Sorry I let this one go by. I had some camera malfunctions as mama forgot to charge the bat'ry. It combines some good Mexican food with the grill. Inspired by last month's FW, in fact that's the link to the recipe as it was described. I'll just add some extra tidbits to it.
Arrachera a la parrilla; tortilla de maiz; crema de elote con rajas.
Grilled skirt steak, corn tortillas, salsa, creamed corn with roasted poblanos.
Skirt steak
Get two full pieces of skirt steak, make sure they're clear of silverskin. I have had some variable luck with finding this at the grocery store. If you ask, they usually have it, but it might be frozen. Not preferred, but it will do. Skirt is not the same as flank steak. Flank is oblique muscle, skirt is diaphragm, and hanger is diaphragm in contact with kidneys which does change the flavor.
Season only with salt, pepper, and lightly coat with olive oil. This is going to be quick, and you need a super-hot fire. Alton Brown on Good Eats describes actually putting these directly on the coals. Bold. Sear 5-6 minutes on one side. If it flames up, don't worry about it. 3 min or so on the other side. Cut on the bias. THAT'S IT! The idea is black outside, pink inside. Sounds like the punchline to a Newman joke. (insider MCG thing)
Options: you can marinate this overnight with some combination of ginger, lime zest (or deactivated lime juice), but a brining solution is probably overkill. The only other thing I'd say is that you have to think about how to serve this. You can make tacos with it, but think about the size of the meat and how it's going to behave with a taco. If you make it like this and cut it like it's described, you'll have two pieces about 3-4 inches long per taco. One bite, blows the whole thing up because it's a pretty chewy piece but it's got a bunch of flavor. I've been in restaurants that serve this alone.
Tortillas
When you buy these at the grocery store, how do you heat them up? You could throw them right into the microwave, but you'd be a moron. You could also wrap about 10 or so in a damp dishcloth and microwave them, that's better. Or, you could dampen them a bit and throw them suckers on the grill! That's what I'm talkin' about! Super hot fire, be quick about it, or you're going to have baked chips. Which isn't so bad, either. They do need some moisture because they get really dehydrated in the fridge. Alternative: on a skillet with a touch of oil or cooking spray. Don't let them brown. Like any good dough, they need to steam and blacken a bit. Or you can make your own. I'll get to that before to long. I just got a tortilla press that I bought at world market.
Creamed corn and poblanos
Take your pick. Cheat like I did and use a small can of creamed corn. Take two poblanos and throw them on the grill, too. Blacken them on all sides. Pull them off, let 'em cool, and then peel them. Seed, core the peppers, and cut diagonally into strips. Throw your large stainless skillet on your side burner or stove top, and heat it up to medium high heat (electric? 7/10). Add some oil to coat the base until it just starts to smoke, and throw in a diced onion. Let it go for a while, throw a couple of cloves of minced garlic, be careful not to burn them. Add a cup of sour cream, the corn, and the poblanos. Probably need a little bit of water in there, too, to give yourself a liquid that can reduce. This will take about 10-15 minutes total, and you can prepare it first while your stoking the coals for the other stuff.
Serve all with thin-sliced limes, and sprinkle a little cilantro over the top.
Viva la Matthew!
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