What Is Skirt Steak? Skirt steak is a thin, long cut with visible grain. It comes from the short plate or diaphragm area of the steer, just under the rib section.
Varieties of Skirt Steak
The skirt steak you purchase or eat will either be outside skirt or inside skirt. Outside skirt is attached to the outside of the chest wall (hence the name), running diagonally from the 6th to the 12th rib. Its covered with a thick membrane which is the diaphragm itself (the steak is the muscle that moves the diaphragm).
Inside skirt is situated below and a little bit further back from the outside skirt. It is located within the body wall itself, which is why its called “inside.” The inside skirt muscle lies flat across the lower part of the ribs and extends even beyond the ribs, into the beef flank primal cut, which is part of the hindquarter of the animal. As a result, a wide flap of meat at the rear of the transversus abdominis muscle is usually excluded and ends up part of the flank instead.
Outside skirt is a bit thicker than the inside skirt and its more uniform in shape. Inside skirt is thinner, with a slightly more irregular shape. A whole inside skirt might weigh two pounds; an outside skirt may be a bit less. But inside skirt will shrink a bit more when you cook it as the muscle fibers tighten up.
Because of its thickness and regular shape, the outside skirt is what restaurants and other foodservice operations prefer to use for making fajitas and other grilled skirt steak dishes.
How to Cook Skirt Steak
Both outside and inside skirt have a good amount of fat within and between the muscle strands, which helps keep it moist when grilling it. The grain on the inside skirt is a little bit wider, so it might have slightly more fat.
A lot of skirt steak recipes call for marinating the meat before grilling it, and because of its looser structure, skirt steak will absorb the flavors of the marinade quite well. But theres no need to marinate it for more than 30 minutes or so, as marinating does not tenderize meat.
Since skirt steak is tough, the best way to cook it is very quickly over the hottest grill you can get. As a matter of fact, some people will even skip the grill altogether and cook it directly on the coals. This actually works quite well, because you do not want to overcook skirt steak. Cooking it directly on the coals gets the surface of the meat nice and brown very quickly, without cooking the inside of the meat for too long. Ideal doneness is medium-rare to medium.
Most importantly, skirt steak absolutely must be sliced thinly against the grain. Because its so long, your best bet is to cut it into shorter sections first and then slice those sections across the grain.
How to Cook Skirt Steak
FAQ
Is Angus skirt steak tender?
Is skirt steak a good cut of meat?
Is Angus skirt steak fatty?
How tough is skirt steak?
What is a skirt steak?
Skirt steak is a long and flat cut. It comes from the beef plate on the belly area right under the ribs. This cut is not the most tender cut of beef; however, it has a rich beefy flavor and turns out super delicious when cooked right with a juicy texture. Like sirloin and Denver steak, it is very affordable.
Skirt steak vs Flank steak: Which is healthier?
Both the steak variants have similar amount of energy and proteins as both are cut from a similar animal. Moreover, skirt steak is cut from the lower portion of the animal, just behind the fore limbs. Flank steak is also cut from the lower part but behind the skirt steak or before the hind limbs. Both the meat variants have characteristic flavor but are not very tender. Thus, they can be used for grilling, roasting, sautéing or broiling. However, the steak should not be cut thickly or over cooked to avoid toughness and dryness.
What does skirt steak taste like?
You can eyeball it and have a juicy, nicely-browned, perfectly pink steak every time. If you’re not familiar with skirt steak, it’s a flat steak that runs along the ribs of the cow, relatively lean and full of flavor. You’ve probably seen it sliced and served with eggs for breakfast or stuffed into tortillas for fajitas.
Is a skirt steak a flank steak?
A skirt steak is not a flank steak. They are two different kinds of meat. The one has two skirts and looks good in marinade, while the other one is less of a fashionista.