Carne Asada, Not just for Tacos

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One class of affordable steaks are known as “flat steaks”. These are skirt, flap, flank and hanger steaks. Hanger steak is the most tender of this class; the others are best prepared by marinating them to tenderize. I’ve seen the price of flank at par with tri-tip, so I haven’t cooked with flank for years. I rarely see hanger in the meat counters but it’s popular on restaurant menus. So I’ll stick to discussing flap vs skirt, the underdogs of the beef world with a wonderful meaty flavor.

Flap and skirt are thin long cuts of beef from the diaphragm muscles of the cow. Skirt looks very similar and is connected below the flap and it takes the butcher longer to cut and clean up, so it can be more expensive than flap. They are lean and contain a lot of tough fibers and are best cooked to medium rare for the most tender texture. Cook it fast, where the flames hit it. Cut them against the grain when served.

Here is “not just for tacos recipe” adapted from Sunset Magazine. Let’s get started.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 ½ lb flap steak

⅔ cup Mexican jocoque ( substitute greek yogurt, or sour creme)

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup cilantro chopped dived in 2 parts

½ cup white onion finely chopped

1 teaspoon lime juice

Salt

Marinade

1 tablespoon lime juice

¼ cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons white vinegar or white balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic finely diced

1 teaspoon ground oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh oregano chopped

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground pepper

Preparation

Combine half cup of the cilantro, the garlic, and 3 tbsp. oil in a food processor. Process until finely chopped. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and stir in jocoque, lime juice and mix in ½ teaspoon salt. Set aside.

Remove any silver skin remaining on the meat, rinse and marinate from 3 hours to overnight.

Preheat the grill 5 to 8 minutes to get it very hot. Cook to char each side of the meat, 6 to 10 minutes total. Transfer to a cutting board and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Slice thinly against the grain.

Toss remaining 1/2 cup cilantro, diced onion,1 teaspoon oil, a squeeze of lime juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Spread jocoque sauce on 4 plates (about 3 tbsp. each). Optionally sprinkle with chile flakes. Certainly it’s tastier with a little kick of spice in your food. Top with sliced steak and cilantro/onion mix, and serve with flour tortillas.