Let's Talk BBQ
Recipes => Recipes => Beef Recipes => Topic started by: Pappymn on March 30, 2013, 01:21:23 PM
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This was posted in the weekend edition of the best newspaper on the planet, the Wall Street Journal. Thought it looked really good. Haven't made it, but thought I would share. And we all know we would be grilling this. ;)
Skirt Steak Is the Kindest Cut
Flavorful, inexpensive, easy to prepare: No wonder butchers have been keeping it to themselves
LONG OVERSHADOWED by big-ticket filet mignon and larger-than-life Porterhouse, humble skirt steak hasn't always gotten the respect it deserves. But that's changing, thanks in no small part to proselytizing by influential chefs like Elizabeth Karmel. "The great thing about skirt steak," said Ms. Karmel, "is that it will never disappoint you." Ms. Karmel is not just a skirt steak-enthusiast, she's also a celebrated cookbook author, the founder of the Girls at the Grill website and the executive chef at New York's Hill Country restaurants. In other words, she knows her beef.
Ms. Karmel recently organized a blind taste-test for friends that included rib eye, New York strip and skirt steak, all cooked with nothing but salt and pepper. The skirt steak won, "much to their, but not my, surprise," Ms. Karmel said. The cut's appeal has much to do with its rich, beefy flavor and even more to do with how easy it is to prepare. A long, flat muscle from the rib plate, skirt steak presents itself in a beautifully compact form without any excess fat or bones to deal with. It's quick to cook, and a cinch to cook well.
"The butchers of the world are upset," Ms. Karmel joked, noting that before demand for skirt steak spiked, they used to take it home for their families. These days, it's all they can do keep up with orders. Sara Bigelow, who butchers at the Meat Hook in Brooklyn, N.Y., says that her skirt steaks "generally have sold out by the weekend."
Ms. Karmel, whose personal motto is "If you can eat it, you can grill it," naturally recommends grilling the cut. For the many urban dwellers who have no outdoor space to grill in, she has come up with an ingenious indoor method (recipe below). She first sears the steak in a very hot pan, then perches it on a rack set on a baking sheet and pops it into a hot oven to finish cooking. Elevating the meat so that the heat can circulate around it mimics the effect of an outdoor grill; the result is evenly, perfectly cooked steak. The key finishing touch, both Ms. Karmel and Ms. Bigelow note, is to slice the skirt steak against the grain. By severing the long muscle fibers in this way, you guarantee tenderness.
To turn skirt steak into a meal, Ms. Karmel suggests serving it with a warm coleslaw. Hers has an addictive hot bacon dressing that would be delicious on just about anything.
Indoor-Grilled Skirt Steak With Wilted Bacon Slaw
Total Time: 20 minutes Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
For the steak:
2 pounds skirt steak, membrane trimmed and discarded
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse salt
For the slaw:
1 small green cabbage (about 1½ pounds)
2 bunches scallions, white and light- green parts only, thinly sliced
½ pound thick-cut bacon, diced
2 large shallots, finely diced
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup Sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons heavy cream
What To Do
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Set a grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush steak with oil and sprinkle salt evenly on both sides of meat. Place steak on grill pan and cook until just seared on both sides, about a minute per side. You will know it's ready to turn when the meat no longer sticks to the pan.
2. Transfer steak to a baking rack set on a baking sheet. Place in oven and cook until steak reaches desired doneness, 3-4 minutes for medium-rare.
3.Transfer steak to a cutting board and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.
4. Meanwhile, finely chop or coarsely grate cabbage, discarding core. Place cabbage in a large bowl with scallions and stir to combine.
5. Place bacon in a heavy skillet over medium heat and cook until crisp, 3-4 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate.
6. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of bacon fat from pan and add shallots. Cook until soft, 2-3 minutes. Whisk in oil, vinegar and sugar, then turn off heat. Whisk in white pepper, salt, mustard and cream.
7. Pour warm dressing over cabbage and scallions and stir to combine. Stir in reserved bacon.
8. Slice steak against the grain and serve with warm slaw.
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Great info and Warm Bacon Slaw I gotta try.
Thanks for posting.
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Pappy treat yourself to a tall beer for typing all that out ;)
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Warm Bacon Slaw? Now that caught my attention! 8)