Readers of our blog will know that we are both fans of The Store at Foveran, the quality of the meat produced on the farm is superb. You can therefore imagine our delight when Helen, their shop manager, contacted us over the summer and asked if we’d like to meet to discuss a small venture with them. Intrigued, we met with Helen towards the end of the summer and she put their idea to us, namely a challenge. Their idea was that they provide us with a more unusual cut of meat and we work up a recipe for their quarterly newsletter. We agreed straight away, nothing gets our creative juices flowing like a challenge.
First up for the Autumn newsletter is skirt steak. Skirt is a much underused and underrated cut of meat, but one which is gaining in popularity thanks to the increasing influence of barbecuing and outdoor cooking across the UK. The skirt comes from the same part of the cow as hanger steak, popular in South American barbecue and if you’re French you would call it Onglet.
Skirt is an inexpensive cut of beef and treated properly is seriously tasty. Firstly, ensure that any excess fat and sinew is trimmed off the meat. We like to cut the meat with the grain into 200g more manageable portions allowing the steak to fit better into the pan. It’s essential that the steak is cooked rare or medium rare (and we strongly recommend you use a meat thermometer), any more than that and the meat will toughen. We think this is best done quickly in a smoking hot pan, or even better on the barbecue. However if time is limited we assure you the frying pan works just fine! Once cooked allow the steak to rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Now this bits really important – when cutting skirt it is essential that you cut across the grain of the steak, thus cutting through the muscle and leaving you with a tender piece of meat. Cut with the grain and you’ll have a chewy piece of meat.
We wanted something tasty but also something that is quick to prepare, that way people are more likely to give it a try. Our tastes are very much driven by the seasons and given we were looking at this late Summer/early Autumn we came up with two recipes, one fresh and one warm and spicy, but both using the same basic method of cooking. Undecided we cooked up both and we still couldn’t decide which we liked best, so here you are – two very simple recipes. We encourage you to give this a try, we doubt you’ll be disappointed.
skirt steak with a warm spice marinade
Print recipe
| Serves | 2 |
Ingredients
- 400g skirt steak
marinade
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tbsp sherry vinegar
- juice of half a lime
- 1/2 long red chilli (de-seeded)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- salt and pepper
Directions
| Heat a non stick pan over a medium heat and toast the cumin seeds. Once they have released their aroma place in a pestle and mortar and grind to a fine powder. | |
| Add the remaining marinade ingredients to the pestle and mortar and pound to a smooth consistency. | |
| Pour the marinade into a zip lock bag and place the steak inside. Close the bag and rub the marinade over the steak, taking care to ensure it is completely covered. Place in the fridge and allow to marinade for anywhere between 4 and 48 hours. | |
| Heat a non stick pan over a high heat and once smoking hot, place the steak in the pan and cook to rare or medium rare (see our meat cooking temperature guide). Take the steak out of the pan and allow to rest for 5 minutes. | |
| Once rested, slice the meat across the grain and serve. | |
Note
This cut of beef has a great taste and whilst it is called skirt steak, you might also find it called hanger steak which is a similar type of cut and if you're French Onglet.
It's delicious quickly seared in a very hot pan, but it has to be prepared properly. First remove all excess fat and sinew as this will only toughen the meat once cooked. This steak cut should only be cooked rare or medium rare any longer will make it a chewy piece of meat.
Once the steak has been cooked and rested, it is important to cut across the grain rather than with the grain. Cutting across the grain breaks down the muscle fibres in the meat and makes it easier to eat.
All meat products supplied courtesy of The Store, Foveran.
skirt steak with chimichurri dressing
Ingredients
- 800g skirt steak (cut with the grain into 200g pieces)
dressing
- 1 large bunch parsley leaf (remove the thicker stalk)
- 1 small bunch coriander leaf (remove the thicker stalks)
- 2 large cloves garlic
- 1 red finger chilli (de-seeded)
- 2 shallots
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil (more can be added if required to achieve consistency)
- juice of half a lemon
- salt and pepper
Directions
| Place all the ingredients for the dressing into a food processor and blitz to a smooth consistency. | |
| Meanwhile heat a non-stick frying pan to a high temperature. Season the steak with salt and pepper and place in the smoking hot pan, cook to rare or medium rare (see our meat cooking temperature guide). Remove the steak from the pan and leave to rest for 5 minutes. | |
| Once rested cut the steak into thin slices across the grain of the meat, spoon a little dressing over the meat and toss to coat. Serve immediately. | |
Note
This cut of beef has a great taste and whilst it is called skirt steak, you might also find it called hanger steak which is a similar type of cut and if you're French Onglet.
It's delicious quickly seared in a very hot pan, but it has to be prepared properly. First remove all excess fat and sinew as this will only toughen the meat once cooked. This steak cut should only be cooked rare or medium rare any longer will make it a chewy piece of meat.
Once the steak has been cooked and rested, it is important to cut across the grain rather than with the grain. Cutting across the grain breaks down the muscle fibres in the meat and makes it easier to eat.
All meat products supplied courtesy of The Store, Foveran.
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