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Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Marinated Skirt Steak Southern Italian Style

Marinated Skirt Steak
The skirt steak is a pretty cheap steak because it is one of the tougher cuts of meat. Therefore it needs to be marinated and cooked very quickly or very slowly, this recipe is for the quick method. Skirt steaks have a very strong graining so for maximum tenderness, slice them across the grain. My marinade is made with left over olive oil dipping sauce and lemon making it "Southern Italian" in the sense that they tend to use lemons, olive oil, and garlic to make cheaper cuts of meat (and even vegetables for that matter) more flavorful.
Ingredients
Dipping olive Oil
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 skirt steak
kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
Dry off your beef and rub some salt and pepper into each side. add the zest and juice to the dipping olive oil mixture (you need atleast 1/2 cup but more is sure okay) and mix well. Lay the beef into the bottom of a roasting pan (broiler safe, not glass) and rub the dipping oil mixture all over both sides patting it in good. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours or over night. Bring to room temp before cooking.
Broil Method Preheat your oven to broil. Place the pan 2 to 4 inches from the heat source. Broil for 4-5 minutes, turn, and broil the other side five minutes for rare, allowing more time for medium. Keep your oven door slightly ajar to watch for oil splattering if it does, simply lower your rack and mop up any extra oil from the pan. Remove the pan and cover with foil, allow the steak to rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting across the grain into thin slices. Serve with some lemon wedges.
Pan Sear Method In a skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the steak and cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until medium-rare, 2-3 minutes each side, remove and cover with foil to rest for 5 minutes. Remember to cut across the grain.
Sauce Italian style would be served with just plain old lemon wedges, my favorite, but if you like a sauce it's simple: Add a tablespoon of butter to the skillet in which you cooked your steak or pour the roasting pan's juices into a skillet if it is not stove top safe (Check on the bottom of pan, Paula Dean's roasting pan is stove top safe) and cook over moderate heat, whisking, 30 seconds. Add some wine and simmer until the sauce has thickened, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, 30 seconds. Pour the sauce over the steaks and serve with lemon wedges.

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