Homemade Fajita and Salsa Recipes

well, this is my love.

I can't really give you my fajita marinate recipe, because it includes my Arbol sauce and Chipotle paste that I make. I make those twice a year, and they last forever. Both are very key to all my mexican cooking.

Try this for a simple and crowd-pleasing Fajita marinate...(note that you really don't have to get too fancy)....hell, vinegar, lime juice and black pepper works great.

1. saute in 1/2 cup of oil some 4-7 scallops and 4-6 cloves of garlic (exact amounts doesn't matter, this is a marinate, afterall).

2. once they are sweating, add a tsp salt, tsp of cayenne and a T. of fresh ground pepper...yesh a tablespoon. Black pepper is key, imo.

3. throw in a couple pinches of cumen seed and corriander seed (just throw them in as is, it is a marinate afterall.)

4. simmer for about 5 minutes, then add a cup of good vinegar (at least the apple cider stuff, not the distilled stuff, I use Sherry Vinegar). Add a cup of cooking wine. bring to a slow boil, then down to medium for 5-10 minutes.

5. take it off heat and add a 1/3-cup of fresh lime juice (about one large lime). You can double and triple this amount at will...to speed up the tenderizing on short notice. If you do, it will kill most of the other flavors, leaving you mainly with black pepper to add balance back. I recommend not using more than 1/3 cup if you intend to marinate the full 2 days.

cool it down before using.

marinate fajitas for at least 5 hours (I wrap them tight in the large freezer bags, squeeze out the air, and place them in the sun if I have little time). I prefer 2 days to marinate. VERY IMPORTANT: Do not use tenderized meat if you intend to marinate overnight; it will turn out crumbly. Hell, I never buy tenderized flank/skirt steak, and it is fine. (If you less than 5 hours, just use lime juice, vinager, tabasco sauce, and black pepper, as you will need to double or triple the lime juice quantities and thus blow out the other flavors).

When you place the fajita on the grill, grind some black pepper on it. When you flip it, grind some more on the other side. Did I say that black pepper is one of the big keys.


Making it fancy without Heypartner's Arbol Sauce and Chipotle Paste

When you add the vinegar and wine, add two Ancho chilis and 3 chipotles (dry or in adobe). De-seed and de-stem the Anchos, first. Bring to slow boil, then down to medium as #4 above.

Salsa Recipes
....hmmmm where do I begin? Do you want green, red, smokey, very hot? cilantro or no-cilantro? Fresh or Simmered?

I'll write up a classic Roasted Red, later.

[This message has been edited by heypartner (edited March 27, 2001).]

 

The key to the best fajitas is not the seasoning or the marinade; it's the prep.

1) do not, under any circumstances buy the pre-tenderized skirt steaks. You can tell them by the parallel lines cut into them.
2) buy un-tenderized skirt steaks, put one on your cutting board, and turn it membrane side up. You'll be able to tell because that's the side that also has the most fat. Take a sharp fillet knife and starting at one end, cut under the membrane and start pulling it away from the meat. Sometimes you can darn near pull the whole thing off without having to use the knife much. Other times, it's a time consuming laborious project. Regardless, it's worth the effort. Get that damn membrane off of all your skirts, and you'll have tender fajitas every time.

Now..for the seasoning: I absolutely swear by all of the fiesta brand seasonings. They don't have them at every store, and they're rarely found on the seasoning isle with the McCormicks and what not. They are usually close to or in the produce department. (They're garlic salad dressing powder is incredible with a good olive oil and some balsamic vinegar). Anyway, they have a good fajita seasoning powder that I sprinkle on my fajitas--look at the label and try to find the one that doesn't have salt in it. After that, I'll typically coat them with a little bit of Italian dressing (lately, I've been using the aforementioned homemade kind), and a little bit of woody's 'cookin sauce (found in the same place you'd find worcestershire in your grocery) or some BBQ sauce (not much), some worcestershire, and maybe some soy sauce. It all depends on my mood.

They're always excellent....just so long as I remove that membrane.

Cook them fast over a hot fire. Often I'll use wood because it burns hot and fast. If I use coals, I use a bunch of them, so wood ends up being cheaper too.

As for sauce, I always make fresh pico. Diced onions, tomatoes, seeded jalepenos, and chopped cilantro...seasoned to taste with salt and lime juice. Sometimes I'll dice avacado and put it in the pico too....or I might make quacamole and use some of my pico in it.

I rarely make fresh salsa--because I like pico so much--but when I do, I use canned tomatoes in a food processor with jalepenos, some garlic, some salt, and some cilantro. Sorry, I don't have measurements, but I only use recipes in baking....and even then I usually deviate somewhere.

Myabe HP will give you his chipotle recipe.



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stop posting my damn signature

 

Pole,

thx, next time I'm on short notice, I will pull that membrane off rather than increase my lime juice quantity.

try a 1 to 2 day marinade, sometime. That takes care of the membrane, as well.

 

HP,

I've tried the long marinades, and they just don't do the same thing. I find that though they do tenderize the membrane, they end up making the meat mushy. I literally don't have to marinade the meat at all--though I typically like to for a few hours--just to infuse it with taste though; not to make it more tender. Removing that membrane will give you all the tenderizing you need. I learned about this from a Mexica chef, and I didn't start doing it until just a few years ago--though I've been making fajitas for well over a dozen years. It has, without a doubt, improved the quality of my fajitas ten-fold. I guarantee that if you try it once, you'll never go back. I'm that confident. You'll also notice that restaurants like El Tiempo, Guadalejara, Ninfas, Chuy's, and Pappasitos all remove the membrane (or have thier skirts shipped that way).

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stop posting my damn signature

 

yeah, I do recall the membrane thing now from my hero Rick Bayless. Curious though, Randall's a couple of blocks away I think might be doing it as prep for you, since I heard about it...quite frankly, I haven't paid attention.

btw: if your long marinates are mushy, you had too much citric acid and vinegar. I agree, ultimately, marinates are not to tenderize. You can actually pull off a marinate with no lime juice or vinegar, but I like the lime tartness for fajita's.

[This message has been edited by heypartner (edited March 27, 2001).]

 

Forget the recipes and stressin' over that. If you live in Houston the place to go for the most tender marinated fajitas is that chain of Mexcan meat markets called "La Michoacana". Be sure and get the marinated ones. 5 minutes on the grill and they fall apart!!! They also have chicken quarters marinated and sliced down the middle. Man those things cook up great too!
Oh yeah beans and a coke go great with...

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Whatever you want to do, you have to do something else first.

 

ah...homemade is no stress.

stay on topic mr_oily

Oh, and try the Carne Asada at El Paraisio on Fairview/Crocker; it comes with some decadent Frijoles el Charra and pico.
Plus, their homemade sauce is the standard I use for classic Roasted Red. And the freshly fried chips make it great. Boy, that place is going to kill me one of these days.

 

Oh, I mean, "La Michoacana" has great recipes. I'm tellin' you!


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Whatever you want to do, you have to do something else first.