This little Brazilian steak number is a favorite of The One’s. Actually, it’s one of the recipes he’s commandeered and refuses to let me make. And I go along with it: He thinks I do it for the sake of domestic harmony. The truth? Laziness. If I can just show up at the dinner table for a meal this good without having to lift a finger, I’m as compliant as a kitten.
While I can shout the glories of this skirt steak from the rooftop, I have to turn to The One for tips, tricks, and techniques since I’ve never made it!
His two big suggestions are to use apple cider vinegar and coconut oil. He likes the sweet-tartness of the apple vinegar, and the coconut oil gives the salsa a bit of a tropical flavor.
One caveat, though: Coconut oil’s melting point is 78°F (25°C); below that, it’s a hunk o’ solid fat. Now that summer’s almost here with its scorching dog days (thank you, climate change), that’s not a big deal. But if you serve this in cooler weather, The One suggests zapping the salsa in the microwave for a few seconds at a time until the oil is liquid. If you’re on the fence, go with olive oil. (I won’t tell him.)
Also, he says skirt steak isn’t the inexpensive cut of meat it once was. If it’s too much, use flank steak. You’ll need to cook it longer because it’s thicker than skirt steak.
Do you want to know how truly awesome this is? Our dear friend Nora, who lives in Uruguay, requests this steak every time she visits. (Well, this and my coconut layer cake.) That’s high praise indeed, as Uruguay is part of what I call the Argentine Beef Belt and home to the cooking-with-fire prophet himself, Francis Mallman. Nora knows her meat, and she gives this a big medium-rare thumbs up.
Contents
Why Our Testers Loved This
Tester Kristen K. described this seared skirt steak and salsa as “a simple recipe, easy to assemble and prepare, and positively divine.” That sums it up perfectly.
What You’ll Need to Make This
- Tomato—To give the salsa the best flavor, seek out the brightest, juiciest-looking tomato you can find. Skip the hard or pale red tomatoes.
- Serrano pepper—If you’re sensitive to heat, scrape out the seeds and white membrane from inside the pepper before chopping. You can also swap in jalapeño, which is a milder pepper.
- Lime—One lime should yield about 2 tablespoons of juice. If yours is particularly stingy, grab another one and juice that as well.
- Oil—Coconut oil adds a nice tropical note but can clump if the other salsa ingredients are cold. If it does clump, zap the salsa in the microwave for a few seconds. If that’s not your thing, olive or avocado oil is also fine.
- Vinegar—Red and white wine work here, but The One would be heartbroken if you didn’t try apple cider vinegar. Whatever you do, don’t skip the vinegar; it adds brightness and a zing to the salsa.
- Skirt steak—If your supermarket or butcher has both inside and outside skirt steaks, choose the outside cut. It’s more tender and has better flavor.
How to Make This Recipe
- Combine the salsa ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Sprinkle the steak with salt on both sides. Let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Heat a grill pan or skillet until very hot. Sear the steak until cooked to your desired doneness.
- Scrape any excess salt off the steak and let it rest for 10 minutes. Carve against the grain and serve with the salsa.
Common Questions
A long, thin cut, skirt steak is the unsung hero for red-meat lovers. Sliced from the diaphragm area, just under the ribs, it’s perfect for quick cooking. With big beefy flavor, it’s the steak most commonly used in fajitas. Sliced against the grain, skirt steak is tender and juicy after just a quick sear in a hot pan.
The main difference between these cuts of meat is where they’re located. Skirt steak comes from the diaphragm area of the cow, while flank steak is from the abdomen. Flank steak tends to be a wider cut and has a more visible grain running through it.
Both have a rich, beefy flavor, though many find the taste of skirt steak to be more pronounced. Both steaks benefit from quick, high-heat cooking, such as grilling or pan-searing, and remember to cut them thinly against the grain so that they aren’t tough and chewy.
Helpful Tips
- Make a double batch of the salsa and dribble it over breakfast tacos, grilled chicken, or scoop it up with chips.
- This recipe is suitable for gluten-free and dairy-free diets.
Variations
There are tons of ways to improvise with this, especially the salsa. Think red onion, green onion, flat-leaf parsley, or mint. Stuff the steak slices into warm tortillas or drape them on a salad. You get the idea.
What to Serve With This Recipe
My testers recommend serving this simple seared steak with grill-roasted potatoes and an easy spring salad on the side.
More Great Skirt Steak Recipes
Write a Review
If you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David
The salsa was amazing and refreshing! It paired very well with the skirt steak, and the entire meal was easy to prepare and not time-consuming. I’ll be making this dish regularly!
Beverly F.
Seared Skirt Steak with Salsa
Ingredients
For the Brazilian salsa
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup tomato, finely chopped
- 1/2 serrano pepper, finely chopped
- 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, pressed
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons coconut or extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine, white wine, or apple cider vinegar
For the skirt steak
- 1 1/2 pounds skirt steak
- 2 to 3 tablespoons coarse sea salt or kosher salt
Instructions
Make the salsa
- In a medium bowl, mix the cilantro, onion, tomato, serrano pepper, garlic, fresh lime juice, sea salt, black pepper, oil, and vinegar.
Make the skirt steak
- Place the meat on a cutting board and sprinkle both sides with coarse salt. Resist the temptation to rub the salt in—you’ll end up making the steak too salty. Let sit for 30 minutes so the meat can soak up some of the salt and come to room temperature.
- Heat a cast-iron grill pan or skillet over high heat until very, very hot. (I mean smoking hot!) Sear the steak until cooked to perfection, 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium rare. A wee bit longer for a medium steak.
- Remove the steak from the pan and scrape off the excess salt. Place it on a warm plate, cover it, and let it rest for about 10 minutes.
- Slice the steak into thin slices across the grain. Serve immediately with the salsa on the side.
Notes
- Double the salsa–Make a double batch of the salsa and dribble it over breakfast tacos, grilled chicken, or scoop it up with chips.
- Dietary–This recipe is suitable for gluten-free and dairy-free diets.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This seared skirt steak is stand-alone delicious and and such an easy dinner to prepare. The addictive salsa requires minimum knife skills and comes together in minutes. Make it while you’re waiting for the skirt steak to be seasoned by the salt and come to room temperature.
Paired with an avocado salad and roasted potatoes, it’s a perfect meal. The steak would also make a great taco or quesadilla filling.
Delicious and easy—the perfect trip to South America without leaving home. I’ve never been to Brazil, but I have been to Argentina and Uruguay, where the quintessential meal is just like this one—beef with a fresh chunky sauce, and this recipe is right on.
The chopping takes a little time, but after that, it’s a breeze to finish. Follow the recipe’s timing, and you’ll have a perfect medium-rare steak. The fresh flavor of the salsa and steak complement each other beautifully.
I made roasted potatoes and broccoli, and paired the steak with a 2018 Garzon Tannat from Uruguay, and I was in dinner heaven. I can’t wait till the weather warms, and I can make this on the grill.
The seared skirt steak is exquisite with the salsa, and the dish is at once rich and bright. It’s a simple recipe, easy to assemble and prepare, and positively divine. I can’t wait to throw this together the next time I have company.
Although my skirt steak was only 1.41 pounds, it still took a solid 5 minutes per side on a very hot grill pan. I let it rest for 30 minutes and started dibble-dabbling into the salsa. I quickly fell in love and decided to make another batch for breakfast the next day.
I used olive oil and red wine vinegar, subbed 1/2 a jalapeño for the Serrano peppers (I can’t find them where I live), and used Portuguese salt cream for the steak.
This was such a delicious dish. The fresh salsa was so flavorful and added great flavor to the dish. I’m a salt and pepper person for steak, and I can say I didn’t miss the black pepper. I cooked our steak medium-rare, which was 4 minutes on each side.
My skirt steak was a little thicker than what I normally see, which is why it took longer than the recipe stated.
If you’re a red-meat lover like me, it’s difficult to pass up a perfectly seared skirt steak. After a long day of cleaning, I wanted something easy for dinner, and this was just the ticket. A little prep, a little waiting over a nice glass of wine, and a quick cook. Voila! The perfect rare to medium-rare steak.
Any leftover steak is wonderful as a steak sandwich, with a little arugula and horseradish mayo. Bottom line: I’ll use this method of cooking skirt steak going forward.
I loved the flavor of this seared steak. Combined with the Brazilian salsa, it was a great bite. I used a cast iron pan that I let heat up for several minutes. By the time I added the steak, the pan was extremely hot, and the meat was medium-rare in slightly under three minutes per side with a 10-minute covered rest.
This Brazilian salsa is definitely the star of this dish. I could eat it as a salsa with chips. It was so bright and flavorful, and the red onions I used almost had a sweet note to them. I also used half of a jalapeño pepper instead of the serrano pepper to minimize the spice levels. It was terrific!
Searing a steak on the stovetop never quite has the same visual appeal to me as a steak with the fire-kissed char from a grill. Of course, that’s a personal preference.
I followed the directions as instructed for salting the steak and letting it sit for 30 minutes before putting it into the hot pan. I seared the steak for three minutes on each side for a perfect medium-rare, and let it rest for 10 minutes. The steak sliced beautifully, and I drizzled the salsa over the top, and served it with roasted baby potatoes and steamed broccoli on the side.
Overall, this was an amazing dish. The steak and brightly flavored salsa worked beautifully together, and we’ll definitely do this again, but the next time we’ll be throwing the steak on the grill.
Skirt steak is one of my favorite things to grill. It has a great beefy flavor and lends itself to lots of seasonings. The salsa in this recipe sends it to a 10. It’s a superb blend of fresh, sweet, herbal heat; no one ingredient overwhelms the others. I used one-half of a large jalapeño (no serranos in the market) and liked the amount of heat it brought.
One bite of the steak with the salsa, and I was hooked. All of the flavors of the salsa popped and were perfectly balanced. The steak was delicious, and my husband even had a few slices. He prefers fish to beef, so I made swordfish for him, and he loved the salsa on it.
Bright tomato, sweet onion, fresh cilantro, and just the right amount of jalapeño heat make this a salsa that could go on any number of dishes. Tacos, grilled chicken, you name it. This made a delicious Sunday night supper served with the Caesar roasted romaine.
Ms. Angie, the dish turned out great we all loved it, I did have to change one thing: the cilantro. I forgot My husband has this thing about cilantro he said it tastes like soap to him so I left it out. The avocado oil worked out great, too. We had corn tortillas and my Sis had made a thin pasta dish called fideo that brought the whole meal together. I will be making this again and try it with cilantro, too. Thank you so much.
I’m delighted to hear this, Lisa! Great to know that avocado oil works well here, and I can see how fabulous it would be with fido alongside. People seem to either love or hate cilantro. Apparently, that soapy taste is a genetic thing.
Thank you so much for responding so fast. I will let you know. We will be having it very soon. Thank you again Angie…
You’re very welcome, Lisa. I can’t wait to hear how it turned out.
What is MCT oil?
Bkhuna, it’s a type of oil made of only medium-chain triglycerides. Which is a science-y way of saying that it’s an oil used to raise your “good” cholesterol and lower your “bad” cholesterol. It’s often used by people following a keto diet. People tend to use MCT and coconut oil interchangeably, but our testers found that the flavor of coconut oil didn’t work particularly well here.
Could I use avocado oil for this recipe? It looks really good, I just don’t want to mess it up, I’m out of olive oil but I have everything else.
I think avocado oil would work well here, Lisa. The issue with the coconut oil was it solidified when in contact with the other ingredients. What some cooks do is zap the salsa in the microwave for a few seconds, just to liquify the coconut oil. You wouldn’t have that issue with avocado oil, and I think the flavor would pair well with the other ingredients. Do let us know how it turns out!