Skirt Steak with chimmichuri
After a lot of online investigation and butchery forum FAQ's, I can now understand the difference between skirt and flank steak. Be warned, there are a lot of WA butchers who don't even know the true difference and so will try and pass off flank (the easier of the two to get) as skirt. I had 3 different butchers tell me it is the same cut but just the Australian name for it. It's not. They do have similarities in that they take well to marinating and searing over a high heat. Both are best served rare to medium rare, thinly sliced against the grain and both become tougher the more you cook them. They have just as many differences though so they are definitely different cuts. The skirt is the muscle that run along the chest bone, where the flank runs down the side of the rib cage, and so the skirt is higher up on the animal. It is fattier and there is only ever one on an animal. I prefer the taste of the skirt but to flank and definitely think its worth hunting it down. I finally found it at Boatshed, Cottesloe and the best part is you don't have to order it in. Skirt is about $25 AUD a Kg and flank is about $19 AUD.
This is great if you're having a few people over for a BBQ. You should marinate over night which means there's less to do on the day.
These each take about 15 minutes to get ready and the quantities are enough for 4-6 adults, depending on how many salads and sides you have to go with it.
Ingredients
1.2 Kg skirt steak
Marinate 1:
1/3 cup olive oil
2 crushed garlic cloves
2 Tbs red wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce (GF)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp cracked pepper
Em's Chimichurri:
1/3 cup olive oil
3 Tbs white wine vinegar
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 bunch coriander, chopped (can use oregano if you don't like coriander)
3 Tbs dried oregano
1 carrot finely grated
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 red onion finely chopped
1 tsp chilli flakes, less if you don't like heat (or 1 red chilli finely chopped)
1-2 lemons, juice only
Salt & pepper to taste
Method
For the beef, mix all the ingredients in a large freezer bag and place the beef inside, seal and keep in the fridge until ready to serve. For the first marinate, keep the steak as one piece. For the second, you can also choose to cut the skirt into long strips (with the grain- so long ways down the piece) and once ready to cook, skewer them and BBQ.
For the Chimichurri, put all the ingredients in a food processor and mix in pulses until combined and all similar sized pieces (you don't want a puree). Salt and pepper to taste. You can chop all the ingredients finely (not puree!) and mix together.
Tips
When using chillies, always check to see the heat level as they can vary greatly. If too hot, then only put in 1.
