(no subject)

[titusnowl]

Justin said "Why don't we make fajitas tonight?" and I said "OK!  Um... what are those?" and he said "Skirt steak cooked like a stir-fry and eaten with a tortilla.  Well, you're supposed to roll it up in a tortilla with bell peppers and stuff but I just eat the steak and the tortilla separately and you don't like bell peppers." So I bought some skirt steak.... and came home and found out that skirt steak is a very tough, fibrous cut that needs to be marinated.

Well shit.

I have:
Soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Coke, Dr Pepper, and rum
A premade "Herb & Garlic" marinade by Lawry's
Vegetable oil
Salt, pepper, that sort of thing
Two oranges that may or may not be slightly "off" by now (the outsides look fine, for what that's worth)

What to do?

Comments

[akatsukami.livejournal.com]

Marinades have essentially two purposes: tenderization and flavoring. For tenderizing meat, you'll want either acid or enzymes that break down fibrous tissue.

Coke is pretty acidic, as is orange juice (although you may not care for the flavor of either with steak). You didn't mention vinegar, but it's also a good tenderizer (which is why so many recipes mention marinating meats in salad dressing). White vinegar has no flavor (other than being sour), but by that token is a good base to start from if you're willing to add all the flavor yourself.

The Lawry's marinade ought to work, if you like the taste. Otherwise, I'd recommend a can (1½ cups) of Coke to ½ cup each of soy and Worcestershire, with whatever other adjustments you'll like to the flavor.

Marinating for tenderness does take several hours. You may want to have something else tonight, and marinate the steak overnight, for tomorrow.

[chikkiboo.livejournal.com]

We don't usually eat dinner until around 9:00 - if I put it in the marinade now do you think it will be ready to go in six hours?

[akatsukami.livejournal.com]

It might; no guarantees. I'd see what it's at 21.

[(Anonymous)]

Ah, a fajita newbie. Yeah, flank steak is tough, and therefore cheap and considered food for the poor (or was, before fajitas became popular). It's one of those things that rose from humble beginnings to the amazement of the people who originally had to figure out ways to deal with it (another one is mesquite wood, which was once considered a pest, but is now prized for flavoring BBQs).

Anyway, Mark Bittman, in his book How to Cook Everything, says this about grilled marinated flank steak (p. 427):

Flank steak is best for slicing; a marinade gives each slice more flavor....

Flank steak is also good without marinating: just coat it with curry powder, chili powder, or any other commercial or homemade spice rub before cooking.

After cooking, slice the meat against the "grain" -- that is, across its natural striations.

• 4 tbsp lime juice
  
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
  
• 1 tsp minced garlic
  
• 1 tsp ginger (either freshly grated or powder)
  
• 1 tsp sugar
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1 flank steak, 2 to 2.5 lbs [so adjust the ratios to however much meat you have on hand]

Combine all the seasonings in a bowl and marinate the steak in them for at least 30 minutes (if the marinating time is longer than an hour, refrigerate). Near the end of the marinating time, start a charcoal or wood fire or preheat a gas grill or broiler; make it very hot.

Remove the meat from the marinade and dry well with paper towels. Grill or broil the steak about 4 inches from the heat source for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until nicely browned. Move the meat to a cooler part of the grill and cook for another 2 minutes per side.

Let rest for 5 minutes before cutting into thin slices.

Disclaimer: I haven't tried this recipe myself, so you're on your own there.

[chikkiboo.livejournal.com]

So is that saying that if I don't have a marinade I can just go crazy with the pepper rub? (Justin doesn't like the garlic marinade, and I don't want to go back out to the store.)

[(Anonymous)]

Right, you don't have to marinade. After I wrote that post, I checked on Cook's Illustrated magazine's website (if you don't know, these guys do extensive testing to verify the reasons behind the ingredients and techniques used in recipes, and many times debunk long-held notions) and this is what they had to say:

The Problem: The flank steak is an agreeable cut of meat; even so, there are some variables to consider if you want to make the most of it. Will marinating tenderize the meat? Will it improve flavor? Or is a spice rub the way to go? Finally, is it worth waiting 5 or 10 minutes to let the meat to "rest" once it comes off the grill?

The Goal: Like other steaks cut from the chest and side of the cow, flank has a rich, full, beefy flavor. And, because it is very thin, it cooks quite quickly. All of this makes it an ideal candidate for grilling.

The Solution: Skip the marinating, which can turn the meat gray and mushy, and instead use a spice rub to impart flavor and a great crust. Cook the steak over high heat for a short period time, and use the most primitive method to check for doneness: cut it open and peek inside. Be sure to let the meat rest before slicing; this allows the juices to redistribute evenly through the meat.

Spice rubs work best on meat cooked rare. They can also work on steaks cooked medium-rare, but they need to be watched closely to keep the spices from burning. The spices on steaks cooked medium or more are almost guaranteed to burn.

In the recipes that follow this introduction, the most basic one is to just, yeah, go crazy with the salt and pepper, and grill to your satisfaction.

Oh, they also say that fajitas were originally made with skirt steak instead of flank steak; these both come from the same region of the cattle, but skirt steak is closer to the front legs, and flank steak is closer to the rear legs.

[thenixxi.livejournal.com]

you didnt know what fajitas where?! damn Yankee!!!!!! :P

<3