By Scott Hutcheson
CNHI
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I’ve got a confession. Sometimes, meat speaks to me. The most recent conversation we had was when I made a quick trip to the grocery store to restock bananas. We’ve been eating a great deal of them lately and had run out.
While in the produce section, I heard the familiar throaty whisper and knew it wasn’t the bananas because bananas can’t talk, of course. It was the meat. I hadn’t planned on visiting the meat counter but I didn’t want to be rude. I decided to just go say “Hi.”
As it turns out, it was a skirt steak beckoning me, letting me know, in no uncertain terms, that it wanted to come over to my place for dinner. “I’m just here for bananas,” I said. “I’ve already got dinner plans. We’re having chicken.”
This was one persistent skirt steak, telling me that it was both delicious and inexpensive, at less than $2 per pound. I left the store with bananas, skirt steak, and new plans for dinner.
Skirt steak is the perfect recession-era indulgence — big beefy flavor that is easy on the wallet. The cut comes from the flank or area of the cow, between the ribs and hip. The long, flat piece of meat is the preferred cut for fajitas and London Broil.
This steak’s great deal of connective tissue can make it tough unless cut in a specific way. The grains run across so slicing it thinly on a diagonal, across the grain, will cut through those tough fibers resulting in a flavorful chewable steak.
One of my favorite ways to prepare skirt steak is marinated and then grilled. I like to use a marinade of citrus juices and Sriracha, the Thai hot sauce available in Asian sections of most grocery stores.
Citrus may not be top of mind when it comes to flavors to enhance beef, but the combination of the orange and the spicy sriracha is a terrific duo. Citrus not only imparts flavor but the citric acid helps to break down tougher cuts of meat, like the skirt steak, and the sriracho provides enough heat to give this dish great depth of flavor.
As spring rolls around, more and more of us will be outside at the grill and in these uncertain economic times, an affordable choice like skirt steak might make a good deal of sense.
I don’t know if any foods speak to you when you visit the local super market, but if you hear the siren song of the skirt steak this spring, you may way want to listen carefully.
Chili-Orange Skirt Steak
• Juice of 1 orange
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 skirt steak, 14-16 ounces
Whisk together the orange and lime juices, olive oil, and Srirach then add the garlic, onions, and salt and pepper. Put steak in a gallon-sized zip-top bag and pour in the marinade.
Zip bag and place in refrigerator for one hour or more. Six to eight hours will result in even more flavor. When ready to eat, heat grill to 350-375 degrees and grill steak for about three to four minutes on each side for medium-rare. Remove from the grill and let the steak rest for five minutes before slicing.
