Steak Fajitas
March 28th, 2009 | 
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Steak Fajitas are very healthy and high in protein. They are easy to make and should go over very well with family and friends. You can serve it with some guacamole which you can also make at home using the guacamole recipe here.
Traditionally, steak fajitas are made with flank steak (or skirt steak), but in this example I am using Flat Iron steak. It is very similar to the more traditional cuts of meat for steak fajitas but it is a lot more tender. We buy grass fed beef from an online source. It is better quality than grain fed beef.
Steak Fajitas Ingredients:
- 2 lbs Flat Iron steak (or flank steak or skirt steak)
- 2 large yellow onions
- 2 large green bell peppers
Marinade:
- Juice from 2 limes
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 Jalapeño pepper, ribs and seeds removed, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (include the stems)
1. Prepare the marinade and steak:
Add all the marinade ingredients to a large glass bowl, and then stir to mix thoroughly. Slice the steak into thin strips – about 1/4 inches thick. Use an electric knife for best results. Cut the strips to about 1 inch wide by 3 inches to 4 inches in length. Add the strips of steak to the marinade in the glass bowl and thoroughly mix together so the marinade is allowed to coat all the pieces of steak. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator. Marinade the steak for at least a couple of hours. For best results, allow to marinade overnight.
2. Prepare the vegetables:
- Slice the onions lengthwise into 3/8 inch strips. First cut them in half, then into quarters as you would normally slice an onion, but then instead of chopping them cross-wise, slice them lengthwise into strips.
- Slice the bell peppers into 3/8 inch strips similar to the onions. First, cut out the stem, then slice each pepper in half lengthwise, then into quarters, then remove the seeds and ribs, then slice into strips.
3. Cooking:
Grill the steak on a gas grill. Arrange the grill grates by laying them one on top of the other in a staggered fashion so the spaces between the grates are narrow to keep the meat from falling through. Use grilling tongs to turn the meat. While the meat is cooking on the grill, cook the vegetables in a large skillet. Cook the vegetables until the onions are slightly translucent. Both the meat and the vegetables should be done in about 12 to 15 minutes. Turn the vegetables continuously to avoid burning them and turn the meat a few times while grilling. Place the cooked meat and cooked vegetables in separate serving bowls when done.
4. Serving:
Serve portions of meat and vegetables on a plate with 2 flour tortillas, guacamole, salsa and sour cream. Place a couple of strips of meat on a tortilla, then top with vegetables, salsa, guacamole and sour cream. Salt to taste if desired. Roll the tortilla around the ingredients and enjoy! Optionally, serve with cooked pinto beans.
Shown below is a shot of all the ingredients. Left to right, then back to front starting in the back row: olive oil, bell peppers, onions, ground cumin, cilantro, flat iron steak, limes, jalapeño pepper and garlic.
First, prepare the marinade. Begin by chopping the cilantro. Chop it up real fine, including the stems.
Next, slice the jalapeño pepper, removing the seeds and ribs, then peel the cloves of garlic.
Chop them with a chopper.
Add the chopped cilantro, garlic and jalapeño pepper to a glass bowl, then add the olive oil.
Next, add fresh squeezed lime juice.
Next, add the ground cumin …
Mix everything together with a spatula. The marinade is now finished and we are ready to add the meat.
I like to use an electric knife because it is easy to slice the meat very thin. I will cut the meat into 1/4 inch slices, then cut the strips to about 1 inch wide by 3 inches to 4 inches in length. I am using Flat iron steak in this example, but you can also use skirt steak or flank steak.
Add the sliced meat to the marinade and mix it all together so that all the meat is coated with the marinade. Cover and place in the refrigerator while marinading. Marinade the meat for at least a couple of hours. For best results, marinade overnight.
Next, slice the onions. Cut them in half first, then into quarters as you would normally slice an onion.
Instead of cutting the quartered onion cross-wise as you would normally slice an onion, slice them lengthwise into 3/8 inch strips as shown in the photo below.
Slice them all up into 3/8 inch strips.
Next, slice the bell peppers. Start by removing the stem, then cut each pepper in half.
Cut them lengthwise into sections to make it easy to remove the ribs and seeds.
Then cut them all up into 3/8 inch slices (lengthwise) similar to how the onions were cut. If I am not cooking right away, I will put the sliced vegetables into a reclosable zip lock bag and put it in the refrigerator until I am ready to cook them.
After the meat has marinated, cook it on a gas grill. Use grilling tongs to turn the meat. Notice how the grills are arranged. They are stacked one on top of the other with the top one upside down over the other. The grill bars are arranged in a staggered fashion in order to close the gaps so the meat doesn’t fall through the grill onto the flames.
While the meat is cooking, place all the sliced vegetables in a large skillet. It takes about 12 to 15 minutes to cook the meat and the vegetables, so you can cook them both at the same time.
When the meat is done, place it in a serving bowl.
When the onions start to become translucent, the vegetables will be cooked. Place these in a separate serving bowl.
Serve immediately. I like to serve them with two flour tortillas, guacamole, sour cream and a little salsa. Serve with portions of cooked vegetables and meat. Optionally, serve with cooked pinto beans.
This is a very delicious and healthy meal and should be a big hit with guests.
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