I've been eating more Mexican food lately. This started because my friend Nick and I went to El Perico, a local Mexican restaurant that is unbelievably good. With this food in mind, I decided to try my hand at some beef fajitas. For a first run at this, I think they turned out great! First I made a marinade. I did this 2 nights ago. I had only intended to let the steak marinate for 1 night, but it went 2 nights due to a change in our plans. The marinade was based on this recipe. I only made 1 minor adjustment. I added cilantro. Here's the marinade recipe:
Ingredients:
1/4 cup lime juice
1/3 cup water
4 cloves minced garlic
2 TBSP Olive Oil
2 tsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp liquid smoke (hickory)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dried cilantro
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a plastic bag. Place desired meat in the bag and refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight.
Okay, I used flank steak for the meat. I had a 1.2 lb flank steak and it marinated for almost 2 days. I'm sure 24 hours would have been plenty. Here's what I did tonight to assemble the fajitas.
Ingredients:
1-1.5 lb Marinated Flank Steak (using marinade above)
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow onion, sliced
2-3 TBSP Fajita Marinade
1 TBSP Olive Oil
1/4 tsp salt
Southwest seasoning to taste
10 - 6 inch flour tortillas
Directions:
1 - Remove the steak from the marinade, wiping off the excess. Grill or Broil to a medium doneness. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
2 - While steak is resting, add reserved marinade and olive oil to a hot cast iron skillet. Once the oil and marinade sizzling, add the vegetables and salt and stir fry for 10 minutes. For additional spice, add southwest seasoning at this point.
3 - Slice the steak, across the grain, into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick strips. Add the strips to the skillet and stir fry for an additional 2 minutes.
4 - Place the tortillas on a microwave safe plate, cover them with a towel and microwave for 45 seconds.
5 - Serve fajita beef and vegetable mixture with tortillas. Add refried beans and cheddar cheese on the side if you want.
This was SOOOOO good. I did add some southwest seasoning. I liked the extra kick, but I think next time I'll leave it off so the marinade comes through even more. The marinade is unbelievably good. I loved this dish and can't wait to make it again!
