skirting the steak

The skirt steak hangs beneath the ribs, and along with the hanger and the flank is probably my favorite cut of meat not called ribeye (or tenderloin, although it's been so long I don't even recall what it tastes like). I'm actually a huge fan of the flavorful cuts, and enjoy playing around with them. The similarities between the skirt and the hanger are remarkable. They both carry a distinctive texture, on the tougher side and certainly chewy, but nothing like the leathery brisket. Their flavor is deep and rich, almost organ-like.

I have no recollection of ever cooking a skirt, although my blog tells me I had skirt steak fajitas in January of 2011. Now I will buy them regularly. They are cheap. They are delicious. They take marinades well. They go great with any variety of sides, especially greens.

I eyeballed a rub of kosher salt, paprika, ancho chili powder, and brown sugar. Then I patted the rub on the steak and let it sink in while I chopped an onion. I mixed about a quarter onion with crushed garlic and several tablespoons of lime juice, then dumped the sauce on the steak in a plastic bag. Off to the fridge. Took it out about an hour before cooking.

The grill spiked the temp gauge (again), but I'm pretty sure that it was close 950 degrees. It actually had come back down to 750 by the time I put the steak on. The grill was hot, and I did season it with olive oil.

I had no timer, but I let the steak sit uncovered over the coals for about a minute and a half aside, or at least what felt like a minute and a half a side. Then I closed the grill and shut down the vents for another couple of minutes. Steak was done pretty much perfectly.

Adobo Pork

The East Point Gentleman's Tasting Club visits my humble abode tonight, and to honor the gents I am preparing a taco night. The menu includes grilled corn on the cob (soaked, grilled in husks, and then charred), brothy black beans with green chilies, onion, and oregano, and local tortillas. As it turns out, we have quite a few local tortilla factories, and I have purchased both flour and corn tortillas for the occasion.

To fill the tacos, I have adobo pork and cilantro-lime-green chili shrimp. For toppings, I have queso fresca, chopped cilantro, diced onions, and diced tomatoes. I'll restrict this post to the adobo pork and hopefully will post about the rest of the meal tomorrow.

Making the Adobo Paste

The adobo sauce came out of the bon appetit magazine this month, and I addressed this in a previous blog entry. The recipe actually called for shrimp, but it is the kind of sauce that can go with any protein. After making the paste on Thursday, I wrung my hands and decided that the shrimp would have to be addressed differently. Adobo paste, like anything else made from dried chilies, is extraordinarily astringent. I believe it works better when fat can blend with it and smooth it out.

Making the adobo paste required a little improvising. First of all, I fire roasted the ancho peppers. Fire roasting is a superior means of toasting the chilies, if only because of the smoke that they absorb from the fire. It makes them far more fragrant. Once roasted, I transferred th charred chilies to the bowl and added the water. The recipe did not call for enough cooking liquid, so I had to add water, and still ended up with a pretty thick paste. I then had to adjust ingredients accordingly to create the right flavor--an earthy, smoky adobo sauce. I basted in the sauce, poked holes in it with a bamboo skewer, and let it marinate for about eight hours.

Then I smoked the pork shoulder. It sat in the smoker for two hours with cherrywood before I wrapped it in foil and let it cook overnight. The egg held its temperature all the way through the night, dropping only from 240 to 220. I let it cook for twelve hours total (eight pound picnic shoulder), rebasting it only once.

Pulling the Pork

Then I pulled it, let it sit, and dumped it into a dutch oven with a little more paste, where I let it slowly cook at low heat on the simmer burner for about an hour. The idea is to get the flavors to meld together and the fat to mellow out the adobo. I've let it sit all afternoon and will fire it up before everyone comes just to keep it hot and mix the flavors one last time.

Pollo de Ancho

Now comes the versatile chicken dish. Easy enough for weekday meetings, although allow thirty minutes for prep and another hour plus for cooking.

Start by chopping an onion. Peel and seed three ancho chilies and rehydrate in hot water while chopping. Peel two garlic cloves, and chop up some fresh oregano. Also chop up cilantro for garnish later. Once the anchos have rehydrated (takes about twenty minutes), chop them into strips.

At this point, the oven should be preheated to 350 degrees.

Next, brown the chicken in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. I use eight bone-in thighs, remove the skin, and brown them in my dutch oven. Once they have appropriately browned I add the onion and oregano and the ancho chilies and let the flavors meld over medium high heat. (I do find that I have to keep reducing the heat during this process, lest I sizzle the onions. The onions taste better if their flavor dissolves into the oil. After a few minutes, I press the garlic (unless I've gotten a wild hair and have chopped it) and cook for one minute. Then I add one cup of dry white wine and one cup of chicken stock and bring to a boil. (the liquid should leave part of the chicken exposed). Then it goes into the oven for thirty minutes to an hour.

Which is a good time to start the rice and black beans. Leftovers make great tacos or quesadillas.

The recipe is adapted from the Elote Cafe Cookbook by Jeff Smedstad. His Sedona-area restaurant was a true experience when I visited Sedona this past December. The locals line up an hour before the restaurant opens to get a table. Unsuspecting visitors like myself encounter the hour and a half wait when we arrive at seven thirty. But the blood orange margaritas were flowing and the popcorn with its cinnamon notes was outstanding. The time on the patio flew by, and we settled in at the bar for dinner at about 9:00. The chef's business partner was tending bar, and he led us through the menu, including the excellent tequila list. By the end of the night, the chef was behind the bar pouring tequila to share and telling us of his early experiences in the business. I quite like his cookbook, even when compared with Bayless's peerless "Authentic Mexican." Some of the dishes are overblown and overdone, like the lamb shank recipe that involves braising in an orange juice-based sauce. But the ancho chicken, at least, is an easy and tasty dish.