Recipe: Tex-Mex beef fajitas

We’re deep into barbecue season, and with Independence Day on Monday, my birthday gift to America (and you, dear readers) will be this ethnic take on grilled meat.It also happens to be my pops’s birthday, and the man does love his beef, so I thought I’d honor him, too, by choosing a beef recipe (just like how I'd done a burger recipe when it was the hubs's birthday). My pops moved back to Vietnam after retirement, and whenever he’s asked what he misses most about America (and Texas in particular), he says the beef. Beef anything: steak, burger, barbecue, my Wellington.My pops also enjoys Mexican food, so today, to celebrate the births of both America and my pops, here’s a recipe for beef fajitas.First, allow me to get technical for a paragraph. The word “barbecue” denotes food cooked low and slow in a smoker, sometimes all day or all night. Wood is burned to create smoke, which indirectly cooks the meat, leaving a smoky, charred flavor and texture. We often use the word “barbecue” incorrectly, though, when referring to the grilling of food. Grilling, however, is the cooking of meat directly over fire, usually (and hopefully) outdoors. So in the U.S., when you throw some burger patties over an open flame on the back patio, you’re really grilling.. If you’re putting a rack of ribs or a whole pig inside a large device and fanning the smoke and controlling the embers to cook the meat, you’ve got yourself a true barbecue. Okay, that’s the end of my vocabulary lesson of the day.So while in fact this recipe is not a true barbecue recipe, it does use the grill, so you can serve it at your backyard barbecue. (The word can also be used to describe a gathering of people focused on grilled foods.) I don’t know how to make tortillas from scratch yet, so I usually purchase some from El Tiempo Market, a local family-run Mexican grocer. Heat some of those bad boys on a dry iron skillet to warm and char them up a bit, keep them wrapped in a towel to retain warmth, and they’re good to go. I also serve my fajitas with a variety of fixin’s: beans, rice, shredded cheese, guacamole, salsa, pico de gallo, and crema (think of it as Mexican sour cream). (Recipes for those will have to wait for another time.)If you don’t have the luxury of an outdoor grill, you can make these fajitas on an iron skillet on the stove; in fact, we cook them this way all the time at home. And since the hubs eats virtually no carbs on the weekdays, we’ll have these sans the tortillas and rice for a simplified weeknight dinner. The serving styles are many, but the marinade is the same—the possibilities are endless.Happy birthday, Dad, and happy Fourth of July to all of you!

Recipe: Tex-Mex Beef Fajitas

Notes: Grill or pan-cook on an iron skillet. Skirt steak cut is best for flavor (plus it’s inexpensive). Serve with tortillas, beans, rice, cheese, guacamole, pico de gallo, salsas, and Mexican crema or sour cream.

Ingredients

1. 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2. 1 lime, juiced, or 2 tbsp cider vinegar
3. 2 tbsp soy sauce
4. 1 tsp chili powder

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5. 1 tsp ground cumin

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6. 2 tbsp brown sugar

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7. 4 cloves garlic, minced

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8. 2 dashes hot sauce

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9. 1/2 c lager beer (optional)

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10. 2.5 lbs skirt steak

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11. 1 onion, thinly sliced

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12. 2 green bell peppers; cored, seeded & julienned
13. lime wedges for serving

Instructions

1. Marinate meat: In a medium bowl, stir together Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, soy sauce, chili powder, cumin, sugar, garlic, hot sauce, beer if using, and salt & pepper to taste; toss with steak, onion, and bell pepper to coat. Cover and chill for at least 2h.
2. Cook fajitas using grill: Preheat grill to high heat. Place iron skillet over high heat on grill, heat oil in skillet, and sauté onion and bell pepper until tender, approx 3m; remove skillet from heat. Oil grates and cook steak over high heat, covered, approx 1 to 3m per side, depending on thickness. Remove from heat and let rest 5m.
3. Cook fajitas using skillet: In an iron skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil and sauté onion and bell pepper until tender, approx 3m; remove from heat. Raise heat to high and sear steak 1 to 3m per side, depending on thickness. Remove from heat and let rest 5m.
4. Slice into strips and toss with onion and bell pepper. Serve with lime wedges.

Active time: 35m
Total time: 2h 40m
Yields: 4 servings