“I wish they made fajita cologne because that stuff smells good. What’s that you’re wearing? That’s sizzlin’!”
— Mitch Hedberg
You haven’t lived until you had a good fajita.
Fajita is Tex-Mex ( Texan-Mexican), a regional American cuisine driven from the Tejano people of Texas and spreads from the southern border states of Texas to the rest of the country including America’s hat, Canada.
These bad boys look a lot like tacos, except in tacos the vegetables are often chopped or sliced and kept raw as a topping whereas in fajitas the meat is usually accompanied by sauteéd peppers and onions cut into long strips. Skirt steak is the preferred meat, that is grilled quickly to a medium rare and is served with warm flour tortillas and a selection of fun and colorful toppings.
Flank Steak (also called skirt steak) is a good all-purpose cut of beef perfect for grilling, roasting, broiling, or sautéing. Given that it comes from the often-used abdominal section of the cow this cut of meat is lean, and if overcooked, it can get dry and tough. One mistake and your meat could go from enjoyable to jaw-breaking chewy, so pay attention to your heat and be sure to cut AGAINST the grain.
In this recipe, we tossed our flank steak in a bit of unsweetened cocoa powder to tenderize the meat with its acidic properties. It also imparts a bit of earthy bittersweet flavor to our meat. That is the secret sauce.
When you’re done cooking snuggle the cooked steak in a warm flour tortilla, and top with a combination of sautéed pepper and onions, guacamole, sour cream, and salsa. On second thought you may want to enjoy the salsa separately as an appetizer with your favorite chips. It has a strong flavor and can drown out all other tastes.
