It’s the end of the month, and everybody has to watch their budget. So, I started looking around for a more inexpensive cut of meat to throw on the Big Green Egg for dinner. What I found was one cut of meat that fit the bill… the skirt steak. My butcher, at Kroger, told me that it’d have to be cooked very carefully and precisely, because it’s just a tough piece of meat and not easy to cook correctly. This piece of meat also goes by two names, skirt or hanger steak. Now truth be told, I must admit that I wasn’t sure what skirt steak was when I found it nor have I ever cooked it. That being said, it was Google to the rescue to find a great recipe for the perfect steak taco or delicious fajitas made from skirt steak.
Everyone agrees that skirt steak or hanger steak it that tough cut of muscle just under the diaphragm. Butchers refer to it as a skirt cut, hence the name. This is a long, flat piece of steak and prized for its rich, hearty beefy flavor rather than tenderness (according to the American Association of Meat Processors). It is not to be confused with flank or strip steak. We purchased our very first skirt steak and as I was lighting the grill, I was a little intimidated about how to prepare it.
If not perfectly cooked AND cut just right, you might as well resole your shoes with it. Have no fear, we’re gonna walk you through this tough cut of steak and tell you how to Big Green Egg cook it to tender perfection!
Our marinade was a healthy dose of extra virgin olive oil, McCormick’s Montreal Steak seasoning, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and fajita seasoning (or use your favorite BBQ rub). And… don’t be shy with the seasoning. Let it sit in the marinade until the steak reaches room temperature. We grilled at 500 degrees on direct heat for about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes on each side. The skirt steak needs to rest for about five minutes after it comes off the Big Green Egg. Slice extremely thin and AGAINST the grain. While grilling, we added a little bit of water-soaked hickory chips for an extra flavor kick.
As the skirt steak is resting, throw your sliced red and yellow bell peppers and sliced Vidalia onions into your grill pan. You can lightly toss them in extra virgin olive oil with salt, pepper and a healthy dose of dry fajita seasoning or BBQ rub. Grill in a slatted veggie tray on direct heat until tender which was about five minutes.
Pile on the grilled mixed veggies and the grilled skirt steak on top of warmed whole wheat flour tortillas or crunch tacos. Top with white grated cheese, tomatillo sauce and more grilled veggies. Grilled skirt steak like this would also be excellent for fajitas or steak and blue cheese salads. Well, we weren’t singing the blues after all over this inexpensive tough cut of steak. But as we ate our perfectly grilled and super tender skirt steak tacos, we were listening to the blues. Give skirt steak a chance. You can’t beat the price and the hearty, beefy flavor is worth the extra prep time and work to make it so juicy tender with any meal.
Tell us @FrontPorchSteps on Twitter what your grilling fear is… skirt steak was mine!
