Preparation:
Use beef skirt steaks. Yyou may have to ask the butcher for these outside the southwest, they are inexpensive and readily available in areas of the country such as Texas) [note that you can use flank steak or tri-tip sirloin but it just doesn't taste the same.]
Flour tortillas
For the meat marinade:
Olive or other vegetable oil as preferred and about an equal amount of fresh lime juice (or a combination lime juice and white vinegar), salt, pepper to taste, minced garlic or garlic powder
Accompaniments:
salsa, raw sliced onions, shredded mild cheese, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, sour cream, etc.
First, marinate the skirt steaks in the oil/lime juice mixture as described above. Overnight in the refrigerator works well using a ziploc bag. The amount of marinade depends on the amount of meat. [The lime juice imparts an incredibly sweet and fresh taste to the meat, you will love the effect.]
Prepare your accompaniments and have them ready for guests to use according to their own preferences. Some people fry onions (instead of using them raw) and others cook some green pepper as accompaniments. I personally think that this detracts from a simple fresh taste, but hey this is food, not medicine...
Grill the fajitas outside (over wood charcoal if you can get it)--over a medium hot fire this will require about 10 minutes a side. After grilling, allow the skirt steaks to sit for a couple of minutes, then slice across the grain in relatively thin slices.
Warm the flour tortillas slightly (microwave will do nicely if you aren't a purist).
Allow people to assemble the fajitas themselves: slices of meat rolled in the tortillas together with accompaniments of their choice. You may also want to have some hot pepper sauce and cilantro also at the ready.
This is a "can't lose" company dish, the meat when re-heated tastes good as leftovers as we |
