Fajitas
In Spanish, “faja” means sash or girdle. The diminutive “fajita” is the name that south Texas butchers use to describe the diaphragm muscle of the steer, better known as skirt steak. The dish that we know as fajitas is traditionally only made with skirt steak (not chicken, shrimp, or simply vegetables).
Though it goes against all my principles, I use liquid smoke in this recipe. It does something magical to fajitas. I like this far better that versions made with a dry fajita spice mix, even if the spice mix is homemade.
I make my fajitas entirely on the barbeque with the meat cooked directly on the grill and the vegetables in a barbeque basket.
Ingredients
1 2-pound skirt steak, cut into 3-inch pieces
1 small yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 small yellow onions, peeled and thickly sliced lengthwise
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, cored, and thickly sliced
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, cored, and thickly sliced
12 scallions, trimmed
1 tomato, cored and quartered
Instructions
Mix together chopped onion, 3/4 cup oil, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, bay leaf, black pepper, and salt to taste. Reserve 3 tablespoons of this marinade and set aside. Pour remaining marinade into large glass or ceramic dish. Add meat to dish and turn in marinade until well coated. Cover dish with plastic wrap and marinate meat in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours.
Toss sliced onions and peppers with 3 tablespoons reserved mariande until lightly coated. Cover and refrigerate in a separate dish.
After steak has marinated, heat a grill. Remove meat from dish, discarding marinade. Grill over medium-high heat, turning once (4 to 6 minutes for medium rare). Transfer meat to a cutting board and set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot, but not smoking. Add onions and bell peppers, season to taste with salt, and cook, stirring often until vegetables are lightly charred by still crunchy, 3 to 4 minutes. (Alternatively, you can cook the onions and peppers in a barbeque basket on the grill while you cook the steak).
Thinly slice steak against the grain. Add to vegetables, and stir until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Equally divide fajitas 4 ways, and place each serving on a cast iron fajita platter or heated plate. Garnish with scallions and tomato wedges. Serve with warm flour tortillas.
To heat tortillas, wrap 6 tortillas in a dish towel and microwave until steaming. Serve immediately in a tortilla warmer to keep piping hot.