Grilled Skirt Steak
The most decadent recipe for a marinated Grilled Skirt Steak! This grilled skirt steak is juicy, full of bold flavors, easy to make and delicious.
Skirt steak is a fun cut, and grilling it helps to bring out the best in this cut. A simple marinade, applied for a minimum of 30 minutes and a quick grill at hot heat
Serve with Easy Rice Pilaf and Best Ever Roasted Broccoli for a great meal.
What is Skirt Steak?
A skirt steak is a totally flavorful cut of beef. The skirt is cut from under the breast of the steer. It is a long, thin, cut of meat, that is rarely thicker than 3/4 inch. This is why grilling it is perfect! It is made for quick cooking at high heat!
It is one of the most flavorful cuts of meat, but also the toughest. You have to cook it properly to make it amazing. And marinating it is the perfect way to start.
Skirt steak contains the most muscle fibers of all the cuts, and should be served rare to medium rare for the best flavor and tenderness.
How to Buy Skirt Steak:
When you buy skirt steak, ask for the outside cut, it tends to be a little more tender than the inside cut. If you can’t get the inside cut, you will want to marinate your beef a little longer so you can get it a little more tender. Both cuts are delicious and super flavorful. If you aren’t sure which is which, and the butcher isn’t around to ask, the outside cut will be longer, narrower and very tender. The inside cut is thinner and chewier.
Is Skirt Steak the same as Flank Steak?
Nope, they are different. One comes from the breast, the other the abdomen. Flank steak comes from the bottom abdominal area of the cow. It is going to be a little bit tougher of a cut, thicker, and while there are fewer muscle fibers, it is more muscly than skirt steak. However, they are pretty interchangeable in this recipe. If you do swap the skirt steak for the flank steak, you will want to cook it a little longer, or use a mallet to thin the flank steak out some.
What You Need to Make Grilled Skirt Steak
This thin, long, cut of beef is best marinaded. And the marinade is made from ingredients you can readily find at a typical grocery store or in your own pantry. The flavors are bold, delicious, and complex. The oil, cider vinegar, seasonings, and soy sauce make it mouthwateringly delicious. For tender, juicy, flavorful skirt steak, here is what you need:
- Olive oil
- Apple cider vinegar
- Soy sauce
- Dried ginger
- Onion powder
- Brown sugar
- Garlic
- Crushed red pepper
Note: The complete list of measurements for ingredients is listed below in the recipe card.
Why Marinate Skirt Steak?
Skirt Steak is Perfect For Marinating because it is long and thin. Marinating meat typically means the flavor penetrates just under the surface. So a thick cut would not be great for marinating. The skirt steak has more surface area to hold flavor, and the thinness means it will tenderize faster.
What if I Can’t Find Skirt Steak: There are only two skirt steaks on a cow. This makes it a harder to find cut, so unless you have a butcher you work with, there may be a chance of not finding one. So, what do you sub for skirt steak? There are a few options: flank, flat iron or flap steak.
Recommended Equipment
- Zip top bags
- Grill or Grill Pan
- Tongs
How to Make Grilled Skirt Steak
It only takes two steps to grill skirt steak:
- Marinade: In a large zip top bag, you want to make the marinade and add the skirt steak in. Then let it marinade. This can be 30 minutes, or several hours. I typically like to let it marinade overnight, or for about 2 hours.
- Grill: Preheat your grill to high heat. Like fires of hell, as hot as it gets, hot. You want 500 degrees. Once the grill is all the way hot, add the steak to the grill and cook for 3-5 minutes per side or until it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F for medium.
Since skirt steak is a thin cut of beef, it really only needs a few minutes of high heat on the grill to cook, but every steak is a little different, a little less thick or more thick. So, in order to properly cook the steak, you want to take that into account and adjust the time accordingly. If you subbed a different cut, like a flank steak, which can be a little thicker, you may need to add a little more time to cook to the temp you want.
How To Cook on the Grill
Skirt steak is a thin, tough cut of beef, which means, the first thing you need to do is cook it to the right temperature, medium-rare (130-135 degrees F) or at most, medium (135-145 degrees F).
But, you want to do this at a really high heat. Like as hot as your grill can get. Typically 500 degrees+. And then you are going to cook it for just a few minutes per side. If you overcook it, the steak will get tough and chewy. So use a meat thermometer, cook it 3 minutes on one side, and then after you flip it, you want to use an instant read thermometer to cook it to the right temp, about 130 degrees F up to 145 degrees F.
The high heat allows the steak to caramelize and get that nice color and flavor on the exterior, while remaining tender and delicious on the inside. This is not the kind of steak to cook low and slow.
When You Don’t Have A Grill
If you do not have a grill, you can use a grill pan. You want to heat the pan as hot as you can, so it is smoking hot. Then sear your skirt steak. You will still want to use an instant read thermometer to cook to the proper temperature.
What Temperature For Steak?
In my opinion you only want to cook this steak to a medium or medium-rare. There is a range for medium to medium rare, and if you want your steak on the more medium side, error on the low end. Trust me, it is more flavorful, and way more tender if you cook it on this scale.
- Medium-Rare: 130 – 135 degrees F.
- Medium: 135 – 145 degrees F.
- Medium-Well: pick a different cut of meat.
- Well: If you are someone who wants a steak cooked well, then this site is not for you. Skip the expensive steak and make something like this Instant Pot Cheese Stuffed Hamburgers instead.
Resting
One of the keys to a great steak is letting it rest when it has finished cooking. This gives all the juices a chance to reabsorb, and redistribute so you get the juiciest results. Once your steak is cooked to your desired temperature, remove from the heat source, and let it sit for 5-10 minutes before you slice it.
Do not cover it with foil unless you need to, otherwise it will continue to cook, and could change the internal temp of the steak.
How To Properly Slice Steak
As soon as the steaks have rested enough, you can slice them. But, you want to make sure you slice it properly, because where a skirt steak is full of muscle fibers, you want to make sure you slice AGAINST the grain for the most tender bites.
How to cut steak once it’s cooked:
- Look at the steak. Do you see the fibers running through the skirt steak? This is the grain of the steak. They will run in one direction.
- Slice thin slices, perpendicular to the “grain.” This allows each piece to be easy to bite through. And gives you the most tender bite.
- If the steak is really wide, you will want to slice it in half length wise first, so you have thinner pieces, then thinly slice against the grain.
What to Serve Skirt Steak With
This recipe is so perfect for a BBQ, a quick weeknight dinner, or any night of the week, and I love pairing it with:
Tips and Tricks
Making this recipe is Eazy Peazy. And it tastes so amazing, but here are a few tips for making it turn out perfectly every single time:
- Room Temp – One of the best things you can do is let the steak sit at room temperature in the marinade for about 30 minutes prior to grilling. When it is room temp, the steak cooks more evenly, and you won’t have hot and cold spots.
- Proper Marinating Time: Do not marinate too long. When marinating steak, you want to marinate it for at least 30 minutes, which will help break down the fibers and infuse it with flavor. However, you do not want to marinate longer than 24 hours. If you marinate steak too long, you run the risk of the fibers breaking down too much, and this can give you the opposite effect you want. Instead of tender and flavorful, you get tough, mushy, and flavorless.
- Flip the Meat: While marinating, you want to flip the bag half way so both sides of the steak get an even amount of marinade.
- Discard Marinade: Do not use the marinade to baste the steak. You want to avoid contamination. And the marinade could cause food borne illness. So, discard the marinade.
- High Heat: Grill the steak 3-5 minutes a side at high heat, and cook only until the internal temp you are aiming for is reached.
- Rest the Steak: You want to make sure you rest it for 5-10 minutes, before you cut it.
- Cut Against the Grain: For the most tender bites, you want to slice against the grain, in the opposite direction that the fibers are running.
Make Ahead and Storage
How to make this recipe ahead of time: Don’t! This is best served fresh, and eaten completely.
Steak is best when cooked fresh. You can mix up your marinade ahead of time and store for 3-5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. But don’t put the meat into until it is less than 24 hours before you plan to serve it.
To store leftovers, place in an airtight container and reheat in a skillet until just heated through, being careful not to overcook, as again, it will get tough and chewy.
Other Great Recipes:
- Steak with Chimichurri
- Sirloin Steak
- Steak and Potato Foil Packs
- Instant Pot Sirloin Roast Beef with Mushroom Sauce
- Steak with Garlic Mushroom Cream Sauce
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Grilled Skirt Steak
Ingredients
- 2 lb. Skirt Steak
- Kosher Salt
- Pepper
For The Marinade
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon dried ginger
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Season steak with salt and pepper on both sides. Set aside,
- Combine the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, ginger powder, onion powder, brown sugar, garlic and red pepper in a zip top plastic bag. Place steak in bag and let marinate on counter top for 30 minutes. Or in the refrigerator for up to 3 hours, but at least 1 hour.
- Preheat grill to high heat (500 degrees), clean the grill grates and brush with oil if needed to avoid sticking. Or heat a cast iron grill pan on high, until heated through.
- Remove skirt steak from marinade, and discard any remaining marinade. Place steak directly on grill, and sear for 3-4 minutes per side. Use a meat thermometer to check internal temp, and remove when steak reaches 130 degrees F.
- Let the skirt steak rest for 5 minutes before serving. After resting, slice the steak against the grain into thin strips.
- Serve with chimichurri sauce if desired.
Notes
- *If marinating the steak longer than 30 minutes, keep in refrigerator. Remove from refrigerator at least 30 minutes prior to grilling.
- Serving size is 3oz. of steak
Notes
- Room Temp – One of the best things you can do is let the steak sit at room temperature in the marinade for about 30 minutes prior to grilling. When it is room temp, the steak cooks more evenly, and you won’t have hot and cold spots.
- Proper Marinating Time: Do not marinate too long. When marinating steak, you want to marinate it for at least 30 minutes, which will help break down the fibers and infuse it with flavor. However, you do not want to marinate longer than 24 hours. If you marinate steak too long, you run the risk of the fibers breaking down too much, and this can give you the opposite effect you want. Instead of tender and flavorful, you get tough, mushy, and flavorless.
- Flip the Meat: While marinating, you want to flip the bag half way so both sides of the steak get an even amount of marinade.
- Discard Marinade: Do not use the marinade to baste the steak. You want to avoid contamination. And the marinade could cause food borne illness. So, discard the marinade.
- High Heat: Grill the steak 3-5 minutes a side at high heat, and cook only until the internal temp you are aiming for is reached.
- Rest the Steak: You want to make sure you rest it for 5-10 minutes, before you cut it.
- Cut Against the Grain: For the most tender bites, you want to slice against the grain, in the opposite direction that the fibers are running.
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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