(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

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Oh, they also say that fajitas were originally made with skirt steak instead of flank steak; these both come from the same region of the cattle, but skirt steak is closer to the front legs, and flank steak is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