Skirt steak! Not something I make with any regularity. But it was FULL of good, beefy flavor. It marinated for just about an hour in an oil/soy sauce mixture and grilled for 2-3 minutes per side. Topped with some caramelized onions. Really good stuff! I forgot to remind my hubby to slice it across the grain – but it really didn’t matter much because the meat was super-tender.
The other night I opened the freezer door and stared in there, wondering what to fix for dinner. You ever do this too? Chorizo? No, not for dinner. Must have bought that 6 months ago when our son-in-law was coming down, then I didn’t use it (he loves chorizo, obviously). Andouille sausage? No; I usually use that with something else, not as an entrée; not time for that. Chicken breasts? No, tired of those. Oh, what’s that package? Skirt steak. Well, why not? It had been in the freezer for well over a year, probably longer than that, and it had gotten tucked under something else so I hadn’t noticed it. My normal method of defrosting meat is to put it in a big bowl filled mid-way with water, and weighted down so the meat stays under the water (and therefore stays quite cold). This is assuming it’s in a Ziploc bag or vacuum sealed, of course. In a few hours it was completely defrosted.
I have a recipe for Mexican style skirt steak on my blog, but it’s part of a multi-dish ethnic dinner. Way too much work – besides I already had the side dishes picked out (also items from the freezer). I could have gone to Eat Your Books to hunt for recipes within my own cookbook collection, but I was in a hurry, so I just did a Google search for “skirt steak,” and one of the early search results was this recipe, from She Wears Many Hats, a blog I wasn’t familiar with. Amy’s recipe was very easy – the marinade went together in a hurry (some oil, soy sauce, a little bit of rice wine vinegar, ginger, garlic, S & P and it was done. It went right into the Ziploc bag I had used in the freezer. I squished it around a bit so all the surfaces of the skirt steak were saturated with the marinade and I plopped it in the refrigerator for awhile.
We were on a timetable (gosh, I hate those nights sometimes – have to sit down to eat by 6 in order to be at choir rehearsal by 7). We prefer to eat at about 6:30 or 7 on most nights. It’s just the routine we’re into.
I’ll include the recipe for the caramelized onions too. I made these a week or so ago, using a new recipe that included a little bit of dark rum and thyme, and served it with something else. But those little puppies go a long way, so I had sufficient for another meal. It was just perfect with the steak. The sweetness of the onion blended so well with the steak. My DH grilled the meat in no time at all – probably just 2-3 minutes per side – as we wanted it to be rare to med-rare in the middle. I got dinner on the table before 6 and dishes were done and put away in ample time.
What I liked: the flavor of the beef – the marinade isn’t overpowering at all. The soy sauce is mellow in this as well – I used Trader Joe’s low-sodium. Also loved the caramelized onions on top. Make a bunch so you can have left overs. My plan as I write this, is to serve the leftover beef on top of a Greek salad.
What I didn’t like: nothing at all. Delicious. I’d make this again.
printer-friendly PDF for the steak
MasterCook 5+ import file – right click to save file, run MC, then File|Import
Grilled Skirt Steak
Recipe By: Amy at http://shewearsmanyhats.com/2011/06/skirt-steak/
Serving Size: 4
Serving Ideas: Because I had some on hand, I served the steak with a large spoon of caramelized onions. The sweetness of the onions was wonderful with the steak. Although the marinade contains soy sauce, the flavor does not predominate.
1 pound skirt steak
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons rice vinegar — [I used seasoned because it’s what I had in my pantry]
1. Mix all ingredients together in a zip top bag, adding skirt steak last. Squish it around some to coat well and marinate refrigerated until ready to cook. Marinate for at least 30 minutes if time allows.
2. In an iron skillet over medium-medium high heat place the skirt steak. Slightly press down to create sear. For medium rare, cook for 3 minutes. Flip steak and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Alternately you can barbecue on an outdoor grill for the same period of time.
3. Let steak rest about 10 minutes tented with foil, then cut narrow slices across the grain.
Per Serving: 264 Calories; 19g Fat (64.4% calories from fat); 22g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 58mg Cholesterol; 336mg Sodium.
. . .
printer-friendly PDF for onions
MasterCook 5+ import file – right click to save file, run MC, then File|Import
Caramelized Onions with Dark Rum and Thyme
Recipe By: The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
Serving Size: 12 (that’s just a guess – makes about a cup)
2 pounds yellow onions — thinly sliced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 tablespoon water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 teaspoons dark rum
1 teaspoon fresh thyme — minced
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1. Have all the onions sliced and ready.
2. Melt the butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Stir in the onions, brown sugar and about 1/2 tsp salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. [You may need to turn the heat down to prevent the onions from burning.]
3. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are deeply browned, about 40 minutes.
4. Add the rum, thyme and vinegar and stir well, off heat. Taste for salt and pepper.
Per Serving: 47 Calories; 2g Fat (41.6% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 3mg Cholesterol; 2mg Sodium.
hddonna
said on May 14th, 2012:
What a coincidence! I made steak and caramelized onions this weekend, too! Mine happened to be sirloin, and I made it to put in a steak and caramelized onion panini for my son-in-law’s birthday party. There were leftovers, and we’ll probably use those in a salad, too!
I love the idea of the rum in the caramelized onions. What isn’t better with a dash of rum–or bourbon–in it? I’ll try that next time. Have only done skirt steak once–it’s not easy to find around here–but I agree that it is delicious.
Your marinade sounds yummy, too. I used my stand-by of red wine, soy sauce, garlic, and rosemary, with salt and pepper and some oil. It was originally based on a recipe by M.F.K.Fisher–do you enjoy her writings? I just throw together the marinade these days and don’t know how close it is to the original, but I do remember she offered the recipe as an example of how it is perfectly easy to cook a delicious dish without salt–and it had at least a cup of soy sauce in it! Needless to say, I have scaled that back considerably!
Well, that’s very interesting. I have most of MFK Fisher’s books. Is it in one of those? I’d enjoy trying that version. I love rosemary in grilled meat. And yes, I’d likely cut down on the soy sauce too. . . carolyn t
hddonna
said on May 14th, 2012:
The book in question is An Alphabet for Gourmets, and the discussion of salt and her recipe for steak are in the chapter U for Universal. The intro to the recipe itself does not refer to its lack of salt, but earlier in the chapter she makes the claim “my patio steak never sees anything but herbs and wine” (as opposed to another dish that may require salt). Actually, it isn’t as bad as I remember, as it calls for 3/4 cup of soy sauce to 3 cups of wine, but I still use less than that. Anyway, this was the inspiration for my go-to marinade. I just glug some red wine and some soy sauce into a dish or zipper bag, toss in a few sprigs of rosemary and a few smashed cloves of garlic, a glug of olive oil or vegetable oil, and some pepper. I said salt in my comment above, but I do not add that since it has soy sauce in it.
The discussion of salt and people’s dependence on it is quite interesting. I’m glad you asked about which book it’s in, because now that I’ve found it, I think I’ll give it another rereading–haven’t looked at it in several years. Isn’t MFK Fisher fascinating? Her writing stands the test of time.
If you don’t happen to have this book, I’d be happy to e-mail you her original recipe.
Thanks, Donna. I’ll try your revision of the recipe – which sounds fine to me! I don’t think I have that M.F.K. Fisher book. Next time I’m at the library I’ll look for it. Indeed, I like her writing. I remember the first time I saw a photo of her – it was toward the end of her life and someone from Gourmet was interviewing her at her home in No. California. I think it was a stark black and white photo. And the interviewer was just mesmerized by her wit and wisdom about life. Anyway, Fisher had asked if the interviewer would like to have lunch with her; of course he/she said yes. And she served a very simple something – I have no recollection – but it included a piece of fruit at the end. The interviewer said the meal was perfect, and asked inwardly why we think we have to go to great lengths to cook things when sometimes the simplest are the best, which certainly reflected Fisher’s mantra for life, don’t you think? Thanks, Donna. . . . carolyn t