Had a bad day? Then make this Korean-inspired skirt steak. You see, you get to take out your aggression on the steak by pounding it with a meat mallet. I call that Kitchen Therapy! The quickly marinated and seared steak is tender, flavorful and super easy to make…perfect for a weeknight meal! Serve with steamed jasmine rice and Sesame Green Bean Salad or Stir-fried Snow Peas with Shiitakes and Ginger. Yum!

Korean-Style Marinated Skirt Steak
-recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine

The steak can also be grilled; just be sure to oil the grill first so the meat doesn’t stick. Serves 4.
 
2 Tbs. sugar
3 Tbs. soy sauce  
2 tsp. sake (optional)
4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
5 scallions (white part only), minced
2 tsp. finely chopped fresh ginger
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 lb. skirt steak, trimmed and cut into four portions
2 tsp. vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine the sugar, soy sauce, sake, garlic, scallions, ginger, and sesame oil in a medium-size flat dish or a zip-top bag, stirring to make sure the sugar is dissolved. Cover the steaks with plastic wrap and gently pound them 1/4 inch thick with the flat side of a meat mallet. Add them to the marinade and let them sit for 20 minutes, covered, turning them once after 10 minutes. Coat a large skillet with the vegetable oil and set it over high heat until the oil is just barely smoking. Sprinkle both sides of the meat with salt and pepper, add the meat to the pan, lower the heat slightly, and sear the steaks (in batches if necessary) for 2 to 3 minutes. on each side for medium rare. The steaks should be very rosy pink. Transfer them to a cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest for 3 minutes. Cut the steaks into 1/4-inch-thick slices and serve.

Tags: Asian, Korean steak, Korean-style skirt steak, Quick Cooking, sake, sesame oil, skirt steak, soy sauce

This recipe rocks! The whole meal can even be cooked on the grill (meaning no kitchen mess…always a bonus). The tacos call for skirt steak which is a long, thin cut of beef. Flank steak or rib-eyes would work great, too, if you can’t find the skirt steak (you will need to alter the cooking time if you use a thicker cut). The skirt steak I bought was folded in half for packaging. After unfolding the meat, I cut the skirt steak into shorter pieces for grilling (adjusting the cooking time for smaller pieces of meat). After cooking, I let the steak rest then I sliced it thinly against the grain (the meat will be very chewy if you slice it with the grain). You can substitute corn tortillas for the flour tortillas if you prefer.

Although the steak tacos were good, the Grilled Tomato Salsa is the real star of this recipe. The salsa was quite spicy so I recommend using 1 serrano or substituting a jalapeno chile which has less heat (you can always add more chile if you want it hotter). The recipe calls for sautéing the chiles with the onions and garlic. However, I decided to grill everything (chiles, onions, garlic) on my gas grill since I was already using the grill for the tomatoes and steak. Grilling all the veggies worked great and I didn’t have a pan to wash afterward. I left the tomatoes and chiles whole but I cut the onion into big slices. For the garlic, I removed several cloves from a whole head, leaving at least six cloves intact to the root and rubbed the whole thing with oil. I then rubbed all the other veggies with oil and then I put everything on the grill at high heat. The garlic took the longest to cook so next time I’d start it first. I removed the veggies when they had softened and had a nice char.  Once the veggies were cool enough to handle, I removed the skin from each clove of garlic and cut the stem ends off the chiles and tomatoes. I then put all the veggies into the food processor to blend. Remember to use less chile to start with if you want a milder salsa. As a final touch, I added 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of liquid smoke to add just a hint of smokiness to the salsa. Olé!

Skirt Steak Tacos with Grilled Tomato Salsa
- Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay – foodnetwork.com

Makes 4 servings

8 (6-inch) flour tortillas
1 1/2 pounds skirt steak
2 tablespoons canola oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 head romaine lettuce, thinly shredded
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, halved and diced
Grilled Tomato Salsa, recipe follows
8 ounces sour cream

Directions:
Heat grill to high.

Wrap tortillas in aluminum foil and on the top rack of the grill while the steak is grilling.

Heat grill pan over high heat. Brush steak with oil and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Grill on one side until golden brown and slightly charred, about 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the steak over and cook to medium-rare doneness, about 3 to 4 minutes longer. Let rest 5 minutes then slice against the grain into 1/4-inch thick slices.

Fill each tortilla with some lettuce, 3 to 4 pieces of meat, onion, grilled tomato salsa, sour cream, and avocado.

Grilled Tomato Salsa:
2 tablespoons canola oil, plus more for brushing tomatoes
2 serrano chiles
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled
6 plum tomatoes, halved and seeded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 limes, juiced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Heat grill to high.

Heat oil in a small saute pan and saute the chiles, onion, and garlic until soft.

Brush tomatoes with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill on both sides until slightly charred and soft.

Transfer tomatoes and serrano mixture to a food processor; add the lime juice and salt and pepper and process until smooth. Add the cilantro and pulse a few times (there should be flecks of cilantro in the salsa.) Transfer to a bowl.

Tags: Beef, grilled tomato salsa, Grilling/BBQ, Mexican, Quick Cooking, skirt steak, tacos