Fajitas are not traditional Mexican food – they’re a modern creation, a delicious modern creation.
Served sizzling hot, these dishes actually can be healthy (so long as you use a lean cut of beef).
Take a look below at a recipe we believe can lead to the perfect fajita.
Ingredients you’ll need (serves 4-6):
- A half cup of soy sauce.
- A half cup of lime juice (6 to 8 limes).
- A half cup of canola oil.
- One-quarter cup of brown sugar (packed).
- Two teaspoons of ground cumin seed.
- Two teaspoons of chili powder.
- Three medium cloves of garlic (about one tablespoon of the garlic, finely minced).
- Two pounds of trimmed skirt steak. Cut them crosswise into 5- or 6-inch strips.
- One each of large red, yellow and green bell pepper. (You’ll need to stem them, seed them and cut them into strips that are a half-inch wide.)
- One white (or yellow) onion. Cut it into half-inch slices.
- 12 to 16 flour or corn tortillas. Make sure they are hot.
- Guacamole (if desired).
- Pico de gallo (if desired).
- Shredded cheese, salsa and sour cream (if desired).
To make:
- Combine the lime juice, oil, soy sauce, sugar, black pepper, chili powder, garlic and cumin in a medium-sized bowl. Wisk to combine the ingredients.
- Transfer a half cup of this marinade into a larger bowl and set aside.
- Take the steaks and put them in a zipped-lock bag (one gallon size) and add the remainder of the marinade.
- Seal the bag (squeeze out as much air as possible) and massage the bag until all the meat is completely coated with the marinade.
- Lay the bag flat in the refrigerator and turn it every couple of hours. Do this for three to 10 hours.
- While the steak is marinating, toss the peppers and onions into the bowl with the remainder of the marinade. Place in refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.
- When you’re ready to cook the steaks, remove them from the marinade. Wipe off any excess marinade and place the steaks on a large plate.
- Light a charcoal fire and, when it’s covered by gray ash, pour it out and arrange the coals to the side of the charcoal grate.
- Set a cooking grate in place, cover the grill and allow it to heat up for five minutes.
- Clean and oil the grilling grate.
- Get a large cast-iron skillet and place it on the cooler side of the grill.
- Transfer the steaks to the grill’s hot side; and cover and cook for one minute.
- Flip the steaks and cook for another minute.
- Cook, flip and cover until all the steaks are charred well.
- Insert a thermometer (instant-read type) and make sure the steaks’ centers are 115 to 120 degrees F (if you want medium-rare steaks) or 125 to 130 degrees F (for medium).
- Transfer the steaks to a large plate.
- Cover (tent) with foil and leave them there for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Transfer the iron skilled to the grill’s hot side and let it preheat for two minutes.
- Add the onion and pepper mix and cook it, stirring occasionally. The vegetables should soften and begin to char in spots (takes about 10 minutes).
- Once the vegetables are cooked, transfer the steaks to a cutting board and pour any juice from the plate into the skillet with the vegetables. Toss the skillet to coat the vegetables with the juices.
- Move the vegetables to a warm platter.
- Slice the meat thinly and against the grain.
- Transfer to the vegetable platter.
- Serve immediately (the meat needs to be hot) with the hot tortillas. Add the guacamole, pico de gallo, condiments, etc., to preference.
Try making your own fajitas, then visit Mattito’s to see if we make a better one! Visit a Mattito’s near you today.
Image courtesy of KEKO64/FreeDigitalPhotos.net