Citrus Skirt Steak Tacos
Skirt steak over a grate, a citrus-chile rub, and a slaw you mix in the bag it came in.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 11 oz
- cal / oz
- 65
- protein
- 42 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Grill grate
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Skirt steak | 1 1/2 lb | cut into grate-length pieces at home |
|---|---|---|
| Salt | 2 tsp | |
| Citrus chile rub | 2 tbsp + 3 tsp | chili powder, dried orange peel, garlic, cumin, ancho; mixed at home |
| Orange | 1, in wedges | |
| Flour tortillas | 8 | |
| Sour cream | 1/2 cup | cooler item; full-fat holds up better |
| Lime | 1 | |
| Purple cabbage | 1 cup, shredded | |
| Shredded carrot | 1/2 cup | |
| Green onion | 2, chopped | |
| Honey | 2 tsp | |
| Jalapeño | 1, sliced | |
| Cilantro | a handful, chopped |
Method
- Build a hot fire and set the grate close to the coals. You want it too hot to hold a hand over.
- Salt the steak and coat both sides with 2 tbsp of the rub. Let it sit while the fire settles.
- Stir the sour cream with a squeeze of lime, a pinch of salt, and 2 tsp of the rub in a cup. Set it aside.
- In the cabbage bag, add the carrot, green onion, honey, the juice of the remaining lime, 1 tsp of rub, and 2 tbsp of the crema. Close it and shake.
- Lay the steak on the grate. Three to four minutes a side for medium rare. Put the orange wedges on cut-side down for the last two minutes.
- Move the steak to a plate and leave it alone for five minutes. Warm the tortillas on the grate while you wait.
- Slice across the grain, thin. Build tacos with steak, slaw, crema, jalapeño, and cilantro, and squeeze the hot orange over the top.
Skirt steak is the right cut for a fire because it is thin. It cooks through before the outside burns, which is the whole problem with grilling over coals you cannot dial down. Cut it across the grain when it comes off or it eats like rope.
The original called for a crema of sour cream thinned with heavy cream. Two dairy items in a cooler for one sauce is not worth it, so lime juice does the thinning instead and the acid earns its place. The slaw gets a spoonful of that same crema plus honey, which is the only thing standing between grilled meat in a tortilla and something you want a second of. Grilling the orange wedges is not decoration; the heat pulls out sugar and the juice hits the steak warm.
Packing
Mix the rub at home in one small jar so you measure it three times, not fifteen. Steak travels vacuum-sealed at the bottom of the cooler, cabbage and carrot pre-shredded in a zip bag that doubles as the mixing bowl. Tortillas go on top of the cooler or they end up folded.
Variations
- No grate: a cast iron pan straight on the coals does the same job with better crust.
- Swap sour cream for full-fat Greek yogurt if that is what the cooler already holds.
- Corn tortillas make it gluten-free, but warm them one at a time or they crack.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/sizzling-citrus-skirt-steak-tacos