Skirt Beef - the best way to cook it?

N9eav

When I was a butcher, I used to cut up about 40lbs of skirt a day into cubes for a local pasty maker. Got sick of it in the end. But it is flank(lower end of the underside of a cow near where the rib cage ends) and it is lean. One type of skirt (diaphram) has a big thick piece of gristle running down the middle. Supermarkets tend to leave it in, so take it out before you use the meat in anything.

Listel_2

In France we tend to fight over what we call "Onglet", the SKIRT< the diaphragm... It is marbled and all you need to do is to pound it gently, not too much as you want to retain the texture, just breaking the fibers, rub finely chopped rosemary, black pepper and olive oil. grill it on a very high griddle, turning it every 90 seconds. once cooked 3 minutes for rare, 4 for medium rare, 5 for medium and 3 days for the charcoal eating "others" (don't sue me if your house burns down!) If the meat is thick, allow another 60 seconds.

Let it rest for two minutes, to allow the juices to spread around the meat evenly (it won't get cold if you then place it on a reasonnably hot plate) salt it and serve it. Best served with a herby garlic butter (100 grm butter, one very small shallot, or a half finely chopped, two garlic cloves finely chopped, a spoon of finely chopped parsley, a pinch of dried herbs, salt and black pepper, pound the lot, in a mortar, shape it into a sausage, using a rolled clingfilm, rolling it and tighening it to the size of a banger, 30 minutes in the freezer. When the steak is ready to serve, unroll the butter, cut a slice half an inch thick, place it on the top of the meat. Let it melt whilst eating it...

Close the clingfilm and put the rest of the butter back in the frreezer. it will last for at least six months and can be used with all cut of beef and fish! (Also fantastic gratinated with snails...)

Being French, I'd eat it with haricot verts! steamed than pan fried, then very pan fried for 3 minutes gently in chopped garlic and butter! (No, I am not 25 stones! its all about quantity!)

Cheers

meanmarie

That sounds so good Listel....will order some skirt to-morrow from butcher....would be nice marinated and done on barbecue I think.

marie

ItchyFeet

I have some beef skirt/bavette in the freezer that needs using but i'm not really sure what to do with it. I know it's supposed to be good for pasties but trying to stay away from pastry at the moment. Any ideas appreciated!

meritaten

I think (not sure) that beef skirt is usually used in casserole or stew recipes. but cooks a little quicker than the usual shin.

bear77

Hi there,

I bought some skirt today! I usually season with black pepper & garlic powder, then just cook it like I would a steak - medium rare. Always give it 5 minutes to rest though ) And thank you, I used to live in France and my favourite steaks were bavette and onglet - was never sure which one was skirt steak so you've answered my ponderings!

You can also cook it slowly though too.

bear77

PS...

there is a good recipe on the independent website for bavette steak with bearnaise - my favourite! Google is a wonderful thing

ItchyFeet

Oh, i didn't know i could cook it like a steak! Mmm, not sure whether to do that or stew. Thanks for the suggestions.

bear77

Yeah, its really tasty and makes a steak dinner much better value (and MSE too) Just been doing a bit more reading and marinating it overnight in olive oil can help with the tenderness. If you do cook it as a steak, don't do it more than medium as it will become tough. There's also something about cutting it across the grain rather than along it. However you do choose to cook it I'm interested to know how it turns out! I went to the butcher at the market in town today (my favourite) and got the skirt steak, a lamb shoulder and pork belly. All MSE and I LOVE that butcher!! Have you ever done slow-cooked lamb shoulder? For one who likes their meat on the rare side, it is one of my absolute favourites. Good luck and enjoy!

skintbint_2

used to buy skirt years ago and it was the best ever when stewed low for a relatively long time, with turnips and carrots then topped with dough balls! used to just melt! then the butcher bumped the price right up and stopped buying it. must have a look at prices now though - thanks for reminding me!