Fajita help needed!

[Capt]

Fajitas are simple. Bolners fiesta is good stuff and my go too. If you want to marinade I use 2 parts pineapple juice 1 part beer 1 part soy. Cook over really hot coals. Get outside skirt if you can find it.

The above is my best copycat of HEB pre-marinated skirt.

The same goes great on boneless skinless thighs.

[LYU370]

1) Buy skirt steak that is neither too thin nor too thick.
2) Try and trim as much of the fat/silver skin as possible Yep, if you get the untrimmed ones from the Mexi Mart.
3) Pound it with a meat tenderizing hammer I Jaccard the crap out of it, the local Mexi Marts run it through their tenderizer.
4) Marinate overnight in a mixture of beer/Italian dressing/Fiesta Brand Mesquite Fajita Seasoning Italian Dressing? This is Mexican food.
5) Sear it quickly direct over a blazing hot mesquite coal bed
6) Move it to indirect and let it come up to roughly medium/medium rare (this is dang hard for me to guess on a thin cut of meat but I usually at least get this part right) It's a thin cut 2 - 2 1/2 minutes per side is all you need.
7) Let it sit for 20-30 minutes then slice against the grain I let it sit however long it takes me to get a plate and grab a knife. 2 minutes tops.

[sudsandswine]

Originally Posted by LYU370

Ain't never seen a skirt that looks like that? The ones I get are about 2 feet long. Maybe a different cut? Flank maybe?

Definitely flank. Still tasty though

[ynotfehc]

So you're marinating in ITALIAN dressing to make a Tex-Mex dish?! Are you using parmesan too, or subbing basil for cilantro? What kind of beer? Guinness? You are way overthinking this very simple dish. Marinate in lime juice, cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper , maybe half hour, grill it, rest for 5, maybe 10m, then slice it. The skirt steak is long, 1.5-2ft long and about 6-8in across. The grain goes the short length of the meat, not the long. So cut it into smaller chunks, then slice against the grain/the short width of the meat, "thin to win". Flank is also fine to use instead of skirt too.

[chingador]

in Texas restaurants mostly use the following marinade:

3 parts pineapple juice, 2 parts soy sauce, 1 part water.

If you go to Pappasitos or El Tiempo, this is what they marinade their fajitas in. Also, Pappasitos uses sirloin flap meat. I have seen it at Costco a couple times. Looks like skirt steak and is thicker. But good quality skirt steak with silver skin, membrane and fat trimmed would work just fine. Marinade from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Do not marinade overnight. No need. Cook over a very hot fire about a minute and a half per side. Rest for 5 minutes and cut against the grain. Simple.

For me, I just trim and apply course sea salt. Grill as stated above. Baste with some salted butter when it comes off of the grill and a squeeze of fresh lime juice then let rest.

No reason to overthink things.

[Dustin Dorsey]

The problem is probably outside vs. inside skirt steak. Outside skirt is hard to find. Sometimes I get a good inside skirt steak but it's hit or miss. Flank steak is a good option, I find. It's thicker and a little easier to keep from overcooking. It's maybe not as flavorful and it's more lean. Higher quality meat makes a big difference.

[BGEChicago]

I usually go to a supermercado for skirt steak, they slice it ultra thin and run it through a blade tenderizer, I made these last night:
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Thanks,
Greg

[Tannhauser42]

As much as I like perfectly cooked skirt steak fajitas, I just use chicken 90% of the time.
So much cheaper, too, unfortunately.

[aks801]

Originally Posted by chingador

in Texas restaurants mostly use the following marinade:

3 parts pineapple juice, 2 parts soy sauce, 1 part water.

If you go to Pappasitos or El Tiempo, this is what they marinade their fajitas in. Also, Pappasitos uses sirloin flap meat. I have seen it at Costco a couple times. Looks like skirt steak and is thicker. But good quality skirt steak with silver skin, membrane and fat trimmed would work just fine. Marinade from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Do not marinade overnight. No need. Cook over a very hot fire about a minute and a half per side. Rest for 5 minutes and cut against the grain. Simple.

For me, I just trim and apply course sea salt. Grill as stated above. Baste with some salted butter when it comes off of the grill and a squeeze of fresh lime juice then let rest.

No reason to overthink things.

There ya go. Ex-Pappasito's employee here, and I can tell you that's what they do. Sito's fajitas are regarded as some of the best anywhere.

[SmokinJohn]

It said flank on the wrapper. I'm old; leave me alone....LOL

But flank does make nice tacos.

[SmokinJohn]

Fixed it, see?

[Radrob]

Originally Posted by aks801

There ya go. Ex-Pappasito's employee here, and I can tell you that's what they do. Sito's fajitas are regarded as some of the best anywhere.

All marinade and no seasoning?

[Hoss]

Buy meat,soak it in what you like,cook it.Put it on a tortilla.Change it up if your first trial fails.Kinda like BEANS. To each there own.

[TxQGuy]

UPDATE: Skirt steak, pineapple juice, and soy sauce purchased. Getting back on the horse tomorrow afternoon...will keep y'all apprised of my success/failure.