Tried SNS skirt steaks for fajitas today and DAMN my jaws are tired. Thought I'd try grilling directly instead of sous vide, but was very disappointed. Haven'r tried sous vide skirt yet, but thinking that may help. Am I missing something on preparing skirt steak? I trimmed most of the fat and membrane on one side, wasn't much to trim on the other. Marinated about four hours in soy, garlic, lime juice, olive oil, cumin, red pepper flake and a bit of brown sugar. Seared directly over a full SNS for about 4 minutes per side. Great flavor, but like chewing leather. Any suggestions on what I may have done to improve this?
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How was the cut? My personal taste would have left out the evoo and sugar and added lime late. They should be cut lengthwise and then across. Lime can sometimes cure and make tough but that all I got here. -
I'm no expert on skirt steaks myself. So I'm gonna follow this thread.
I've made them many times with mixed results. Mostly tough and chewy as well.
Who can help us here??Comment
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Wow. I'm not sure I've ever had a bad skirt steak unless it was left ifn big strips.Interesting. -
HouseHomey my pit fall might be not cooking them hot enough. You know a very hot and fast cook, turning frequently. IDK. What's your thoughts?? -
I trim the sliver skin only.. I have the original "El Torito"marinade but soy n such like he had was perfect! Grill hot over 600°, not rocket. Should take about 4-5 minutes for mid rare on a 1lbs piece and the grill cools and reheats. Even medium skirt is good.
I'm not sure. Just don't fall for the "long fajita piece" cut.
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The skirt steak was cut into thirds. I cooked this one and vacuum sealed and froze the other two to use later. I did cut across the grain in pieces about 1/4 inch thick or so after grilling and letting rest about 10 minutes while I sautéed the peppers and onions.Comment
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Very thin across the grain, and yet some chewiness can be expected. I ate bits of skirt steak prepared by some Hispanic folks here in town. Sliced razor thin and still had a good bit of chew to it.
Sous vide can only help.Comment
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I'm with HouseHomey . I'm not sure I've had a bad skirt steak. I just cook 'em with salt and pepper. The flavor is amazing. Cook them very hot and fast, and yes cutting across the grain is essential or you'll be chewing for days. I like rare to med rare steaks but with skirt steak its better to go medium rare to medium.Comment
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Thin for the win... Never cooked a skirt/flank that went South on me... S & P, sear each side hot and fast on the flame thrower with a medium rare to rare target, slice thin and toss quickly into a sauteed batch of butter, scallions, and Parmesan. My kids ask for it all the time and it is probably one of my easier cooks.Comment
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Beefy flavor generally tough. How do the broils do in the bath? Any bold beef flavor loss? -
Not when you add a base of beef broth and Butcher's BBQ beef injection.. Besides, he will get a bit of post smoke and sear and he chills on the backside. But I will go ahead and assume I am an exception to the "generally tough" statement. You must have missed my last broil post..
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Best results come from a tip I got from Ninfa Laurenzo of Ninfa's restaurant in Houston back in the 1970s. She said to hit it with as much acid as possible for a lonnnng time. They primarily used lime juice (like lots of lime juice), vinegar and beer (all things better with beer !) within in their marinade. Again the trick is to leave it over night AT LEAST. The connective tissues have to break down. Quick searing and cutting thin against the grain, as others have said, are also keys to success.Comment
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My favorite cut of beef to cook is skirt steak. Are you using quality beef? I look for Choice or CAB skirt steak though, I once brought some from Nicaragua (which supposedly has good beef) and that one was definitely tough and chewy. I just use a little garlic powder, coarse ground black pepper, kosher salt, paprika and a touch of cayenne to give it a nice spiciness. I never marinate, so I don't know if maybe that could be a factor? I separate an entire skirt into about 3 pieces, based on thickness of the meat, as it is an uneven cut lengthwise. Remove membrane from both sides. I dry it thoroughly before hitting it with some oil and then the spices, and over a screaming hot coal fire. I like a lot of char on the outside, and leaving it medium-rare on the inside. Rarely have problems of it being chewy.Comment
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gijsveltman , it was an angus skirt, so I don't think quality is the issue. I cut the steak into three sections and only cooked one, but I didn't remove any membrane. I don't remember seeing one. Maybe that's the problem?Comment
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Dr ROK OK so it's not the quality. If you didn't see the membrane, it didn't have one, as the skirt with membrane looks like this:
Try cooking it to medium-rare/medium at most, and as others have said, thin slices against the grain. Maybe it was just bad luck. Definitely try again and report back, this is a great cut of beef when done right!Comment
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HouseHomey Yeah, even 1/2 inch will do with skirt in my experience. That's how we get skirt down here, and its USA, CAB beef. Some places sell it already trimmed, but it is more expensive, so I buy it with the membrane and remove it, as you would remove the membrane from some ribs. And we sometimes get Big Wave down here, which I really like. -
Have two other sections remaining in the freezer. I sliced 1/4 inch thick at the most and also across grain. I think my next attempt will be sous vide and then quick sear over SNS. If that doesn't help, I'll go the "marinade over night" route. I only marinaded the batch in question about 2 hours.
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