WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

For this recipe, we chose the outside skirt steak, which is 3 to 4 inches wide, and avoided the wider, far less tender inside skirt steak. To make the most of this steak’s ample surface area, we submerged it in a citrusy, garlicky mojo marinade. Soy sauce in the marinade seasoned the meat, and its glutamates enhanced the meat’s beefiness. We rubbed a thin coating of baking soda over the steaks before grilling them over high heat to guarantee great browning.

Ingredients

• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
• 2 Tbsp Lime juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt
• ½ cup orange juice
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 pounds skirt steak, trimmed and cut with grain into 6- to 8-inch-long steaks
• 1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions

Before You Begin

Skirt steaks come from two different muscles and are sometimes labeled as inside skirt steak or outside skirt steak. The more desirable outside skirt steak measures 3 to 4 inches wide and ½ to 1 inch thick. Avoid the inside skirt steak, which typically measures 5 to 7 inches wide and ¼ to ½ inch thick, as it is very chewy. Skirt steak is most tender when cooked to medium (130 to 135 degrees). Thin steaks cook very quickly, so we recommend using an instant-read thermometer for a quick and accurate measurement.

1. Combine garlic, soy sauce, 2 tablespoons lime juice, cumin, oregano, ¾ teaspoon salt, orange juice, and pepper flakes in 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Place steaks in dish. Flip steaks to coat both sides with marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, flipping steaks halfway through refrigerating.
2. Remove steaks from marinade. Pat steaks dry with paper towels. Combine 1 tablespoon oil and baking soda in small bowl. Rub oil mixture evenly onto both sides of each steak.
3. Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 10 minutes. Turn off 1 burner (if using grill with more than 2 burners, turn off burner farthest from primary burner) and leave other burner(s) on high.
4. Clean and oil cooking grate. Cook steaks on hotter side of grill until well browned and meat registers 130 to 135 degrees (for medium), 3 minutes on one side and 2 minutes on the second side. (Move steaks to cooler side of grill before taking temperature to prevent them from overcooking.) Transfer steaks to cutting board, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 3 to 6 minutes. Cut steaks on bias against grain into ½-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices on serving platter and serve.