Beef Fajitas

Beef Fajitas
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A Little Personal History:

While living in Houston, TX, whether at cook-off festivals, bbq’s or tex-mex restaurants; fajitas were standard fare. The meat choices, seasonings, marinades and sides always made for a great meal

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While this recipe uses the traditional marinaded beef skirt steak, transforming even this tough cut of meat to succulent and tender; you can easily substitute other meats, poultry, or seafood (see “Tips, Notes, and Variations”) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fajita
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Passive Time 2 hours
Servings
people
Ingredients
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon fajita seasoning or Cajun Blast Seasoning
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 scallions washed and cuthalf
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 pounds skirt steak trimmed and sliced across the grain, into long thin pieces that fit on a grill or in a ridged grill pan (see Notes for different names and cuts of meat)
  • 3 assorted colored bell peppers sliced thin
  • 1 large Red onion sliced thin
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
  • 12 flour tortillas warmed, 7-8 inch
All the “Fixings”
  • Yellow Rice
  • Guacamole
  • Salsa Verde and/or Pico del Gallo
  • Refried Beans or Spicy Black Beans
  • sour cream
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Passive Time 2 hours
Servings
people
Ingredients
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon fajita seasoning or Cajun Blast Seasoning
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 scallions washed and cuthalf
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 pounds skirt steak trimmed and sliced across the grain, into long thin pieces that fit on a grill or in a ridged grill pan (see Notes for different names and cuts of meat)
  • 3 assorted colored bell peppers sliced thin
  • 1 large Red onion sliced thin
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
  • 12 flour tortillas warmed, 7-8 inch
All the “Fixings”
  • Yellow Rice
  • Guacamole
  • Salsa Verde and/or Pico del Gallo
  • Refried Beans or Spicy Black Beans
  • sour cream
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Instructions
Marinade Beef & Vegetables
  1. Slice bell peppers and onion, place to side.
  2. In a blender add garlic, salt, Cajun seasoning, lime juice, scallions, oil, sugar and puree.
  3. Pour puree into a large, heavy-duty freezer zip-lock bag. Seal and shake to combine.
  4. Place sliced skirt steak, bell peppers, onion, and cilantro into the bag, squeeze out the air, turn as needed to coat the meat, distributing vegetables evenly.
  5. Refrigerate at least two hours or overnight to allow marinade to do its thing.
To Prep & Cook:
  1. Prepare yellow rice and refried beans in advance. If necessary, re-heat in microwave when ready to serve.
  2. Prepare guacamole, pico del gallo, salsa verde in advance and refrigerate till ready to serve.
  3. Preheat grill to high heat.
  4. While grill is heating, remove skirt steak from marinade to a platter, shaking off liquid. Reserving marinade and vegetables, transferring them to a bowl.
  5. Preheat a heavy skillet to the smoking point. Add vegetables and cilantro with just enough marinade to quickly stir-fry over high heat until slightly charred and softened, but not mushy. Set aside and keep warm.
  6. Grill skirt steak slices over high heat quickly until rare to medium rare, 1-2 minutes per side. Serve immediately with warm tortillas, seared pepper vegetable mix, guacamole, salsa, and sour cream.
  7. When putting together your fajita, many like to 1st spread refried beans, sour cream and rice on tortilla, place meat strips with grilled vegetables, guacamole, salsa on top; and fold as a taco, enchilada or burrito. Regardless, whatever works for you is always the best ?
Recipe Notes

Advanced Preparation:

  • Except for the guacamole, all the “Fixing” can be done in advance and  refrigerated up to a week before serving.
  • The Beef and Vegetables should marinates overnight. When ready, you can transfer the meat, vegetables and marinade to separate containers and refrigerate for up to 3 days before using.

Tips, Notes, an Variations:

Preparation Notes:

  • If you like your meat spicy, add 1 minced serrano chile to the marinade.
  • While I like yellow rice, substitute mexican or spanish rice if that’s your preference. About the only rice I wouldn’t recommend is white.
  • If you don’t like refried beans, Spicy Black Beans is a good substitute though I’d probably add rather than spread on the tortilla ?

Cooking Notes:

  • If you don’t have a grill, use a cast iron skillet or grill pan on the stove-top. It’s important the pan be very hot before quickly searing the meat. An overhead exhaust fan is highly recommended for indoor stove-top grilling.

Substitution Notes:

  • Fajitas may also be made with chicken breast or pork tenderloin steaks.
  • Skirt steak isn’t the only cut that works well for fajitas. Other cuts in the same lower areas of the cow referred to as the “Plate”section work well too. The steaks go by many name so here’s some info to help.

What steaks make up the “Plate & Flank” section:

  • Skirt Steak, Fajita Meat, Inside Skirt Steak, Outside Skirt Steak, Philadelphia Steak
  • Hanger Steak, Hanging Tenderloin, Butcher’s Steak, Hanging TenderCow with Skirt cuts of meatSkirt Steak:

Skirt steak is a thin, fibrous cut separating the chest from the abdomen.
Alternative names for skirt steak:

  • Fajita Meat
  • Outside Skirt Steak
  • Inside Skirt Steak
  • Philadelphia Steak

If you can’t find Skirt steak at your butcher (best to just ask), then Flank steaks are a great substitute.FYI, Skirt steaks have much more marbling than flank steaks and as a result, they are more juicy.

Flank Steak:
Flank steak is located on the underside of the animal below the loin. Flank steaks are very lean and full of flavor.
Alternative names for flank steak:

  • London Broil
  • Jiffy Steak
  • Flank Steak Fillet

FYI, Ground Beef is often produced from flank scraps. (In order to be labeled ground beef, the product must be at least 70% lean.)

flank skirt steakFinally, if Skirt and Flank steaks aren’t available, a Hanger steak will do very nicely. In fact, a lot of high end  restaurants offer “hanger” fajitas at over inflated prices.

Hanger Steak:

Hanger steak gets its name from the fact it “hangs” down between the tenderloin and the rib. Hanger steak resembles flank steak in texture and flavor.

Hanger steak is usually the tenderest cut, best marinated and cooked quickly over high heat (grilled or broiled), served rare or medium rare, to avoid toughness.

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