recipes, cooking tips, deal alerts, and more! Nothing worse than biting into a carefully wrapped fajita only to have that long strip of beef slip out of its tortilla housing, like a sleeping camper from his sleeping bag. The Spruce. For vegetables, the classic choices are onions and peppers. Mostly, the coffee and chocolate add a slight bitterness that underscores that charred, grilled flavor; the chocolate contributes an additional round butteriness, presumably from the cocoa butter. With your meat sliced and your veggies cooked, all you need is a stack of hot tortillas (you can heat them up as a whole stack on the cooler side of the grill while the veggies cook) and a few condiments. I've also looked at Tyson's ingredient list, but it doesn't shed much light beyond the caramel color used for darkness and some dried onion and garlic for flavor; clearly, some secret is hidden in the marinade's "natural flavors.". How to Marinate Steak Pour the marinade into a resealable plastic bag. 3 Steak Marinades to Jazz Up Your Grilling Routine, Cocoa-Coffee Steak Marinade for Grilling Recipe, Zesty Beer, Lemongrass, and Ginger Steak Marinade for Grilling Recipe, Dwaeji Bulgogi (Korean-Style Spicy Grilled Pork) Recipe, Basic Marinade for Stir-Fried Meats Recipe, Dim SumStyle Steamed Pork Ribs With Fermented Black Beans Recipe, Steakhouse-Style Grilled Marinated Flank Steak Recipe, Grilled Marinated Flank Steak Fajitas Recipe, Vietnamese Grilled Pork Chops With Chilled Rice Noodles Recipe. Might I humbly suggest thisfine guacamole recipe, or perhaps thisequally tastypico de gallo? Here is a fact: A quality piece of meat, cooked perfectly, needs nothing more than a generous seasoning of salt and pepper (and frankly, if you get the salt right, you can survive without the pepper). When they arrive, you've already picked out a soft, blistered floured tortilla from the steaming stack in the warmer at the center of the table. Recipe Instructions Place roast on its side and cut in half so that each half has a string holding it together.Place each thick slice into a gallon zip lock bag.Mix all marinade ingredients - soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, garlic, salt, Ingredients 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup orange juice 2 tablespoons lime juice (juice of 1 lime) 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves) 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons chili powder I tried completely omitting acid and adding it in the form of lime juice squeezed on at the end, but the flavor difference was noticeablemeat marinated in acid was more balanced and brighter-tasting. Balanced marinades and well-spiced dry rubs add flavor toand sometimes tenderizechicken, beef, pork, and more. I'm not particularly proud of my time spent working at the kinds of cheesy chain restaurants you'd find next to the Victoria's Secret at the mall, or perhaps in Times Square. I tried cooking them whole on the grill, but the results are not quite rightthey tend to soften more than I want them to. The last step in perfect fajita meat is byfarthe most important: the carving. Discard the remaining marinade. All of these are flavoring ingredientsthey don't really change the manner in which the meat cooks or interact with it on more than a cursory level. Then I thought:Wait a minute, Kenji, don't be an idiot: You've got yourself a heat source right here in front of your eyes. Sprinkle both sides of the steak with salt and pepper. It'll melt into the cracks as the meat grills, making each bite juicier and tastier. Cook or grill steaks to desired doneness. Light one chimney full of charcoal. At the butcher's or meat counter, you're far more likely to find inside skirt, which will do us just fine. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours. Add steak and marinade to a large dish or resealable bag and marinate in the fridge for 2-12 hours. It's more buttery, more beefy, and just plain more tasty than its counterparts. So really, a marinade's effects are largely limited to the surface of the meat. Move the marinade around so the steaks are covered. I used to think that acid was essential in a marinade for tenderizing purposes, and it's trueacid can slightly tenderize tough connective tissue in meat. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. While youcouldjust add regular salt to the marinade, there's a lesson I learned over years of playingMario Kart: Why settle for a driver who just has good handling when you can pick a driver with good handlinganda high top speed? balsamic marinated grilled skirt steak with a sweet & spicy red pepper relish, plus a raw zucchini salad alongside servings: 4. See, there are only four skirts on each steertwo inside and two outside. The Spruce. Add steak and turn to coat. There are a couple of factors working to our advantage here. Then, turn the meat over with tongs a few times to make sure the entire steak is covered and submerged in the marinade. What about some other common marinade ingredients? (Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.). That it doesn't taste distinctly soy-like once the meat is cooked is especially nice. (I do this by leaving a small air hole along one edge of the zipper lock, squeezing all the air toward it, then sealing it at the last moment before juices start leaking out.) I go light on the chili heat, but you could add more if you want it to be more pronounced. Oil: This will hold everything together and add moisture to the meat. Get fresh recipes, cooking tips, deal alerts, and more! Add a little bit of butter to the pan if you are going to cook it in a skillet. Then, while the meat rested, I slid it over to the hot side and seared my veggies. For the Fajitas: While steak marinates, toss peppers and onion in bowl with reserved 1/2 cup marinade. 358k followers . Lay flat in the refrigerator, turning every couple of hours, for at least 3 hours and up to 10. Seal bag, squeezing out as much air as possible. Whisk together until thick and combined. It's easier than you thinkall it takes is a bit of strategy and know-how. So how do we reach this fajita perfection? By replacing the salt with a good splash of soy sauce, not only do we get salt into the marinade, but we also get two other important elements. Transfer vegetables to a warm serving platter. Cooking them in a cast iron skillet on the stovetop works much better, but then it requires me to heat up my kitchenandmy grill. So simple to make, you are going to love how juicy an tender your skirt steak is. As a kid, there's nothing better than being presented with that plate of guacamole, pico de gallo, and sour cream; the anticipation of that sizzling platter of meat and vegetables laid down before you. Grill or pan sear both sides, then lower heat . That can be good in the case of salt, since salt alters muscle proteins, allowing the meat to retain more moisture during cooking. In such cases, it's better not to marinate the meat for more than six hours or so. Marinate the steak on the counter for 30 minutes or pop it in the fridge to marinate up to 2 hours. Always account for the fact that the meat will continue to cook once it's removed from the heat source. I tested out over two dozen marinade variations, adding extra ingredients (ranging from commercial meat tenderizers to natural, enzymatic tenderizers, like pineapple and papaya) to some and omitting ingredients from others (in order to see what happens when, say, you forget the oil in a marinade). At medium-rare (around 125 to 130F/52 to 54C after restingpull them off the grill at 115 to 120F/46 to 49C), they start to firm up to a pleasant juiciness, but personally I think skirt steak has the optimal amount of flavor and juiciness at a full 135F (57C) medium. I even took photos of every steak in the process, but unfortunately, from a visual standpoint, you can't really see much difference. Serious Eats. As a result, restaurants started resorting to other cuts to make their fajitas. The key is to not trim off too much of the fat that covers one side of the steak. Description: Feb 21, 2022 For the Flank Steak and Marinade: ; 1 pound flank steak trimmed of excess fat ; 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil ; 2 cloves garlic minced ( More information: Find by keywords: steak taco marinade serious eats, steak taco marinade, steak taco marinade no lime In the end I opted for lime juice in equal parts with the oil. I considered ordering them from Tyson, but I could only find them in bulk for several hundred dollars, so I ditched that idea. Remove steak from marinade. The meat itself should be ultra juicy, with an overwhelming, almost buttery beefinessthis is skirt steak, after all, the butteriest of all beefaccented by a fajita marinade that's slightly sweet, very savory, and packed with lime and chile. With the meat taken care of, we move on to slightly more trivial but no less important* matters: the vegetables and toppings. In the test kitchen, I cooked three different cuts of steakhanger, skirt, and 2-inch-thick New York stripsto evaluate how well the knives performed on tougher cuts of beef as well as thick-cut steaks. These recipes will get you started. 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Season with freshly ground black pepper. If you want to skewer the steak, cut the steak lengthwise into three equal pieces. Add steak to a large ziplock bag. Roll each steak piece like a jelly-roll and, using a large metal skewer, secure the steak so it holds together rolled up. Mix together chipotle, garlic, cilantro, oil, wine and soy sauce; pour over steak. 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (90 ml) Worcestershire sauce. I like to save some of my marinade to toss with them before cooking. Pork Rib Recipes. The final ingredient in a good marinade is a salty liquid. 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing. And, while those sizzling fajita platters sure do a good job of selling more fajitas at restaurants, all they're going to do in your home is slowly overcook your meat. My guests still happily devoured the 36-hour marinated steaks, but if you can get your timing right, it'll make the final product marginally better. Once the oil begins to smoke and shimmer, add the steak. I combine them with some brown sugar, which helps the steak develop a deeper crust more quickly on the grill, and a pinch of chili powder for a subtle, spicy warmth. In the end, I decided to go my own way, creating a dark, deeply savory marinade with plenty of soy sauce, Worcestershire, balsamic vinegar, and onion and garlic powders. In a blender, put in oil, soy sauce, scallions, garlic, lime juice, red pepper, cumin, and sugar and puree. This can be especially true during grilling season, when the procession of burgers and steaks coming off the grill can start to feel mundane. First is the soy sauce and sugar in the marinade, both of which will help the steaks brown more efficiently. With a fat-based medium coating the meat, you get better, more even flavor distribution. It's an unstoppable, visceral reaction. The greatest flavor effect of a marinade on meat occurs within the first hour or so. Place a large cast iron skillet over cooler side of grill. Marinating at room temperature creates a higher risk of bacterial growth that can cause foodborne illness, so if you want to be extra cautious the safest route is to marinate your steak while it. (Some unofficial sources online say Tyson bought either the company or the recipe, but I'm not sure exactly how it worked.) Basic Marinade for Stir-Fried Meats Recipe, Pan-Seared, Butter-Basted Thick-Cut Steak Recipe, Dim SumStyle Steamed Pork Ribs With Fermented Black Beans Recipe, What to Pack for Your Vacation-Rental Kitchen, How to Stock a Japanese Pantry: 13 Indispensable Ingredients, The Food Lab's Definitive Guide to Grilled Steak, Thit Heo Nuong Xa (Vietnamese Grilled Lemongrass Pork Chops) Recipe, Kilawin: Grilled Pork, Punchy Sauce, Can't Lose, Cochinita Pibil (Yucatn-Style Barbecued Pork) Recipe, Black Diamond-Style Steak Marinade for Grilling, Zesty Beer, Lemongrass, and Ginger Steak Marinade for Grilling. The first is to remember that marinades are primarily just surface treatments, which means that extended marination times don't lead to significantly deeper flavor penetration. Of these, skirt, hanger, and flap were the most successful, each with a robust, coarse texture that is great for soaking up marinade. A warmed serving platter is a better vessel. Make sure the marinade is mixed well and pour it into a resealable plastic bag. First is glutamatesnatural flavor enhancers responsible for the sensation of umami that makes meat taste meatier. For best flavor, grind your own chili powder from a mix of equal parts ancho and guajillo chiles. Once I'd gotten my ideal marinade ratio down, I moved on to testing timing, ranging from dipped-just-before-grilling to marinated for 36 hours. Marinate: Add steaks to a resealable zip lock bag or large bowl and pour the marinade on top. It's proven difficult to pinpoint exactly what ingredients went into theoriginalsteak fajita marinades, but it's a safe bet that at least some chiles, garlic, black pepper, and cumin were involved. 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Now, with all this popularity, you may smell a problem: supply. For more details, see our. Transfer steaks to hot side of grill. Discard marinade. Marinate, turning occasionally, for 4 to 6 hours. Olive oil in the mixture helps extract some of the fat-soluble flavors of the aromatics. Remove meat from the fridge about an hour before grilling to bring it close to room temp. In a large resealable bag, combine lemon-lime soda, olive oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic powder, and horseradish. Use it! Key to Great Marinades #3: Salt and Proteases, Stir-Fried Beef With Snap Peas and Oyster Sauce Recipe, Grilled Marinated Flank Steak Fajitas Recipe, Grilled Skirt Steak With Mojo Marinade Recipe, Cilantro-and-Lime Marinated Chicken Fajita Kebabs Recipe, Thai-Style Marinated Flank Steak and Herb Salad Recipe. "marinades donotactually penetrate particularly far into meat". Get fresh recipes, cooking tips, deal alerts, and more! This really helps it to be more tender after cooking. According to an excellentarticle in theAustin Chronicle, there's anecdotal evidence that south and west Texasvaquerosand butchers have been eating grilled skirt steak and calling it "fajitas" since the 1930s. If hardwood coal is an option, I'd opt for them over briquetteshardwood burns faster and hotter. I cooked up a batch of fajitas, letting my big cast iron skillet heat up on the cooler side of the grill while the meat cooked. Clean and oil grilling grate. Jacquelynn Rankine. Freshly ground black pepper. I'm not sure who originally produced them, but Tyson now seems to be the maker. The pigment molecules, at least, didn't travel much further into the meat even when given many more hours of contact. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section. When vegetables are cooked, transfer steaks to a cutting board and pour any accumulated juices from plate into skillet with vegetables. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. The result is a lightly funky and herbal flavor that pairs well with fatty steaks, like boneless short ribs. Or, even better, seal the steaks in a Cryovac-style bag with a vacuum sealer. Prepare a medium (500 F to 600 F) gas or charcoal grill fire. Just imagine slightly different versions of this 26 times in a row, and you'll get the picture: What I found was that, in addition to basic flavoring agents (like chile, garlic, and a touch of sugar to aid in browning), the best marinades share three common ingredients: oil, acid, and a salty liquid, preferably a protease (more on those later). Discard the marinade. Oil is essential for three purposes. Acids and certain enzymes (such as from pineapple), meanwhile, can act as tenderizers. It worked like a charm, giving them some nice color and sear without letting them turn too mushy or soft. Fajitasliterally translates to "little skirts" or "little bands," and it stems from the appearance of a skirt steak, a thin flap of meat that hangs down near the front of the steer's belly. Allow steak to marinate for 1 hour in refrigerator. The Psoas major are a pair of shorter muscles that start about two-thirds of the way down the steer's spine and run on the inside of the ribs. 2 to 3 pounds (900 g to 1.4 kg) steak of your choice. Simply mix all ingredients together. You can cut perfectly perpendicular to the grain for absolute tenderness, but I prefer to cut at closer to a 45 angle, which effectively shortens muscle fibers to about 40% more than the absolute minimum lengthplenty short enough to give you tenderness, while also allowing you to cut slices that look a little wider and prettier. You may be surprised to learn that, despite their reputation, marinades donotactually penetrate particularly far into meateven after the course of a night, a marinade will penetrate no further than a millimeter or two, and that penetration rate slows down the longer you marinate for. Refrigerate until ready to use. Directions. Finally, the oil helps the meat cook more evenly, providing a buffer between the heat of the grill and the surface of the meat in order to spread that heat evenly. Soy sauce is hardly traditional, but it's got a prominent place in many fajita recipes for these very reasons. You can let the meat sit in here for up to 24 hours. Remove meat from grill and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Next up: We've got our meat, so how do we treat it? He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science. Pour the steak marinade over the meat, reserving about 1/4 cup for plating. Remove steak from the marinade and pat the meat dry. This is the theory behind brining meats like chicken or pork, and the same theory applies to our fajitas. Our collection of steak recipes will tell you how best to cook every steak cut, how to hit your ideal steak temperature, and how best to use up anything that's leftover (ha!). By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. While it's possible to cook the steak as a whole strip, I find it better to slice it with the grain into five- to six-inch pieces, which are easier to handle on the grill. Flank steak can also be used. 1 whole flank steak, about 2 pounds (see notes) Directions Combine Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, anchovies, garlic, mustard, tomato paste, and vegetable oil in a blender and blend until smooth, creamy, and emulsified. The Longissimus dorsi (commonly referred to as the loin or the backstrap) are relatively unused muscles, so they're extremely tender, making them an ideal candidate for steak (and also quite expensive). Massage bag until meat is fully coated in marinade. Remove the flank steak from the marinade and wipe the excess liquid off with paper towels. 2 tablespoons (30 ml) balsamic vinegar. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. I always feel like a raptor biting into a toughJurassic ParkT-Rex leg when I get an undercooked skirt. Remove the steak from the bag and pat dry with paper towels. But if they're left in contact with the meat too long, acidic marinades and those that contain tenderizing enzymes can begin to turn the meat mushy and chalky. Let steak sit on the counter for 15 to 20 minutes until it comes to room temperature. Seal bag, removing as much air as possible. Continue cooking in this manner, flipping and covering, until steaks are well charred and an instant-read thermometer inserted into their center registers 115 to 120F (46 to 49C) for medium-rare or 125 to 130F (52 to 54C) for medium. 1/4 teaspoon onion powder. Pour the marinade over top. For the main test, I had a group of six people from the Serious Eats team evaluate the knives under real-world, steak-cutting conditions. Make sure to work the marinade around so it's covering the entire steak. That's about eight pounds of meat total. And, of course, that meat'sgotto be tender. Place the meat in a deep 913 pan and top with sliced onions. But there's no doubt about it: The skirt is king. Then there's the DIY aspect of fajitas that makes them a winner. I haven't actually eaten a true Black Diamond steak since I was a kid, so the flavor memory is fairly distant. This recipe re-creates those deep, dark, savory flavors with plenty of soy sauce, Worcestershire, balsamic vinegar, and onion and garlic powders. Though who knowsit's been about 30 years. Seal the bag, put it on a rimmed pan or in a shallow bowl to catch any escaping juices, and place it in the refrigerator for about 2 1/2 hours. 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