Independence Day is nearly here! Hooray for three day weekends, barbecues, and celebrating our Nation.
If James and I were in San Antonio this weekend, we’d be preparing for a weekend full of tubing, good beer, and of course, fajitas.
Do you know the history behind fajitas? Originally, skirt steak (what real fajitas are made from) was considered part of the “unusable” meat on a cow. By unusable, I mean that it couldn’t be sold commercially because it was tough. So it was given to the cowboys, or Vaqueros, as part of their pay – along with plenty of other parts that housewives wouldn’t buy. If you ever wondered where Barbacoa came from, now you know that too.
Fajitas are quick and delicious for any barbecue, and can be topped by just about any garnish you want. A recent poll on the Bluebonnets & Brownies Facebook page included guacamole, peppers and onions, and most interestingly – butternut squash or sweet potato cooked with garlic and cumin as favorite toppings!
I can’t wait to try that last one. But most traditional to me are sour cream, cheddar cheese, crisp lettuce, tomato, and my favorite guacamole.
Make your Fourth of July into a taco party – throw some Fajitas and tortillas onto the grill, set out the condiments, and let your guests go to town.
Below is a simple marinade for your Fajitas. We marinate for at least 4 hours around here, and then grill to medium. Remember to cut across the grain after allowing the meat to rest to make the steak easier to chew in tacos.
My butcher didn’t have skirt steak, so I substituted flank steak, which comes from a similar area on the cow. You can do the same if you wish.
Happy 4th of July, Friends!
I hope your holiday is filled with love, laughter, and lots of fireworks!
Fajita Marinade
For 4
1 lb Skirt or Flank Steak
Kosher Salt
Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
Cumin
Garlic Powder
Chili Powder
1/2 cup soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce to taste
Place steak in a casserole dish or baking tray with lip. Sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder, and chili powder on each side. This is entirely to taste. I go light on the chili powder, but heavy on the garlic powder and cumin.
Sprinkle each side with Worcestershire sauce, about 2 tablespoons for each side.
Place steak in a ziptop bag, cover with 1/2 cup of soy sauce. Roll bag, removing as much air as possible, and zip closed.
Leave in the refrigerator for at least two hours, but up to 24.
Grill to medium or medium rare. Slice against the grain. Enjoy with flour or corn tortillas, and plenty of fresh vegetable garnish.
[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Fajitas – – – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]
Lenore
Thursday 7th of July 2011
As silly as this is going to sound, I've never actually marinaded meat on my own. I love fajitas, so this may have to be the first one I try :)
Cookbook Queen
Wednesday 6th of July 2011
Amber this looks amazing!! Fajitas are one of my husband's favorite things :) And quite the history lesson as well!! Look at you, smart girl.
Jen Schall
Tuesday 5th of July 2011
I'm starting to think that I should be from Texas... Fajitas for the 4th of July sounds just perfect to me! I'd trade my hot dogs for some fajitas any day. :)
Kelly
Monday 4th of July 2011
Mmm nothing is better than fajitas and this recipe looks amazing! Loving your blog and so glad to be a new follower! Hope you're having a fabulous 4th of July! :)
sweetsugarbelle
Monday 4th of July 2011
FAJITAS...I would laugh when I got to VA and people regularly said fa-jidas, with ja-lop-ann-oes.... We are spoiled. Bernie has his own method, and uses precut HELL out of them in his "disco"...this recipe includes beer! LOL, I might like the condiments more than the meat, but I'm down with the rare meat. Still working on him! Happy fourth, Amber!