Grilled Skirt Steak Tacos with Roasted Poblano Rajas

Grilled Skirt Steak Tacos with Roasted Poblano RajasGrilled Skirt Steak Tacos with Roasted Poblano Rajas
Adapted from Rick Bayless
Mexico One Plate At A Time

Makes 12 tacos | Serves 4 as a light meal

Ingredients
2 medium white onions, sliced into 1 h-inch rounds (keep the rounds intact for easy grilling)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
3 tablespoons fresh time juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt
1 pound beef skirt steak, trimmed of surface fat as well as the thin white membrane called “silverskin”
3 medium (about 9 ounces total) fresh poblano chiles
Vegetable or olive oil for brushing or spritzing the onions and meat
A small bowl full of lime wedges for serving
12 warm, fresh corn tortillas  

Directions
Make the Marinade
In a food processor or blender. combine one quarter of the onions, garlic, lime juice, cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Process to a smooth puree.

Place the skirt steak in a nonaluminum baking dish. Using a spoon, smear the marinade over both sides of the skirt steak. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.

Make the Grilled Chile and Onion Rajas
Tum on the oven to its lowest setting.

Heat a gas grill to medium·high or light a charcoal fire and let it burn just until the coals are covered with gray ash and very hot. Either tum the burner(s) in the center of the grill to medium·low or bank the coals to the sides of the grill for indirect cooking. Set the cooking grate in place, cover the grill and let the grate heat up, 5 minutes or so.

Lay the chiles on the hottest part of the grill, and cook, turning occasionally until the skin is blistered and uniformly blackened all over, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to char the flesh, only the skin.

Remove the chiles from the grill and cover with a kitchen towel. While the chiles are roasting, brush or spray the remaining onion slices with oil and lay the whole rounds of onions on the grill in a cooler spot than you chose for the chiles. When they’re starting to soften and are browned on the first side, about 10 minutes, use a spatula to flip them and brown the other side. Transfer to an ovenproof serving dish and separate the rings (if they haven’t started separating during grilling).

Rub the blackened skin off the chiles, then pull out the stems and seed pods. Rinse briefly to remove any stray seeds and bits of skin.

Slice into 1/4-inch strips and stir into the onions. Taste the mixture and season it with salt, usually about 1/4 teaspoon. Keep warm in the oven.

Grilling the Meat
Remove the steak from the marinade and gently shake off the excess. Oil the steak well on both sides and lay it over the hottest part of the grill. Grill, turning once, until richly browned and done to your liking, about 1-1/2 to 2 minutes per side for medium-rare (the way I like skirt steak).

Serving the Tacos
Cut the long piece of skirt steak into 3- to 4-inch lengths, then cut each section across the grain (that is, in line with the full length of the steak) into thin strips. Mix with the chiles and onions, season with a little salt and set on the table along with the lime wedges and hot tortillas, for your guests to make into soft tacos.

Working Ahead
Thin steaks like skirt taste best with a relatively short tour in the Marinade – l to 8 hours. Leave them longer, and the marinade overpowers the flavor and saps the rosy color of the meat. The poblano-and-onion rajas can be made several hours ahead and left at room temperature; rewarm before serving. The steak, of course, must be grilled just before you’re ready to eat.

Comments are closed.