Grilled skirt steak may just be my favorite way to eat beef. Marinated, grilled hot and fast, sliced across the grain, skirt steak arrachera tacos are a legit contender for my last meal.
Before you start scratching your head wondering why I am writing a beef post on Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, know that I am not using beef: I am using elk skirt steak.
Whaaaa?! You betcha. You can get an amazing skirt steak off an elk, moose, big deer, bison, even bighorn sheep! Obviously beef is the easiest to get if you are not a hunter. All will cook about the same.
A skirt steak, called arrachera in Spanish, is a long strip of meat that comes off the inside of the ribs, just in front of the paunch. It’s part of the animal’s diaphragm, and as such is tough when cut with the grain. Because animals breathe constantly (obviously), this is a heavily used muscle, which means this is an incredibly flavorful cut of meat.
My history with skirt steak goes all the way back to college. My girlfriend at the time, De Dee, was (and is) a picky eater. But she loves skirt steak, so we had grilled skirt steak often at her parent’s house. I immediately understood why Dee liked it so much: It’s beefier tasting than any other cut of the animal, save perhaps the cheek.
I also love the combination of tenderness and chewiness you get from slices of skirt steak cut across the grain. This is key: Cut with the grain and skirt steak gets stringy.
There are really only two ways to cook this cut: On a screaming hot griddle, or over a screaming hot grill. Why so hot? Because skirt steak is thin. It’s one of the few steaks that you don’t bring to room temperature before cooking.
Skirt steak is also one of the few steaks that really benefits from marinating, again because it’s so thin. (Read here for more on venison marinades.)
Since arrachera is a long, thin cut of meat, you will want to cut it into lengths you can work with; I like them about a foot long. There is also quite a bit of membrane over the meat. It needs to go before you grill.
My advice? When you are butchering your elk or whatever, leave the membrane on if you’re freezing it. Then, when you thaw your skirt steak, the membrane will peel off easily. It sticks annoyingly with fresh meat.
No matter how I cook skirt steak, I like it marinated. In this case, I went with a Baja-style arrachera marinade I found in a Spanish language cookbook. Interestingly, you see a ton of grilled skirt steak recipes in Mexico that use soy sauce in the marinade.
Hard to say for certain where this comes from, but Mexico’s Pacific coast has a centuries-long relationship with China and the Philippines, dating back to the Spanish galleon trade of the 1500s. Wherever it’s origin, this is a damn good marinade for anything; Holly pointed out that it’s reminiscent of Korean bulgogi.
When you make these tacos, keep them minimalist. The meat tastes so good you want to highlight it. A little cilantro, a bit of cheese, that’s it.
I went with homemade flour tortillas because this is a recipe from Mexicali, a border town where flour tortillas are common. Corn tortillas are every bit as good.
Marinated Grilled Skirt Steak
Ingredients
MARINADE
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup lager beer (I used Modelo)
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cayenne
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
SKIRT STEAK
- 1 1/2 pounds skirt steak, membranes removed
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Queso fresco, for the tacos
- Cilantro, for garnish
- 12 flour or corn tortillas
Instructions
- Mix all the marinade ingredients together and submerge the skirt steak in it, making sure every bit is coated with the marinade. Let this sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour, and up to 5 hours.
- When you are ready to grill, get your fire very hot. While this is happening, heat up your tortillas on a comal or heavy skillet; keep them warm in a tortilla warmer or wrapped in kitchen towels.
- Remove the steak from the marinade and pat the meat dry with paper towels. Make sure it's pretty dry. Rub oil all over the meat.
- Sear the skirt steak on the grill for only about 2 minutes per side, tops. Let it rest for a few minutes before slicing. My trick is to cut the skirt steak with the grain into sections, then slice across the grain to get thin, tender slices for your tacos. Serve the skirt steak with cilantro and a little cheese.
We made this for dinner last night. Used a pilsner instead of lager. It was absolutely delicious and we’ll make it again soon. Can’t imagine getting a deer big enough to take this cut off of but one can always hope 🙂
Hi Hank!
Would cuts of flank steak from large animals be interchangeable for skirt steak here? I would anticipate a flank steak being not quite so full-flavored as a skirt steak as it is not used as continuously as the skirt.
Ben: You are right, but flank steak is the next best thing to skirt. I interchange them a lot.
Hank,
Could I substitute round steak for this recipe? Had a miscommunication with my butcher on a half steer and ended up with more round steak than anyone really needs.
Kevin: It will be very different in flavor and texture, but it’ll work.
Hank,
Thanks for the recipe – sounds delicious!
Tad
Thanks for this recipe, I can’t wait to try it. We frequent a carniceria for costillas, short ribs. I always look at the other cuts and wonder how to cook the thin prepared meat. Now I have something to try.
Speaking of flour tortillas, didn’t you promise us a recipe a few months back?
Eric: I did. I still haven’t nailed it. Stay tuned.
I’ve been making Arrechettasfor ever it seems and have the butcher slice the flank steak super thin, taking a single piece of meat, patting it down and with a long blades knife slice it into two pieces with the grain. Then put through a tenderizer a few times, this helps with the marinade too! I then use Adobo, a Mexican seasoning salt that comes in numerous flavors but I prefer Bitter Orange when making Arrechettas. I season both sides generously with the bitter orange salt and place in an oven bag for roasting turkeys, the largest one they sell . Then I add the juice from about 10-15 limes including the rinds, and one or two Modelo beers to the meat in the bag and shake and squeeze the juice through the meat and let sit for about 2-3 hours. If you like a more Tangy flavor leave longer..even over night if you prefer. Then I grill over Mesquite lump charcoal, sear both sides , one piece at a time and then stack them on the cool side of the grill until there all seared then I put the entire pile back over the coals to char and braze up.. when done, I chop up and serve with queso and guacamole with either corn or flour!! Yum the Yummy!
I can see why you emphasise cutting across the grain it gives a much better eating experience rather than tackling dense cubes of what can be beautifully flavoured meat but the texture is spoiled. Thanks Hank