Alright, I bought some skirt steak for the first time on sale and cooked half of it already. I just salted/peppered it, then cooked in a skillet, and added some korean bbq style sauce at the end. The steak came out a bit tough. Not sure if it's because I overcooked it to about 140-150 in the thin parts and 135-145 in the thick parts, or because of the cut of beef it is.

I have the other half marinating in some random thing I made with soy sauce, garlic powder, pepper, vinegar, paprika, olive oil, and a little BBQ sauce.

My question is, should I do a slow cook in a slow cooker? Or should I do an oven broil over some vegetables? Or what would you recommend to get something more tender? It's just not something I've ever played with before.

No expert here, but I do skirt steak for fajitas. I use a blade tenderizer (could probably just stab it a lot with a knife against the grain, or score it), marinade in something that breaks it down (I do the Pappasitios pineapple juice, soy sauce, garlic, glug of teriyaki ), dry, then sear hot and fast on grill to medium rare.

Read your post more closely. Future reference anything citrus will tenderize. With what you have, go all Michael Myers and make a lot of knife cuts across the grain, when ready to cook, I would do a grill or a flaming hot cast iron and sear it fast. Cut against the grain obviously.

I see the Pappasitos marinade as pineapple, soy sauce and water. It's good but not quite exact. Are teriyaki and garlic what is missing? It's not in the other thread from what i remember.

If so, what are your ratios? Thanks.

I use the serious eats marinade, minus the brown sugar. I also use outside skirt. Always turns out great.

https://www.seriouseats.com/grilled-skirt-steak-fajitas-food-lab-recipe

+1 for the serious eats recipe, but with the brown sugar

A marinade with fresh pineapple juice, not canned, will really tenderize the meat due to the enzymes present. Just don't marinate for a very long time since skirt steak is so thin it can get mushy quicker than you think. 4 hours max with fresh pineapple but even a couple of hours should work just fine.

Would that impart too much sweetness though? I know my mom used to grind up raw papaya and use that for shish kababs from tougher cuts.

Was reading online that soy sauce has some natural peptidases too, plus the vinegar(or lime juice) can help tenderize a bit as well due to the pH - essentially starting a chemical cooking reaction. I bought some regular powdered meat tenderizer. Will give that a sprinkle 20 minutes before I start cooking. Maybe will cut it in half and do half with tenderizer and half just with my marinade.

The last one I made, I did cut against the grain, but perhaps I didn't cut narrow enough slices..

This package at Costco makes excellent fajitas. Only thing I add is Slap Your Mamma and you are good to go.

Cut against the grain for a tender bite.

bigtruckguy3500 said:

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Would that impart too much sweetness though? I know my mom used to grind up raw papaya and use that for shish kababs from tougher cuts.

Was reading online that soy sauce has some natural peptidases too, plus the vinegar(or lime juice) can help tenderize a bit as well due to the pH - essentially starting a chemical cooking reaction. I bought some regular powdered meat tenderizer. Will give that a sprinkle 20 minutes before I start cooking. Maybe will cut it in half and do half with tenderizer and half just with my marinade.

The last one I made, I did cut against the grain, but perhaps I didn't cut narrow enough slices..

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It doesn't. There's enough other seasonings in the marinade to balance it all out.

RooAg said:

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I see the Pappasitos marinade as pineapple, soy sauce and water. It's good but not quite exact. Are teriyaki and garlic what is missing? It's not in the other thread from what i remember.

If so, what are your ratios? Thanks.

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A friend of mine was a Pappasitos manager out of College. He's told me it's just those 3 ingredients. The ratios or even the brand of Soy could be the variables

Thanks. Sometimes it just seems a little too much soy at the 3:2:1 pineapple:soy:water ratio.

RooAg said:

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Thanks. Sometimes it just seems a little too much soy at the 3:2:1 pineapple:soy:water ratio.

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I began with the 3:2:1 ratio, but have now gone with a 3:1:1 and like it much better. After marinade, I also season with Fiesta Brand Southwest Fajita seasoning and think they are outstanding.

Thanks. I'll give it a try.

My BF makes an amazing skirt steak that he marinates in what I think is a mixture of Worcestershire sauce, brown mustard, and garlic (he may even use kind that comes in a jar). He lets that sit in the fridge for at least overnight before grilling it.

He says he doesn't know where he got the "recipe", but if you google these ingredients, you can find some variations. I really don't think it matters all that much, though. As long as the steak is coated, it will have a good flavor.

Aside from the occasional filet mignon, I'm really not a huge steak fan, but this is really good.

I like to add a little Claude's fajita marinade to my mix. A little goes a long way. I also like beer instead of water. I only use outside skirt for this style. If I'm forced to deal with inside skirt, I'm going with red fajitas

I have the opposite take of TXT. I'm only going to marinate them for about 1.5-2 hours. I think Papasitos are great because they still retain steak flavor. Marinating them too long may be why you are getting too much Soy flavor

Gracias. (That's fajita talk for thank you.)

Marinating overnight def gives them a distinct Worcestershire flavor, but I really like it that way. You could prob marinate less, to your preference. Worcestershire sauce is an underrated condiment, IMO.

Bruce Almighty said:

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Skirt steak bought in grocery stores suck as you are most likely getting the inside skirt instead of the much higher quality outside skirt. Unless is specifies outside, you are getting the inside. Marinades help, cook at extremely high temperatures and make sure and cut against the grain. Skirt is the one cut I alway cook on a grill.

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This. I go online HEB.com and find the outside skirt steak. Only a few in SA had it. Huge difference

Never heard of inside and outside skirt steak.

Apparently outside is the diaphragm and inside is the transverse abdominus muscle.

Big difference between an Outside and an Inside skirt. Outsides are hard to find and quite pricey. Personally, I'd opt for Choice Bottom Sirloin Flap.

And this should be in every kitchen….

Jaccard meat tenderizer

Yup, i use the jaccard on lots of cuts, they are cheap, and they are very effective. No way would I go back to a powdered tenderizer again.

I get Outside Skirt steak from Wild Fork and it is amazing. Toss on some Fiesta seasoning and darn good fajitas.

Oil, lime juice, mayo, cumin

Did I catch a mayo in there?

Yessir. Just a few squirts. Great emulsifier and binder. Cooks off and adds a bit of fatty flavor.

I am a dedicated homemade Pappasitos fajita guy and could never get good skirt steak so I've always done flank.

I do the Pappasitos as well for about 12 hrs. Seems fine to me. I also add black pepper. Definitely outside over inside. Hot grill and don't cook past medium. I'm not really a blackstone guy but did cook them once on the blackstone and they were great. Cut thin across the grain. I then go a step further and cube the slices for my kids just to eliminate the possibility of not being able to bite through a tough piece. Every now and then Costco will have a package of choice outside skirts for a reasonable price. Very good. Not the pre-marinated.