It's funny sometimes how we end up where we do. Like this skirt steak. I stumbled across an online discussion about cooking skirt steak. The original poster (OP) was frustrated because the skirt steak had turned out very tough. She/he got alot of feedback about marinating methods, cooking time, cutting across the grain, and the general consensus was that it is an amazing cut of meat and the OP must have overcooked it, apparently THE cardinal sin when it comes to skirt steak.
So I'm at Whole Foods later in the day and see a couple of beautiful pieces of skirt steak just calling my name. Had I not read the discussion, I probably would have walked right by but the conviction of those touting how amazing this cut is prompted me to say "what the heck, I'll give it a try". I'm very happy I did.
There's not much of a recipe to share. I applied a dry rub overnight, Penzy's BBQ 3000, made up of salt, paprika, black pepper, nutmeg, mustard, allspice, garlic powder, ginger, sage, thyme, cinnamon, and natural smoke flavoring. Mr. ELEB lit the grill to med-high and cooked one piece 2 minutes per side (rare) and the other 3 minutes per side (medium). I rested the meat ten minutes and sliced it across the grain. It was recommended in the discussion I stumbled across not to cook it past medium. The very thin ends of the pieces of steak were cooked closer to medium-well but they still tasted great and remained tender. I think the biggie is slice it right across the grain.
That's it. Very tender, tasty, and satisfying! If you haven't given this cut (the diaphragm of the cow I believe) a try, I highly recommend it. It couldn't be easier to prepare (I'm sure you could do it in a grill pan stovetop too), and quite lean.
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| Dry rub added; see the grain? Also, note the thin ends folded over on one piece. |
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| Left/front cooked 6 minutes total, right/rear cooked 4 minutes total. |
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| From rare to medium, with a few pieces cooked through. |
We served this to our friends who were over for dinner along with a huge basket of Kalyn's grilled veggies. Success all the way around!
Have you tried any new cuts of meat or cooking methods?
(Oh, by the way, the Penzy's BBQ 3000 was a gift from a friend, not sponsored)