Best way to prepare skirt steak?

[vvv03]

I just bought some skirt steak at the Farmer's Market. Being as it was organic, cruelty free, etc. it was ridiculously expensive, so I especially don't want to ruin it or end up with a middling meal. Please help me find the best way to prepare skirt steak to bring out its fullest potential. Thanks!

[thew]

and please - its so easy to cut it the wrong way, with instead of against, the grain, and that will just kill a lovely cut of meat

[TrishUntrapped]

For skirt steak, which around here is usually an inexpensive cut, I like to marinate it in "Veri Teriyaki" Marinade, which is a soy/sweet marinade with sesame seeds. You could also make your own teriyaki marinade with soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, and sesame seeds, but I always have some of the other on hand and like it on skirt.

I bring to room temp. before grilling. I like to cook it quickly on a hot grill, charred on each side, rarish on the inside.

[KRS]

Particularly if the skirt steak is thin, you need to avoid drying it out by fast cooking.

Rub the meat with salt -- not too much -- a couple of teaspoons for a 1-1/2 pound piece -- and put it in a plastic bag in the fridge overnight.

Let the meat come to room temperature and rub it with fresh-ground black pepper.

Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a large, heavy skillet and sear the meat on each side for only 2 minutes. Then remove it from the heat for 10 minutes. It should be medium rare in the thickest part. Put the meat on a plate

Put splash of water or wine in the pan and turn on the heat. As it heats, scrape up the fond (the brown bits) with a wooden spoon so they dissolve. When the water is nearly boiled off, put a splash of cognac, brandy, scotch or bourbon in the pan and ignite it. Turn off the heat and while the alcohol burns of and the sauce cools down, slice the meat thin against the grain. Then pour the thickened sauce around.

Warn your guests to taste before salting, as the overnight marinating adds plenty of salt flavor.

[jfood]

please ignite any liquor off-heat. then if you want return to heat. basic safety assures you will join your guests for dinner.

jfood is confused on your sauce. it appears it is only reduced liquor. Is there something else in it?

[KRS]

jfood -

The sauce is made of the juices that come out of the meat during cooking. and while resting I scrape up and dissolve the fond in a little water and end up with maybe 1/4 cup in the pan. Then I add and flame the liquor -- only one kind of the several I suggested.

I do ignite it off-heat. I put on a long heatproof glove, pour in the liquor (and remember, it's only a splash -- a couple of tablespoons), pick up the pan with my gloved hand and hold the edge next to the flame. Then I hold the pan off heat until the alcohol burns off -- 10 to 15 seconds. All the alcohol burns off, leaving only the flavor.

[jfood]

Thanks K. Just did not wantto read a thread in 3 months "what did I do wrong - 2nd degree burns on my hand."

[jnk]

As with everyone else here, it's one of our favorite cuts too. I make a simple marinade of light soy sauce, minced garlic, grated ginger and light brown sugar. Marinate for a few hours and grill quickly.

[tomishungry]

Wash, pat dry, salt and pepper. Heat a cast iron pan until blazing hot, then fry on each side until deeply browned. Rest and eat.

If you're a beef fan, all the marinades and other treatments will fall by the wayside after you've tried this.

This recipe will result in ultra rare meat. If you want it a little more cooked (gah) put the meat into a 350 oven for a few minutes. You'll also want your exhaust fan turned up high when you sear the meat.

[burbankfoodie]

Food and Wine has a great recipe called Grilled Skirt Steak and Peaches. Even if you just use the marinade and grill the skirt steak and omit the peaches part, it is so tasty. It is now one of my go-to recipes. I typically marinade the steak the night before and then grill the next evening.

[BellaDonna]

Olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and maybe cilantro...and on the grill it goes. Keep it simple so you can taste and appreciate the meat.

My experience with organic ranchers at Farmers Markets is that it's less expensive than Whole Foods.

[Mild Bill]

Good Skirt Steak is SO good, I celebrate it by sprinkling it generously with kosher salt and some olive oil, letting it sit at room temp for a couple hours, then tossing on a hot grill, (or a hot cast iron pan) flipping it to get crusty on both sides---- then I take them off and let them rest in a pan under a foil tent... Cut across the grain tossed in the accumulated and rendered juices...

Believe it or not, that herby oil 'Dietz & Watson Hoagie Dressing' is great drizzled on at the table as a condiment...

http://i4.peapod.com/c/WS/WS72O.jpg

[Joebob]

If you have a good grill, search for fajitas recipes.

[mschow]

Skirt steak is a favorite of mine, and really lends itself best to marinades and grilling. There are many different marinades you can purchase, or make yourself. I like olive oil, lime juice, dried cumin, fresh chopped cilantro, Tequila, chopped garlic, salt and pepper. Throw it all into a zip lock bag with the meat and marinate for several hours.
Grill just a few minutes on each side, and after resting, slice very thinly. Delcious and flavorful.

[andytee]

depending on your farmer's market, your skirt steak is likely from grass-fed (rather than corn fed) beef, which is leaner and more tender, and a little quicker to cook. keep an eye on it for that reason. grass fed beef is wonderful, and well worth the price, just be careful not to overcook it.

skirt steak is one of my favorite cuts. i'm with jfood on the marinate and grill method. i can't speak to his bottled marinade, but i love making fresh marinades for my skirt steak. it's a cut that i think goes really well with something peanut/lime/chile based, but simpler stuff like olive oil, garlic, and herbs are fine too. play around, or, if you need more marinade tips, post here or poke around on the boards.

enjoy.

[paulj]

so you think this is likely to be grass skirt steak ;)

[andytee]

ba-dum-bum!

[vvv03]

Thanks, Andytee (and everybody else -- you've got me excited about my "cheap" (9.99/lb) cut of steak. ) It is indeed grass fed. I'll let you all know how it goes!

[jfood]

jfood makes over 50lb's of skirt steaks each summer for friends and each time he gets great reviews. The preparation he uses takes advantage of the full flavor of the steaks. But in fairness jfood does not know the geneology of the meat (he buys all his beef from a local grocer) so he will give you what he does and you can decide if the price you paid might be too high for this prep.

If you have a jarred marinade named Wasabiyaki in your grocer buy a bottle. Cut the skirt into 4" lengths and place both in a freezer bag. Place in the fridge for up to 7 hours. Then jfood cranks up the Weber and cooks on each side for 3 minutes.

jfood really likes the terriyaki and full flavor together.