279693 Fri Sep 09 15:10:32 -0700 2005 18 31 Home Cooking 0 1483819 My first - how to? what to? Fri Sep 09 15:10:32 -0700 2005 0 Sarah 1 1483824 skirt steak is definitely one of my favorites. Here's what I do. This is enough for 2-3 skirt steaks. You can modify however you feel fit, depending on your preference for garlic or heat. juice of 2 limes 4 cloves of garlic, mashed or minced very finely 4 Jalapenos, chopped finely, with seeds. Salt & Pepper Combine garlic and jalapenos to make a loose paste (if you really want, you mash it together or put it in a processor with lime to make a real paste). Spread over skirt steaks. Squeeze lime juice over steaks and salt and pepper liberally. Let it marinate for an hour. The best way to cook, I think, is grilled. If you have charcoal, even better. Get the grill as hot as you can, sear it well on both sides for a couple of minutes. Let it rest about 5 minutes and either slice in 1/4 slices across the grain (and at a 45 degree angle). You can serve it sliced like that (makes a good presentation) for fajitas or just a carne asada dinner variation, or you can also chop the whole thing into 1/2 inch cubes, and serve in burritos or tacos, with avocado or guac, lime, cilantro, etc. If you don't have a charcoal grill, or gas grill, do it under super hot broiler. You can also do it in a cast iron pan - just make sure the pan is as hot as you can get it. Good luck. I LOVE skirt steak. Fri Sep 09 16:59:10 -0700 2005 1483819 0 adamclyde 2 1483851 Excellent advice. Skirt steak is hard to come by here on the East Coast. One must find specialty meat cutters from whom to buy it. Once when visiting family in IL about 2 years ago, Whole Foods was charging $11.99/pound for this cut of beef. I had sticker shock! Sat Sep 10 09:51:49 -0700 2005 1483824 0 ChiliDude 3 1483853 Sorry to hear that you have a hard time finding skirt steaks on the east coast. In NYC you can buy skirt steaks everywhere, including the supermarkets. It is definitely my FAVORITE cut of beef. Wonder if it is called something else in other parts of the country. Sat Sep 10 10:34:45 -0700 2005 1483851 0 mshpook 4 1483859 I live in Manhattan and I have never, not once, had the slightest problem finding skirt steak. Today I saw it on sale at Whole Foods in Union Square for just $7.99/lb. It used to be dirt cheap, until yuppies "discovered" fajitas in the 1980s. (Not to impugn yuppies, but they did the same thing to swordfish steaks, and now swordfish are endangered.) Sat Sep 10 11:45:39 -0700 2005 1483853 0 Tom Steele 5 1483868 We don't want skirts to become endangered. Sat Sep 10 14:12:32 -0700 2005 1483859 0 tlh 5 1483926 Out here in the outer-boro boonies, we pay $3.99/lb for skirt steak when it's on sale, which it is fairly often. Sun Sep 11 11:00:45 -0700 2005 1483859 0 LoveaFair 6 1483938 I envy you for your ability to come by such a bargain. I live on the outskirts of the hoity-toity 'burbs of Philly where things have to be outrageously expensive to get the snobs to buy them. Hence, less than prime beef cuts are outrageously expensive. Same is true of the Willowbrook Whole Foods near where my brother-in-law lives in IL. Sun Sep 11 13:52:48 -0700 2005 1483926 0 ChiliDude 1 1483826 Simplest way I like is to rub it with a little crushed garlic, sprinkle with kosher salt and grill. Pan fried in a little garlic butter works during blizzards weh you can't get the grill to light. The big danger is overcooking, strips vary in thickness from end to end, slice into portions before cooking and pull the thin ones off quickly. Makes an excellent sandwich, taco/tostada etc. Fri Sep 09 17:33:16 -0700 2005 1483819 0 Larry 2 1483830 I agree. Just grilled one last night with garlic, kosher salt and some sweet and hot paprika. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Fri Sep 09 18:51:08 -0700 2005 1483826 0 RichK 1 1483827 Skirt is often used for fajitas. I marinate in: 1 can cheap American macro-brew 2-3 jalapenos Juice of 2 limes Chile powder half bunch of cilanto. Marinate for a couple hours, grill over charcoal. Serve with flour tortillas, guac, pico, lettuce, and sauteed peppers and onions, and more limes for squeezin. Fri Sep 09 17:46:32 -0700 2005 1483819 0 chileheadmike 1 1483832 Should have mentioned that this so-called "summer" weather (SFBayArea) is not motivating me to roll out and scrape off the grill. Fri Sep 09 18:57:22 -0700 2005 1483819 0 Sarah 2 1483840 Wimp! As a guy I must never admit defeat, hence I will barbecue in a raging blizzard. It comes as no surprise that the Weber covered grill was invented in Chicago. Fri Sep 09 21:18:07 -0700 2005 1483832 0 Larry 3 1483841 Brrrrr- "...coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." --M. Twain Fri Sep 09 21:40:17 -0700 2005 1483840 0 Sarah 2 1483877 I'll swap ya weather any day - here in WAYYYY too sunny SoCal it's finally gotten below 90º, and now I can think about going outside to cook. Quick, too, 'cause it'll probably be blistering again in another few days. But we digress... Sat Sep 10 16:41:31 -0700 2005 1483832 0 Will Owen 1 1483833 I have one marinating right now in lime juice, lots of garlic, s&p and chili. We'll grill it in about an hour and fajitas are whats for dinner Fri Sep 09 19:20:46 -0700 2005 1483819 0 Candy 1 1483838 I am going to add a twist to this. I would place the skirt steak in a pot with water to cover, add chopped onion, bay leaf and some peppercorns, a little salt. Bring to boil and simmer on low, covered, about 20 minutes. Turn off stove and let steak cool in the water to room temperature. Shred steak, add salt, pepper, onion finely chopped, cilantro, a little lime juice, a little cayenne and mix up. Form into thin patties and fry on griddle on each side about 5 minutes. Fri Sep 09 20:32:40 -0700 2005 1483819 0 DCarbonaro 1 1483843 Please don't ever do what I did to my first skirt steak (last weekend). I bought 3# at Costco. It stayed in the fridge for a day. Next day I mixed up a marinade of fresh squeezed lime juice, garlic, olive oil, chipolte peppers in adobe sauce, salt & pepper. Didn't have the time or inclination to make it that night, or the next. So now we have goodness knows how long sittling in Costco, 1 day unmarinated in frige, 2 days marinating in fridge. Make it the 3rd day. Gross. Most obscene mutilation of meat I've ever done. Too long in the fridge, too long in lime juice, too much wrong to describe. We ended up throwing away 3# of skirt steak. I'm so ashamed. What I learned is: 1.) Plan better. 2.) Don't marinate anything in lime juice too long. 3.) Don't try to eat a mistake, at a minimum for healths sake. Well, I fell better (and worse) for this confession. Fri Sep 09 23:37:16 -0700 2005 1483819 0 Pate' 1 1483932 What I did: cut steak into 3 pieces, s&p, juice of 1 lime and 2 chopped garlic cloves and marinate for 1-2 hrs. - then seared in cast iron skillet for approx 5 mins total. Thin parts(edges)came out well done but centers were perfect and very tasty. Thanks to all! Sun Sep 11 12:02:06 -0700 2005 1483819 0 Sarah