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Cooking stuff you suck at


Mo Horn

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On 9/24/2024 at 7:32 AM, Spaulding Smails said:

Evidently, after 25+ years of crafting my fajita cooking skills, I now suck.  

I had something really strange happen Sunday evening.  Picked up a big inside skirt steak from the meat counter at HEB.  Probably a pound and a half.  Had them run it through the tenderizer.  Used a tried and true lime marinade.  The meat sat for maybe 2.5 hours in a Ziploc in the fridge in the marinade.  Fired up the charcoal grill around 6 PM.  Added a few small chunks of well seasoned Oak.  Coals were perfect by 7:00.

Threw the beef fajitas on there along with a few chicken breasts and a link of sausage.  I went to go flip the beef, and it fell apart.  Not in the form of a desirable tenderness.  As in disintegration.  Every time I tried to pick it up with the tongs, it would get worse.  I slid some foil under it to keep it from falling through the grates.  As it cooked, it fell apart more and more.  As a last ditch effort, I heated up a skillet and threw it in there thinking it would be like a machacado.  The end result was a big pile of mush.  I tried a bite and immediately threw it in the trash.  Not even the slightest semblance of appetizing texture.  Literal mush.  It wasn't until this morning that I remembered this thread.  I really wish I would've taken pictures of this science experiment gone awry.

So, what gives?  I'm dumbfounded.  Was the lime juice too acidic?  Bad cut of meat?  Or, for the tin foil hat conspiracists, did the acidity + heat compromise the integrity of the food-grade glue that was holding together the Soylent Green product that was sold to me as a beef skirt steak and I've now developed a technique to expose a massive scheme by big beef to alter our food supply?

As stated, over-tenderized.  Acid and mechanical tenderization broke it down.  It also could have been a bad cut.  All the above.  I'd try again with a thicker cut.  Maybe try the flank steak at Costco.  

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On 9/24/2024 at 6:28 PM, dcbc said:

This, except a lot of veggies will be beautifully roasted at 400F in 12--15 minutes (in my experience).  Depends on the veggies though.  I certainly can see carrots taking a bit longer.

If you like to pull out early...no judgment here.  I like for things to get good and...carmelized.  Much more satisfaction all-around than pulling out early.

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