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Tex-Mex beef fajitas
Lime-marinated skirt steak with sizzling peppers and onions
Fajitas started with the vaqueros of the Rio Grande Valley, who were paid partly in the tough skirt steak, and they became a Tex-Mex restaurant hit in Houston and Austin in the 1970s, carried to the table on a hissing iron platter. The steak is marinated in lime, garlic and cumin, seared very hot and sliced thinly against the grain, then wrapped in flour tortillas with charred peppers and onions. Chef's tip: slice across the grain; with skirt steak that one detail decides whether it is tender or chewy.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
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What you'll need
Fresh ingredients (4)
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Mix the 2 limes, half the 2 tbsp vegetable oil, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp chili powder and 1 ½ tsp salt. Coat the 1 ½ lb beef skirt steak, cover and marinate in the fridge for 1–4 hours.
60 minStep 2: Heat a cast-iron pan or griddle over a high heat until smoking. Pat the steak dry and sear 3–4 minutes a side for medium-rare, until well charred. Rest 10 minutes on a board.
18 minStep 3: Meanwhile add the rest of the 2 tbsp vegetable oil to the pan and fry the 1 onion and 3 mixed peppers over a high heat for 6 minutes, until charred at the edges but still crisp.
6 minStep 4: Slice the steak thinly across the grain at an angle. A common mistake is cutting with the grain, which leaves long, chewy fibres.
3 minStep 5: Warm the 8 flour tortillas, and serve everything on a hot platter with 5 ½ oz guacamole and 5 ½ oz pico de gallo.
3 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 580 kcal
- Protein
- 38 g
- Carbs
- 48 g
- Fat
- 26 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does tex-Mex beef fajitas take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of limes?
- Lemon, same amount.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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