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 minutesmins
Cook Time10 minutesmins
Marinating Time8 hourshrs
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 1/2lbsinner skirt steak
1tbspolive oil
1limejuiced
4garlic cloves minced
2tspcumin
2tsppaprika
1small jalapeños finely minced
1/2tspsalt
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.
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 minutesmins
Cook Time30 minutesmins
Marinating Time8 hourshrs
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: Belizean
Keyword: appetizer, Belizean, Chicken, Latin American, main course
Author: Alex Gorgos
Equipment
chimney starter
charcoal
grill
Ingredients
8largewhole chicken wings
Belizean Jerk Dry Rub Seasoning
1tbsphabanero pepper powder
1tbspgarlic powder
1tbsp onion powder
1tbspdried oregano
1tbspdried thyme
2tspground ginger
2tsppaprika
2tspcumin
2tspblack pepper
2tspground coriander
2tspallspice
2tspground dried orange peel
2tspsalt
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.
Beef tongue is one of my favorite meats; so why not turn it into one of my other favorites: corned beef. The process is the exact same when brining a regular brisket. The tongue will take less time in a smoker than a brisket; about 3 hours. After the tongue is smoked, you’ll need to either slow cook it in the oven or use an Instant Pot to peel off the outer skin; about 1 hour per lb. in the oven or 15 minutes per lb in the pressure cooker. Once the tongues are cooked, the skin should peel right off. Thinly slice and use for sandwiches.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time4 hourshrs
Brining Time10 daysd
Course: Main Course
Keyword: Beef, electric smoker, how to make, main course
Author: Alex Gorgos
Equipment
large bin for brining
Electric Smoker
instant pot
Ingredients
2beef tongue
1gallon water
1cupsalt
1cupsugar
2tsppink curing salts
8garlic cloves
1tbsp coriander seeds
1tbsp black peppercorns
1tbsp allspice berries
1tbsp whole cloves
4bay leaves
Wood Chips
hickory
Instructions
Mix the brining ingredients together.
Pour the brine into a large bin and add the beef tongue. Brine for 10 days.
Let the tongues dry on a rack in the refrigerator for 1 day.
Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Add in the beef tongue.
Smoke for 3 hours; changing out the wood chips every hour. Place the tongue in an instant pot on the pressure cooker setting on high for 15 minutes per pound.