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Arrachera (Mexican Skirt Steak)

Arrachera (Mexican Skirt Steak)

Arrachera (Mexican Skirt Steak)

Arrachera, aka Mexican skirt steak, is a great cut for tacos. It is tender, highly flavorful like a ribeye, and cooks very quickly. The skirt steak is best marinated overnight to achieve maximum flavor. To slice the skirt steak, always cut against the grain. If you cut with the grain, it will be tough and you’ll have chewy tacos.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Marinating Time8 hours
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: Beef, Latin American, main course, Mexican
Servings: 4
Author: Alex Gorgos

Equipment

  • charcoal grill
  • chimney starter
  • charcoal
  • food mallet

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs inner skirt steak
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lime juiced
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 small jalapeños finely minced
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

  • Using a food mallet, hammer down the skirt steak on both sides until it’s a consistent thickness.
  • Marinate the skirt steak with all of the ingredients for 8 hours.
  • Get the charcoal gray in the chimney starter. Pour the charcoal in the grill. Lay the skirt steak directly over the charcoal.
  • Grill for 4-5 minutes a side.
  • Let the skirt steak rest for 10 minutes. Cut into chunks and thinly slice against the grain.

Serve the skirt steak on corn tortillas with cilantro, onion, jalapeños, and your favorite hot sauce.

Relleno Negro (Stewed Black Turkey)

Relleno Negro (Stewed Black Turkey)

Slice the meatballs and shred the turkey. Serve with tortillas.

Sumac Rubbed Baked Monkfish

Sumac Rubbed Baked Monkfish

Serve the monkfish with lemon wedges.

Belizean Grilled Chicken Wings

Belizean Grilled Chicken Wings

Belizean Jerk Chicken Wings

I was recently on vacation in the beautiful country of Belize and picked up some jerk seasoning from a farmers market. Belizeans have their own version that differs from Jamaican jerk seasoning. The extra ingredients that aren’t part of Jamaican jerk are dried oregano and orange peel. In addition, they use allspice leaves instead of ground allspice berries. Since you’ll have a problem finding the leaves, ground will do. I chose to use wings, but any pieces of chicken will work great. This seasoning is also really good on pork, turkey, fish and shrimp.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Marinating Time8 hours
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: Belizean
Keyword: appetizer, Belizean, Chicken, Latin American, main course
Author: Alex Gorgos

Equipment

  • chimney starter
  • charcoal
  • grill

Ingredients

  • 8 large whole chicken wings

Belizean Jerk Dry Rub Seasoning

  • 1 tbsp habanero pepper powder
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 tbsp dried thyme
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp black pepper
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp allspice
  • 2 tsp ground dried orange peel
  • 2 tsp salt

Instructions

  • Mix together the jerk ingredients.
  • Liberally season the wings. Let marinate for 8 hours; preferably overnight.
  • Let the charcoal get grey in a chimney starter. Pour the grey charcoal into the grill. Place the wings over the charcoal.
  • Sear the wings on all sides for 10 minutes in total.
  • Pull the wings off to the side away from the charcoal. Cover the grill with the vent open. Grill for 20 more minutes; occasionally turning to cook evenly.

Serve the wings with fried plantains; sweet or savory.

Grilled Caramelized Apples

Grilled Caramelized Apples

The apples pair great with pork chops!

The Perfect Grilled Ribeye

The Perfect Grilled Ribeye

Thinly slice the ribeye and spoon over the sauce.

Moroccan Lamb Shank Tagine with Prunes

Moroccan Lamb Shank Tagine with Prunes

Moroccan Lamb Shank Tagine with Prunes

Lamb shanks are absolutely one of my favorite cuts. Cooking them in a tagine is a perfect way to get the meat to fall of the bone while requiring little added liquid. This recipe is a traditional Moroccan way of preparation, using preserved lemon, cumin, saffron, prunes, and almonds. To help speed up the cooking process, have your butcher cut your shanks into 3 pieces instead of leaving them whole. Serve the lamb shanks with couscous.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time2 hours 50 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Moroccan
Keyword: lamb, main course, Moroccan, north african
Servings: 4
Author: Alex Gorgos

Equipment

  • tagine

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp ghee or butter
  • 1 small yellow onion finely chopped
  • 5 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • 1 tbsp turmeric
  • 1/2 preserved lemon finely chopped
  • 4 lamb shanks cut into 3 pieces
  • 1 tsp saffron mixed with 1/4 cup hot water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup dried prunes
  • 1/4 cup parsley chopped
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds

Instructions

  • Melt the ghee in a tagine over medium heat. Sauté the onions for 10 minutes.
    Moroccan, main course, lamb
  • Add in the garlic, cumin, turmeric, and preserved lemon. Cook for 1 minute.
    Moroccan, main course, lamb
  • Add in the lamb shanks. Brown on all sides for 8 minutes.
    Moroccan, main course, lamb
  • Pour in the saffron. Add in the prunes. Season with salt.
    Moroccan, main course, lamb
  • Place the cover on the tagine. Put in a 275 degree preheated oven. Cook for 2 1/2 hours.
    Moroccan, main course, lamb
  • Sprinkle the parsley and almonds on top of the lamb shanks.
    Moroccan, main course, lamb
Moroccan, main course, lamb
Serve the shanks with couscous.