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This Memorial Day, stay in, grill out and learn to love skirt steak

By America's Test Kitchen, Tribune Content Agency on

3. Bring the marinade to boil over high heat and boil for 30 seconds. Transfer to a bowl and stir in lime zest, orange zest, the remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice and remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Set aside sauce.

4A. FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: About 25 minutes before grilling, open the bottom vent completely. Light a large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When the top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open the lid vent completely. Heat the grill until hot, about 5 minutes.

4B. FOR A GAS GRILL: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat the grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn off one burner (if using a grill with more than two burners, turn off the burner farthest from primary burner) and leave other burner(s) on high.

5. Clean and oil the cooking grate. Cook steaks on hotter side of grill until well browned and the meat registers 130 to 135 F (for medium), 2 to 4 minutes per side. (Move the steaks to cooler side of grill before taking temperature to prevent them from overcooking.) Transfer steaks to a cutting board, tent with aluminum foil, and let them rest for 10 minutes. Cut the steaks on bias against grain into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices on serving platter, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of sauce and serve, passing extra sauce separately.

Notes: Skirt steaks come from two different muscles and are sometimes labeled as inside skirt steak or outside skirt steak. The more desirable outside skirt steak measures 3 to 4 inches wide and 1/2- to 1-inch thick.

 

Avoid the inside skirt steak, which typically measures 5 to 7 inches wide and 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick, as it is very chewy.

Skirt steak is most tender when cooked to medium (130 to 135 F). Thin steaks cook very quickly, so we recommend using an instant-read thermometer for a quick and accurate measurement.

(For 25 years, confident cooks in the know have relied on America's Test Kitchen for rigorously tested recipes developed by professional test cooks and vetted by 60,000 at-home recipe testers. See more online at www.americastestkitchen.com/TCA.)


 

 

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