Marinated Skirt Steak

The only way I have cooked skirt steak in the past is braised low and slow until it is fall apart tender. I was intrigued to try this recipe because skirt steak is a notoriously tougher cut of meat and if Chef Keller put it in his book, it must be something worth trying.

The recipe is pretty simple. It starts with what seems like a pretty simple marinade, but the flavors and aromas from this marinade are to die for. The kitchen smelled fantastic and I couldn’t wait to see the effect of this marinade on the meat. Most marinades I have concocted myself or seen in other recipes never cook the ingredients and spices in the oil. This little trick is a must because all the flavors are heightened.

The rest of the recipe is pretty simple. First, the meat is quickly seared with some butter and herbs and then put in the oven to finish. The resulting steak was so moist and juicy. It was seasoned all the way through with such depth of flavor created by the rosemary, thyme, garlic and especially the peppercorns. I have never tasted the effect of peppercorns in a marinade like this before. I could taste them all the way through the entire cut of meat and not just on the outside. Amazing.

I cooked the steak past the 125 degrees the recipe suggests. I let mine go to about 145 and another to 160 and they were still very tasty and juicy. I was very surprised since a lot of recipes and professionals say that the meat gets very chewy and tough anywhere past medium rare. It had to be the marinade and the cooking method.

Also, I was unable to get the outer skirt, like Chef Keller calls for, but had excellent results on the inner cut of the skirt steak. I would just make sure to monitor the temperature of the meat rather than stick to the exact cooking time.