Before delving into this tasty mouthful of explosive, tender beefiness, let's chat about,
What exactly is a skirt steak?
The skirt steak often gets confused with a flank steak. Skirt steaks are actually the diaphragm muscle, situated just below the ribs on the cow. The outside skirt steak is below the rib and between the brisket and flank. It usually comes with the membrane still attached and needs to be trimmed before you cook it so you don't end up with a mouthful of eternal chew. (Use a sharp knife to cut and pull this membrane off.) When you think outer skirt, think fajitas.
The inside skirt comes from the flank and it's a bit thinner and often you will purchase it with the membrane already removed by your butcher. (This is the cut that you'll more commonly find at your grocery store.)
Skirt steak can be a tricky beast to wrangle. Because it's thin and long, it cooks quickly. But it's also a steak that loves itself some heat. Hence why it's a delicate and quick dance on the Traeger to get the high heat sear while still keeping the middle nice and rosy. Whatever you do, do not sacrifice the doneness of the inside in order to get that dark crust on the outside. It's just not worth it.
As long as you give it a little rest and slice it against the grain (per usual) this will be the steak that keeps on giving gifts of intense and incredible flavor and beefitude - especially after you finish it with a sexy, spicy grilled peach salsa.
SKIRT STEAK WITH GRILLED PEACH SALSA
PREP TIME: 30 minutes to overnight
COOK TIME: 4 minutes, plus about 10 minutes to grill the peaches
RECOMMENDED PELLETS: Any
SERVES: 4 to 6
INGREDIENTS
Peach Salsa:
4 to 6 ripe peaches
2 roma or plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1-2 jalapeños, finely minced (some jalapenos are hotter than others so add in half a jalapeno and taste and go from there)
¼ cup yellow or red bell pepper, diced
¼ cup red onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced
¼ teaspoon ancho chili powder or other chili powder
1 tablespoon honey
Salt and pepper to taste
Skirt Steak:
2 skirt steaks (about 2 lbs total)
Onion powder
Sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
Olive oil
Sherry vinegar
PREPARATION
Dust the steaks with onion powder, sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper and drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkling of sherry vinegar - on both sides. Let the meat marinade for 30 minutes up to a day.
You can also make the peach salsa a day in advance, but make sure it has at least 10 to 15 minutes to sit to allow the flavors to meld.
Start the Traeger on Smoke with the lid open for about 5 minutes or until the fire is established. Preheat to High, lid closed, for 10 to 15 minutes.
Cut the peaches into halves or quarters, remove the pits and put them cut-side down on the grill grate. Let them grill for a couple minutes per side or until they start to caramelize.
Remove the peaches. Let them cool and then dice them and toss them together with all of the salsa ingredients, adding salt and more honey to taste. (If you want more heat, add in a few pinches of cayenne pepper or more jalapenos.)
Let the salsa sit and get started on cooking the skirt steaks. Place them directly on the grill grate and cook for about 2 minutes per side, or until they're done to your liking. Beware! Because these steaks are so thin, they cook very quickly.
When finished cooking, remove the steaks from the Traeger and wrap them with aluminum foil and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Remove meat from foil, reserving foil and juices. Slice thinly across the grain of the meat. Pour the juices back over top of the skirt steak and serve with the grilled peach salsa.
PRINTABLE RECIPE: