Skirt Steak Tortas

I bought a "manager's special" skirt steak at Kroger recently for less than $3.00 and was exited about the great deal, but knew it was on special because it had to be cooked in the next 24 hours. "Manager's special" is the grocery store lingo for "cook this now because it's about to turn green."

I decided to tenderize the steak, grill it and make a Mexican torta sandwich for dinner. I had a chipotle lime mayo sauce leftover from a recipe I had documented the day before and thought it would be a great condiment for the sandwich.

To make the steak tender enough for the torta, I beat it until it was flat and falling apart – which was a nice stress relief. I knew the better I tenderized the steak, the better the sandwich would be, so it was an inspired beating. I seasoned it with salt and pepper and grilled it for a couple of minutes each side. After a small rest I diced up the steak and it was ready for the torta.

I used bollilo bread, which I sliced in half length-wise. I slathered the bottom with refried beans and layered a couple of slices of jack cheese on the top half. I stuck the bread in the oven to toast and melt the cheese. Once that was finished I added the steak, garnishes and the chipotle lime mayo sauce resulting in a great sandwich that I would eat again anytime.

BEHIND THIS BITE

Skirt Steak Torta

I hadn't planned on producing this recipe in print or on-line so I didn't document the process. After eating the sandwich (I made four) I was impressed and decided to take a few shots of the finished product for a simple post.

I hope to go all out on a torta here at Behind the Bites one day because it is one of my favorite types of sandwich. I was introduced to them at La bamba (a restaurant chain known for burritos as big as your head) when I was in college and have loved them every since. I better get to work though because a good torta has lots going on with it, much more than what I have going on here, although I must say, this torta was a tasty treat indeed.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE
Make 4 sandwiches
1 lb Skirt steak
1/4 C Refried beans
4 slices Monterrey jack cheese
2 Tbs Chipotle Lime Mayo
2 Bollilo buns
Lettuce, tomato and onion for garnish

Tenderize, grill steak
With a meat tenderizer, beat steak until flattened with slight tears throughout. season with salt and pepper to taste. Grill over high heat for 4 to 6 minutes or until medium rare, turning once during cooking. Remove from grill and rest for at least 5 minutes, then dice.

Toast, assemble sandwich
Slice bread in half, spread beans on bottom half and layer cheese on top half, place in 400° oven for 5 to 6 minute or until cheese is melted and bread is toasted. Layer steak and garnishes on bottom half, drizzle with chipotle lime mayo and cover with top half of bun, cut in two, then serve.

Skirt Steak with Smoked Cumin

Printable version

I was shopping recently and came across a spice rack in the produce section. All the spices were sold in small sealed bags rather than bottles. There was a large variety and a few wild cards, one of which really caught my attention: Smoked Cumin.

First of all, I love cumin, it’s probably my favorite seasoning beyond salt and pepper. I had never heard of smoked cumin so I had to buy some and try it. From the spice rack in produce I made a b-line to the meat counter. I love to grill steak with salt and pepper and a little cumin. It's very simple, the beef is the star and the cumin is a background note, I picked up a skirt steak and decided this was the canvas to try my new culinary paint.

The steak was delicious, which is what I expected, the smoked cumin was good, but the smoked flavor took away from the natural flavor of the cumin, which is kind of smoky anyway. I’ll need to try it again before I eliminate it, but if I had this to do again I would have used regular cumin, it seems to have a much better natural flavor than the smoked version. It was worth the try and I’ll experiment with it again. It won’t be a substitute for cumin in my pantry though. I’ll have to find something new that it works in.

BEHIND THIS BITE

Skirt Steak with Smoked Cumin

This was the steak component of a steak and potato dinner. You can find the potatoes here.  I have done it in two posts, because each can stand alone on their own. These recipes are simple, which is how I cook most of the time when I'm not photographing every element for a visual recipe.

I always try to add a little more to a dish I’m documenting. It takes time to create these and I feel obligated to go the extra mile most of the time. These two recipes are just the basic-I’m hungry-lets eat-kind of meal.

I’m glad I documented them.

I’m pleased with their look, especially the shot of the final dish that anchors the potato recipe. I should do this a little more.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Skirt Steak with Smoked Cumin

Serves 4; 45 minutes
1 1/2 lbs Skirt steak
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
2 tsp Smoked cumin

Season, grill and rest steak
Preheat and prepare a grill to medium high. Season steak with salt, pepper and smoked cumin on both sides and let steak rest for 20 to 25 minutes. Place steak on grill and cook for 8 to 10 minutes for medium doneness, turning once during cooking. Remove steak from grill and let rest for 10 minutes to redistribute juices. Slice across the grain, then serve.

Rosemary Roasted Red Potatoes

Printable version

Sometimes simple is just better. A potato is delicious when it is cooked perfectly with salt and pepper. The addition of a fresh herb is an easy way to crank up the flavor. This potato dish is as simple as it gets and it turned out incredibly tasty, the difficult part about it was being patient enough to allow the potatoes to roast until they were fluffy and delicious.

These potatoes were a side dish to a grilled skirt steak, so they didn’t need to be fancy - just cooked right. The addition of rosemary elevated the flavor and gave it a nice fragrance which allowed it to stand out on the plate but not over power the star attraction.

It is essential to have them seasoned properly and coated with oil, turning or tossing them half way through will help the process also. A perfectly cooked potato is pretty much heaven on a plate.

BEHIND THIS BITE

Rosemary Roasted Red Potatoes

I went out and bought the cast iron dish in the photos specifically for this recipe. I had noticed it at a Kroger store and when I started thinking about roasting potatoes I knew it was the perfect dish to cook AND photograph them in.

I’m really pleased with the main art for this recipe, there really isn’t much to the graphic, the dynamic photo really helps make it pop. The towel underneath the cast iron vessel adds to the detail of the shot as well. I’m going to use some of these element in the future, the angle of the dish and towel for extra color work and are things I think I can build on when the dish calls for it.

I’m done rambling. Go make these tasty spuds!

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Rosemary Roasted Red Potatoes

Serves 4; 1 hour, 15 minutes
1 1/2 lbs Red potatoes, quartered
1 Tbs Olive oil
1 Tbs Fresh rosemary, minced
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper

Season and roast potatoes
Pre-heat oven to 400°. In a bowl toss together potatoes, olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper until evenly coated. Place potatoes in an oven safe dish and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until cooked through and slightly crispy on the outside. Stir potatoes halfway through cooking. Let potatoes rest between 5 and 10 minutes after removing from oven then serve.