Fresh herbs and skirt steak

One of my favorite steaks (o.k, maybe my favorite) is the humble and misunderstood skirt steak. In many meat books, it is referred to as a braising cut. While this may be true, it is also great cooked quickly to medium-rare. While many beef cuts, including the skirt, are great on the grill, it's the skirts ability to be cooked to perfection in a pan on the stove in minutes that makes me love it. While it is usually advisable to cook steak (and most meats) from room temperature, I make an exception for this cut. It is so thin that it can be hard to get a great sear before over-cooking the inside so I always cook it right out of the fridge. Anything past medium rare is overcooked for any steak. This is not an opinion, it is fact.

One of the less appreciated techniques for infusing fresh herbs into meat is my favorite. Simply sear the meat by placing it directly on top of the herbs (in this case rosemary) in a screaming hot skillet. The herbs will often nearly burn but the flavor will completely permeate the meat.

I took a skirt steak from the fridge and seasoned it with a little salt and equal quantities of fresh ground, course black pepper and red pepper flakes (not crushed red pepper). Heat a skillet until it is smoking, add a small amount of fat, set your herbs of choice in the pan and the steak goes on top. One of the problems people seem to have when cooking steak in a pan is that pockets of steam get trapped underneath and compromise the crust by creating those un-crispy gray spots. Contact with the pan is crucial. To accomplish this I like to use a weight. A smaller cast iron skillet or a brick wrapped in foil will make a perfect weight.



It only takes a couple of minutes on the each side to get a crispy crust and leave the inside rare to medium-rare.





All you need is a splash of your favorite beer, wine, stock, vinegar or other liquid (in this case Marsala) in the hot pan to make a quick pan sauce and a side of fresh, local steamed asparagus drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkle of any great topping salt and you've got a perfect meal.

Go to your local butcher today and save the skirts from the meat grinder.