Marinade Brings Out Sweet Flavor Of Skirt Steak
Fajitas made skirt steak famous. If it weren’t for the amazingly popular dish of grilled meat with salsa and whatever else fits, wrapped together in a flour tortilla, skirt steak might still be the homely meat cut it was 20 years ago.
To be honest, it doesn’t look like much. It’s a filmy strip of beef, riddled with fat. Although it is long - about 12 inches when unfurled - it doesn’t yield a lot of edible meat. Once trimmed, the average skirt steak will serve two.
What isn’t obvious from skirt steak’s ragtag appearance is its sweet flavor. A typical marinade for fajitas, made with the salty-sour combination of soy sauce and vinegar or lemon juice, only brings out the sweetness.
As cooks discover skirt steak, they find ways to enhance the basic fajitas formula and give it more punch. One way to do that is to add more heat, more garlic and more tang to the marinade.
Another enhancement is Zesty Tomato Relish in place of the popular, but heavy, guacamole accompaniment. No one will skirt this delicious dinner on a cool autumn evening.
Skirt Steak with Zesty Tomato Relish
1 teaspoon prepared Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon grated ginger root
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (10-ounce) skirt steak, trimmed of fat
Zesty Tomato Relish (recipe follows)
4 small flour tortillas, optional
Whisk together mustard, garlic, ginger root, soy sauce, lemon juice and oil in glass bowl. Add steak. Turn to coat with marinade. Cover bowl and refrigerate 1 to 3 hours.
Just before cooking meat, prepare Zesty Tomato Relish.
Remove meat from marinade and drain well. Place on oiled rack of grill. Grill 4 to 5 inches above ash-covered coals until done to medium degree, 3 to 4 minutes per side. (Or, place steak on oiled broiler pan and broil about 4 inches from heat for same grilling time.)
To serve, slice meat 1/8 inch thick and serve with Zesty Tomato Relish. Or, if desired, arrange 1/4 of meat on each of 4 tortillas; top with 1/4 of relish and roll up. Serve 2 per person.
Yield: 2 servings.
Zesty Tomato Relish
3 plum tomatoes, cored, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon grated ginger root
1/4 teaspoon medium-hot chili powder
1 green onion, trimmed and sliced into 1-inch lengths
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt, freshly ground white pepper
Place tomatoes in blender or food processor. Add ginger root, chili powder, green onion, lemon juice and sugar. Blend or pulse until ingredients are finely chopped but not pureed. Remove from blender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.