Friday, July 12, 2013

Marinated Grilled Skirt Steak

Skirt steak is one of my favorite cuts of beef. I enjoy a good prime rib or ribeye, but skirt steak is so great for marinating and grilling. Cut against the grain, it's perfectly tender, too.

The one teeny mistake I made with this steak was that I marinated it without cutting it first. Which could have been okay, except that once I got it on the grill, I realized that if I wanted even cooking I was going to have to cut it into sections. So I ended up whacking it into four pieces after it was on the grill.

The aji panca chili paste is a dark red paste that I bought in a small jar. I thought it needed a bit of sweetness and tartness, and the first thing I thought of was the black cherry balsamic vinegar that I bought recently. It was the perfect balance for the chili paste, and the hint of fruitiness it added to the steak was just about perfect.

Marinated Grilled Skirt Steak

1 skirt steak
1/4 cup aji panca chili paste
2 tablespoons black cherry balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

Put everything into a zip-top plastic bag and massage it around to coat the steak with the marinade. Set aside for an hour, if you have the time. Or, refrigerate for a couple hours.

Heat your grill (or, you can use a grill pan) an cook the steak on both sides on high heat to get grill marks. This cooks quickly since it's so thin, so watch it carefully, and don't overcook.

Let the steak rest for 10 minutes before slicing against the grain to serve.
Yum