Lars’s Beef Fajitas

A Little Personal History:

When I lived in Houston, TX, whether at cook-off festivals or most any tex-mex restaurant, fajitas where standard fair. Besides being healthy, the preparation, seasonings, marinades, etc.used always made for a great meal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fajita

Description:

While this recipe uses the traditional beef skirt steak with a marinade that will transform even the toughest cuts of meat succulent and tender, you can easily substitute other meats, poultry, or seafood.

Ingredients:

• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon Lars’s Cajun Blast Seasoning
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 scallions, washed and cut in half
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 pounds skirt steak, trimmed and cut into large pieces to fit on a grill or in a ridged grill pan (see Notes)
• 3 assorted colored bell peppers, sliced thin
• 1 large red onion, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
• 12 (7- to 8-inch) flour tortillas, warmed
• Lars’s Yellow Rice
• Lars’s Guacamole
• Lars’s Salsa Verde and/or Lars’s Pico del Gallo
• sour cream

Procedure:

Marinade

1. In a blender, put garlic, salt, Cajun seasoning, lime juice, scallions, oil, sugar and puree.
2. Pour puree into a large, heavy-duty freezer zip-lock bag. Seal and shake to combine.
3. Place skirt steak, bell peppers, onion, and cilantro sprigs into the bag, squeeze out the air, and turn to coat the meat, distributing vegetables evenly. Refrigerate at least two hours or overnight to allow marinade to penetrate.

To Cook:

1. Prepare yellow rice in advance. If necessary, re-heat in microwave and serve as a side dish.
2. Preheat grill to high heat.
3. While grill is heating, remove skirt steak from marinade to a platter, shaking off liquid and reserving marinade and vegetables.
4. Preheat a heavy skillet to the smoking point. Drain vegetables and cilantro, and quickly stir-fry over high heat until slightly charred and softened, but not mushy. Set aside and keep warm.
5. Grill skirt steak over high heat quickly until medium rare, about 2 minutes per side. Slice meat against the grain into strips and serve immediately with warm tortillas, the seared pepper vegetable mix, guacamole, salsa, and sour cream.
6. To eat fajitas, diners traditionally place strips of meat with grilled vegetables, guacamole, salsa, rice and sour cream into the tortilla, and fold it up taco or burrito-style.

 Notes:

• Fajitas may also be made with chicken breast or pork tenderloin steaks. If you like your meat spicy, add 1 minced serrano chile to the marinade.
• If you don’t have a gas or charcoal grill, you may use a cast iron or heavy grill pan on the stove-top. It is important that the pan be very hot before quickly searing the meat. An overhead exhaust fan is mandatory for indoor stove-top grilling.

Advanced Preparation:

Tips, Notes, and Variations: