Fajitas - Texas Style

Day 4 of Foods and Flavors of San Antonio.



Two of the best Tex-Mex recipes can be found in Gloria Chadwick's new cookbook, "Foods and Flavors of San Antonio". I'm talking about FAJITAS of course. If you haven't tried these delicious bits of savory, sizzling meat you're mising out my friends.

Whenever out-of-town friends and family come to visit, one of their first requests is to either go to a restaurant and order this delicious dish or Bob and I end up making them for a special dinner for them.

Fajitas are a Texas creation. There is a fellow foodie, Sonny Falcon, who is credited with having concocted this wonderful BBQ dish. He is better known as the Fajita King of Texas.

"Sonny Falcon is believed to have operated the first commercial fajita taco stand at a weeklong outdoor event in Kyle, Texas in 1969. He also went to rodeos, fairs, and outdoor festivals selling his fajita taco. An Austin reporter christened him "The Fajita King" and Falcon was able to trademark the name". To read more about the fajita king, click here.

You can't go wrong with Texas-style fajitas. While some "purists" still insist that true fajitas are made only with "skirt-steak", wonderful recipes have evolved using other cuts of beef such as flank and, of course, chicken. Here is Gloria's recipe for beef skirt fajitas. DELICIOUS. I also made some chicken fajitas which is why it's in the picture. But if you want that recipe, either buy the book or leave a comment on this post to enter the drawing for Gloria's cookbook this Saturday.

Beef Fajitas
6 servings

4 garlic cloves, mashed to a paste
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablepsoons olive oil
2 pounds skirt steak, trimmed and cut into large pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 large red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Garlic butter, optional
12 (8 inch) flour tortillas, warmed
guacamole
salsa

In a large bowl, whisk together garlic paste, salt, lime juice, cumin and olive oil.

Add the steak to the marinade, turning to coat it. Cover the bowl and let the steak marinade in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

When ready to cook, grill or broil the steak to desired doneness. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes.

While the meat is resting, heat the vegetable oil in a 12-inch skillet over high heat. Add the peppers, onion and minced garlic. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until the peppers are softened.

Slice the steak thinly across the grain on the diagonal. Arrange steak slices on a platter with the peppers and onion. Drizzle steak juices over steak.

Fill warmed tortillas with steak, peppers, onions, guacamole and salsa.

Other links to some really interesting information on the history of fajitas:
Fajita History
Cookery Online