In his book Serious Barbecue, Adam Perry Lang is deadly serious. And fun. He discusses the skills, tools and techniques we can all follow to barbeque perfection.
Now, some of his recipes are intense. His Marinated Skirt Steak with Garlic and Cilantro involves a marinade, a rub, and a final resting butter. Did Suzen and I do all that? No. We were bushed from weekend gardening, but we wanted something good for our steak.
So, we settled for this marinade, let the steak sit in it for a couple of hours, and then set in on our grill.
Have you ever marinating something, for hours, and later shook your head because there was “nothing there.” Well, fear not, for there is everything here. The orange and lime juice are, of course, quite acidic and can go to work on that meat quickly. We had flank, and not skirt, steak here and its thinness enabled that marinade to “go all the way through” with ease.
Beyond the citrus, honey and soy plus spices round out a complex network of flavors. I’m labeling this recipe for what it is: Perfect Marinade
Perfect Marinade
Serves: enough for 4 skirt steaks
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon crushed hot red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons boiling water
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Japanese soy sauce
½ cup coarsely chopped sweet white onion
10 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
Preparation:
Place the pepper flakes in a small bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Let sit for 1 to 2 minutes to rehydrate the flakes. Combine all of the remaining marinades ingredients a blender, or in a bowl using an immersion blender.
To use, place your steaks in an extra wide resealable bag. Pour over the marinade, squeeze out an y excess air form the gab and close. Roll the bag to evenly coast all of the meat in the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 3.
Why limit to 3 hours? That citric acid keeps working and will destroy the texture of your meat. This is all about chemistry.
Source: Serious Barbeque by Adam Perry Lang [Hyperion 2009]
Photo Information: Canon T2i, EFS 60mm Macro Lens, F/3.5 for 1/30th second at ISO‑800