Barbecue Beef Recipes
Recipe for Chili-Rubbed Skirt Steak
Skirt steak is a long, flat piece of beef cut from the belly of the cow from an area between the brisket (behind the front legs) and the flank steak (in front of the back legs) known as the plate. Essentially, it’s the diaphragm muscle. Its primary claim to fame is its role in the ever popular beef fajitas. Skirt steak is a flavorful cut of mean and is streaked with fat making for a juicy steak on its own. Since it is one of the less tender cuts, skirt steak is usually marinated or pounded before cooking (as with fajitas). In this recipe however we’ll use a simple rub to spice things up and then serve the meat medium rare to make up for our lack of marinade.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. skirt steak
- Texas Chili Rub (or your own favorite spicy rub)
Directions
Start with a your skirt steak, which you can cut in half (or more) for ease of grilling if necessary. Sprinkle liberally with the rub, using your hands to work it into the meat. Cover both sides of the meat with the rub, then drizzle with some olive oil. Light your coals or turn on the grill to high and allow the meat to set at room temperature for 10-15 minutes while the grill gets hot.
Grill 8-10 minutes or so on high heat, with the grill cover down, turning once. We’re shooting for medium rare here, we don’t want to over cook the steak or it will tend to get tough and stringy on us. Most skirt steaks are much thicker at one end than the other, so fold the thin end over on itself to help even things up and prevent over cooking. Pin it with a nail if it won’t cooperate.
Let the meat rest for 5 or 6 minutes after taking it off the grill, then slice thin, across the grain. This shortens the fibers you have to chew through, and gives you a more tender cut. Thin, small cuts will also help. If desired, top with Spicy Cilantro Salsa.
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Selecting the perfect steak for the grill
If you’re unfamiliar with the various cuts of steak available for your grilling pleasure, you’ll find this article invaluable. It gives a good overview of the different cuts, from Sirloin to Porterhouse. I also found this interesting statistic:
In 2004, Americans consumed a staggering 27.6 billion pounds of beef in 2004. No doubt, the July 4th Holiday was a big day for that consumption. According to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, the 4th of July is only surpassed by Memorial Day as the day with the highest number of beef sales annually.
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Recipe for Mini Man Burgers
Alton Brown brings us a great recipe for Mini Man Burgers, which is his version of the slider — little two-bite cheeseburgers like the kind you get at White Castle. I’ve made these for several big cookouts, and they’ve always turn out to be big crowd pleasers. People can eat a little or a lot, so these things can be little party appetizers or a full meal. I have found that potato rolls make good buns for these guys. Here’s a few similar recipes for comparison, some adding onions, cheese, and other extras:
- White Castle Chesseburgers (a close knockoff anyhow)
- A recipe for Mini Hamburgers that includes sage
- Another White Castle knockoff, this one has baby food in it, so I can’t endorse it
- A pan-fried version that uses english muffins
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