Fork and Gobble It: Summer Skirts

Everyone has defaults. No, not faults, but defaults, like things that you always go to when you can't decide on something different. When it comes to grilling beef and I don't have an inspiration to do something different, I know I can always score a home run with skirt steaks. Also known as Romanian Steak, skirts come from the diaphragm of the cow. Years ago they were considered an economy cut, not in the same class as the venerable filet mignon, NY strip steak, or ribeye. Then chefs began to discover their flavor, versatility, and low cost. Of course once something like this starts to come into demand, the price goes up. While still a very good value, they are somewhat more costly than they used to be.

My other default is the marinade. It is the same one I used last week on the shrimp and it is versatile and always tasty. Freshly grated ginger root, (I keep it in the freezer and grate it on a box grater. It eliminates the need to peel it.) Hoy Fong chili/garlic paste, fresh squeezed lime juice, soy sauce, extra virgin olive oil, all combined in just about equal proportions, and the beef, marinate together for anywhere from an hour to 8 hours. The chili/garlic paste and soy sauce have enough salt, so no additional is required.




The combination is a natural for so many of the foods I grill or saute. Spicy, salty, citrusy, flavors mingle with smoke (I grill the beef over mesquite) and give a nice char to the steaks.

This was for a very casual summer Sunday dinner. Again, Jersey sweet corn was the order of the day for an accompaniment along with various fresh chile peppers and onions that were also grilled.




I had prepared a tomatillo salsa earlier that day. Another simple recipe that has become the default for this summer, it is easy to prepare.

-4 large tomatillos, husks removed and washed
-2 large cloves of garlic peeled
-1 or 2 jalapeno chilies (how spicy do you want it?)

Toss the above with a little olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt. Grill or roast the vegetables until charred all over, but only brown the garlic. Remove them from the grill or oven and set aside to cool.

When cooled pulse everything together in a blender until pureed but not super smooth.

Now add:
-1 small ripe avocado diced
-2 small ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
-A healthy pinch of cilantro leaves coarsely chopped
Adjust the salt if necessary.

This is a great appetizer served with the tortilla chips of your choice and then it works as an awesome condiment for the steaks.

The wine of choice for this meal was a Malbec. The beef and sides reminded me of my trip to Argentina two years ago and how well Malbec works with these foods. One of my favorite producers in Mendoza is Achaval-Ferrer. While they are known for their single vineyard Malbecs, their entry level wine the Achaval-Ferrer Malbec Mendoza 2010, is an unprententious, complex, and very elegant wine, which retails for under $20.00.

While consuming leftovers later last week, I was so impressed by the way all these flavors harmonized together that I couldn't wait to do it again... as if by default, of course!