Skirt steak is such an under utilized protein. It’s such a great cut of meat. Skirt steak has some beautiful marbling but isn’t as rich as many other steak cuts. It is a little tougher than some other steaks so it’s best when marinated. Don’t discriminate against a piece of meat because it needs the smallest amount of work! I get it, it’s not as easy as a strip steak, but that’s no reason to write it off completely. Sadly, our local grocery doesn’t carry it, requiring a trip to a friendly butcher or a Latin market. Thankfully, when prepared well, it can be a delicious cut at a lower price point.

We here at ONK can’t say we are happy about the rising popularity of skirt steak in our area. Cuts that some butchers were nearly giving away have gone up to nearly seven dollars a pound, including skirt steak. Fear not, I have a recipe that allows me to stretch a pound of skirt steak into 8-10 servings.

A word about tacos: Tacos should not look like Taco Bell’s tacos. What Taco Bell serves can be best described as (excuse my French) chingadera. Real tacos are beautiful, Mexican street food full of fresh grilled meat, cilantro, onions and covered in lime juice. Add in some veggies and you step off the street into a gourmet experience. I got the inspiration for my carne asada taco fixings from an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown where he toured Tijuana, Mexico. Since I started adding in the veggies I can hardly think of a taco that isn’t full of cabbage, carrots, radishes, onion, and cilantro. Best of all ComputerNerd piles the veggies on his tacos, making it easier to sneak another healthy meal into our repertoire.

Carne Asada:

• 1 pound, skirt steak
• juice of 4 limes
• juice of 2 lemons
• juice of 2 oranges
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 2 hot peppers, with seeds, sliced (I usually use jalapeños or aji amarillos)
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 Tablespoon adobo

Mix all ingredients except the skirt steak in a large nonreactive bowl. Submerge your skirt steak and allow to marinate at least four hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.

Take the steaks out of the marinade and let the excess drip off. Coat your cooking surface in olive oil. Cook the steak over medium high heat or on a grill set close to the coals, about 4 minutes a side, or longer if you don’t like your steak to still be mooing.

After the steak comes off the heat, allow it to rest for 5 minutes. Then slice perpendicular to the grain into thin (about 1/3 inch) strips. Now you are ready to assemble your tacos. What should you put in these tacos? Well I thought you’d never ask!

Taco Toppings:

• Chopped white onion
• Chopped cilantro
• Matchstick carrots
• Matchstick radish
• Cotija cheese crumbles
• Lime juice, fresh squeezed

We also put a tomato and hot pepper based sauce we buy from our local Mexican market. If you don’t have a local Mexican market, there are some fairly decent hot sauces for tacos you can find in your grocer’s Hispanic food section. Now go eat a real taco that won’t leave you praying for death the next morning.