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. To emphasize the mojo flavor, we boiled the marinade to make it food-safe and turned it into a sauce that we drizzled over the steaks.

INGREDIENTS

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

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.

INSTRUCTIONS

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 and transfer marinade to small saucepan. 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. Bring marinade to boil over high heat and boil for 30 seconds. Transfer to bowl and stir in lime zest, orange zest, remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice, and remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Set aside sauce.

Grilling the meat

1. Set up the Weber grill so you have a foil pan under the grate. Fill the foil pan with red wine or a good beer. Leave the other side of the grill exposed to the grate.
2. Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes.
3. Turn off 1 burner that is under the exposed grill area and leave other burner(s) on high.
4. Clean and oil cooking grate.
5. Cook steaks on side of grill that has the foil pan under it until well browned and meat registers 130 to 135 degrees (for medium), 2 to 4 minutes per side.
6. Move steaks to exposed side of grill and cook for another 2 to 4 minutes so that both sides of the meat are “branded” by the grate and properly cooked.
7. Transfer steaks to cutting board, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 10 minutes.
8. Cut steaks on bias against grain into ½-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices on serving platter, drizzle with 2 tablespoons sauce, and serve, passing extra sauce separately.

Estimated time for a 7:30 pm “plate and serve” the meal

• Make marinade 5:30 pm to 6:00 pm
• Marinate the meat 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm
• Heat up the grill 6:45 pm
• Grill the meat 7:00 pm to 7:30 pm, includes the tented rest time.