Skirt steak, cilantro and tortillas -- oh my!

I took a break from writing over the long holiday weekend, both my writing/editing job and my food writing here. I spent four days hanging out in the pool with my husband, cooking some, eating out some, sometimes just raiding the fridge for leftovers. It was a very chill out couple of days. 

One thing I did make was a skirt steak. Our local supermarket rarely has skirt steak, so when I see it, I snap it up. 

This time, I was determined to make my own marinade. I absolutely loathe bottled marinade, they never seem to taste right. I don't know what it is about bottled marinades, but they have both an unpleasant aftertaste AND an unpleasant mouthfeel. The only one I ever had that I liked is a brand that's not available in Pa. 

What I was looking for was a Southwestern-inspired marinade, so this is what I came up with. It's an amalgam of several different marinades, with my own ingredients tossed in as well -- mostly extra cilantro. You can never have too much cilantro.  

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 cup pineapple juice

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon minced garlic

juice of one lime

bunch cilantro, chopped

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Place steak in a plastic bag, pour in the marinade, and marinate all day.  This was enough for about a 2-pound steak, which I then grilled for about 3 minutes per side. Skirt steak is thin; you don't want to overcook it. 

So, then, as I was making all of this and deciding what side dishes I wanted (I settled on kale chips and a cauliflower "rice" and zucchini stir fry), I realized that it would be even more amazing with some homemade tortillas. Since I had made them once, and had made a huge batch, I knew I could make a small batch fairly quickly, and that's just what I did. It was a phenomenal meal. 

I am ridiculously happy that I can make my own corn tortillas. Who knew such a basic skill could be so satisfying?  I may be addicted. 

Here's a picture of my plate that night:  

The next day, I once again made a small batch of tortillas and made skirt steak tacos with the leftovers and served it with salsa and extra cilantro, of course. 

Homemade corn tortillas -- you'll never look back

OMG. That's all I can say about homemade corn tortillas. Warm and soft, with a dense, yet supple mouthfeel that you could just sit and eat plain while making happy little noises. But when you fill them?  Oh my. These are nothing like the cardboard-textured nastiness you get from the supermarket. 

But first, a funny story: this weekend I met a woman who was telling me about all the things that were on her bucket list and she asked what was on mine. I told her I didn't think I had anything on my bucket list, that I was happy with how my life was right now and couldn't see how it could be better. After I made the tortillas I realized that it had been on my bucket list all along. So, check!  

A couple of recipe notes: The main ingredient in these tortillas is masa harina, a specific type of flour made from dried corn. It's hard to find around here; Wende ordered it for me from Amazon.com. You MUST use masa harina; corn flour or corn meal will not work (and yes, I know this from personal experience). Second, you need to flatten the tortillas. You can use heavy books, skillets, a rolling pin, whatever floats your boat. I used this tortilla press. It was awesome. 


Ingredients:

2 cups Masa harina
1 teaspoon salt
water (probably about 1 and 1/2 cups or so)

Directions:

1. Put masa harina and salt in a large bowl. Mix well. Add water until it's a consistency that holds together, as in the first photo below. I suggest using your hands; you need to feel this. 

2. Preheat a griddle or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. When it's hot, melt some fat on it, such as butter or oil. 

3. Form the dough into balls a bit larger than golf balls. Line your tortilla press with plastic wrap to prevent sticking. Place a dough ball on the press and flatten slightly. Now press it!!!! The result is a flat, little pancake. Toss that on your hot skillet and cook for 30 seconds on each side. Set each warm tortilla aside and cover with a towel to keep warm and moist while you finish cooking. Keep adding fat as needed to the skillet. I re-coated my skillet after each batch. 

I doubled this recipe for 7 people, by the way. Originally, I just made one batch with the 2 cups of masa, and my husband walked by, looked at the plate, tasted one and said, "You need to make more." So I did. 

For fillings I made short ribs seasoned with Arizona Dreaming spice (cooked all day and shredded), traditional ground beef with my own, homemade taco seasoning, and shrimp cooked in olive oil and seasoned with Old Bay. I also whisked up some chipotle sour cream and, of course, had the traditional cheese and lettuce. I forgot to buy tomatoes, but I don't think anyone missed them!

Here are my photos:

Notice how the dough sticks together, like Play-Doh.

This was the first batch. I doubled this and they all got eaten because they were so good we just couldn't stop nomming on them.