SKEWERED SOUTHWEST STEAK
Flatiron beef steak, cut from the shoulder muscle of the animal, provides a nice alternative to flank steak in this recipe (see note). You’ll need 8 to 10 midlength metal skewers or soak that same number of wooden skewers in water for 10 minutes while the meat marinates. We tested this under the broiler but feel free to cook the skewers on a gas grill, if you’d like.
Serve with a mix of smashed/ roasted small potatoes and roasted red peppers, or with baked sweet potato fries. Adapted from the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Serves: 4
3 large cloves garlic
1 lime
Kosher salt
8 stems cilantro
1 tbsp (15 mL) hot pepper sauce (regular or jalapeno-flavoured) 2 tbsp (30 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbsp (45 mL) low-sodium soy sauce 1 1/4 tsp (6 mL) ground cumin 1 1/4 lb (567 g) flatiron steaks (may substitute flank steak; see headnote and note)
1. Position an oven rack 4 to 6 in. (10 to 15 cm) from broiler element; preheat broiler.
2. Peel garlic cloves and put them in food processor; pulse until finely chopped, cut lime into 8 wedges and squeeze half of them into the food processor bowl. Add two-fingered pinch of salt, leaves from 6 cilantro stems, hot sauce, oil, soy sauce and cumin. Purée to form smooth marinade.
3. Starting at one of the short ends of the rectangular pieces of steak, cut crosswise (against the long grain), into 1/4-in. (6-mm)thick strips. Lay in baking dish or place in gallon-size (4.5 L), zip-top bag. Pour marinade over meat and toss to coat. Let sit for 10 minutes, thread strips, weaving them in wavy in-and-out style to fill each skewer. Place on broiler or grill pan; broil (top rack) about 4 minutes for medium-rare (or longer according to personal preference).
4. Divide skewers among individual plates; season lightly with salt. Garnish with sprigs from remaining cilantro stems and serve with remaining lime wedges.
Note: If you use flank steak, trim excess fat and cut on the diagonal, against the grain, into long strips.