Grandpa Gotta Cook—Steak Fajitas

Well, this is late.

As far as I know, it's not even Friday anywhere in the world at this point, so I don't even have that to fall back on.

No excuses, really.

I guess I could save it for next week, but I've got something I'm cooking tomorrow that I'd rather not have to wait two weeks to share, so I'm doing this now.

As far a the @foodfightfriday contest goes, I'm good with missing the deadline. I don't enter the contest for the prizes as much as I do it for another creative outlet. Since I have to cook, I might as well post about it, right?

I also do it for the camaraderie and to see what others have posted. Lately, I've been pretty lousy at interacting. Sounds like I need to pick up my game all around.

I guess I could start by moving along. Let's get this show on the road, shall we?

Los Ingredientes

I've made steak fajitas before (though it's been a while, and I don't even remember how long it's been), but this recipe was a little more involved, with hopefully a little more flavor than the previous attempt.

Included in the ingredient count a seasoning mix were:

2 tsps ground cumin
2 tsps chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Then, meat and vegetables:

2 tbsps olive oil
3 large bell peppers (I used two)
1 medium red onion (I used about a third of a white one)
8 ozs mushrooms (I think I ended up with 12 ozs)
2 cloves garlic (I approximated about two tsps)
1 1/2 pounds flank steak
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
10 small flour tortillas (we had regular sized)

Seasoning

I first got to mixing the spices together to create the fajita seasoning. Principally, the cumin, chili powder, onion powder, salt and red pepper flakes. They all got their own bowl, but then they got to sit for a bit.

Next, I was supposed to get a skillet with some oil in it heated up, but before I did that, I sliced up the onions. The mushrooms in this case were already sliced. I just had to open up a couple of cans.

Once the onions were done, I went ahead and prepared the skillet on medium heat and then cut up the peppers. By the time the mushrooms were open, the pan was ready.

Vegetables

In went the vegetables to cook for about 8 minutes. The idea was to let it all sauté until they were crispy, but I think there was still a little too much water that the mushrooms were packed in to do that. So, they didn't really get too crispy, though they weren't soggy either.

For two minutes more, the seasoning mix and garlic were added, and then all of it came out of the pan to a dish for the next step.

Steak

I'm not a big fan of frozen meats. After a time, they start tasting like the freezer. They also take a while to thaw, and then, even after a few hours, they might still need some extra coaxing.

That's what happened this time with the skirt steak I used. While it was thinner sliced, it was also folded over, leaving the insides still frozen enough that I couldn't really pull them apart yet.

So, into the microwave it went for some defrosting.

Then, it still needed to be cut. In the recipe it warned not to slice along the grain of the meat, or it would come out tough and chewy. I don't think I've ever even known to do that before, but I know I haven't paid much attention to which way I was cutting a piece of meat. I'm thankful for the warning, because I think it made a big difference.

The strips of steak went into the skillet for about five minutes each side, with the rest of the seasoning and the Worcestershire sauce. I was trying to get the meat to somewhere between medium rare and well done. Medium well, maybe? At any rate, I didn't want it overcooking.

Once the meat was more or less done, the vegetables went back in on top of them with some lemon juice.

Tortillas

As the fajitas were finishing up, it was time to get the tortillas rolling. These were flour tortillas that weren't pre-cooked. Those you can eat out of the bag. These, not so much. Warm time, interestingly enough, is about the same once the pan gets going. They do tend to bubble up a bit more than normal, too. I think I could have left the first few on a little longer, but all of them turned out okay. We like these because they tend to hold their flavor a little better.

Salsas

I got my wife, the salsa master, to put together some guacamole and pico de gallo for the fajitas. Unfortunately, we didn't have a whole lot in the way of avocados, so there wasn't as much of the guacamole as she would normally make.

Street Corn

If you've ever been to Mexico, or even places where there are a high concentration of Mexican people, you may have seen a street vendor selling elotes. An elote is the Spanish word for corn on the cob. Typically, some mayonnaise, some kind of chili powder and lemon are tossed on the still warm elote to be consumed immediately. There might also be some queso fresco.

When I went looking for something to go with the fajitas as a side dish, I came across this recipe for street corn. The ingredients included the mayonnaise and cheese, along with some sour cream. It also wanted some chili powder of a chili I didn't have, so after combining the rest with some canned corn (I didn't have corn on the cob, either), I had my side dish.

The Verdict

I liked how this turned out. Thanks to the warning about how to cut the steak and how long to cook it, the meat turned out very tender. The seasoning wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it was good nonetheless. The chili powder seemed to dominate rather than blend together.

I think next time, though, I will leave out the mushrooms. I know, shocker. Those who regularly read my cooking posts will note that I am a fan of mushrooms, along with the bell peppers. In this case, they seemed to distract from the meal. At least the canned ones did.

As for the rest of the crew, everyone else said they liked it. I know the leftovers were gone the next day, so I will take their word for it.

As for the street corn, it probably needed the powdered chili I didn't have, and maybe not the sour cream. It didn't taste like what I remembered eating before. Next time, I will also warm up the corn before mixing it with the rest, because I think that would help it, too.

Nos Vemos

Well, that wraps up another edition of Grandpa Gotta Cook. I'll definitely make these again, and maybe not wait so long to do it this time.

Until then...

...Enjoy!

_{Images courtesy of Glen Anthony Albrethsen}