A quick and easy grilled steak marinated in a savory wine sauce. Perfect for weeknight meals, or your next Taco Night.
Since moving to the country we’ve had to get serious about weeknight dinners. Before, when we lived minutes away from several grocery store options, it was common for us to play it by ear, and run out to the store several times a week getting whatever we were inspired to cook.
But shoot, if I don’t plan the week’s meals on the weekend, we’re screwed! Aaaand I’m really bad at planning. So, it’s now becoming common place for me to call Sean on his way home from work and ask him to stop and pick up some groceries. Sorry, Sean! (#notsorry).
When we do this we need something that can be cooked quickly, with little prep or time on the grill.
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Skirt steak is a fantastic option for this!
It’s thin and lean, so it only takes a couple minutes for it to cook. Marinating is simple, and the meat doesn’t need much time to soak in all of those savory flavors. So in reality, Sean can come home with the ingredients at 5pm, and we can have dinner on the table by 6:15 (factoring in about 30-60 minutes in the fridge to marinate).
Once the meat is cooked it’s great in so many ways. You can serve it along some roasted potatoes like we did above.
Use it for sandwiches.
Or, do what we often do on Tuesdays. Use the meat for these killer looking skirt steak tacos! This is also a great option if you’re serving a crowd and want to stretch your dollar.
This is my kind of taco party, friends.
You can see from the picture we serve them simply. Some avocado, cotija cheese, some chopped onions, and salsa verde. Boom. You’ve got yourself one damn good taco.
WHAT IS SKIRT STEAK — THE CUT
Skirt Steak (not to be confused with flank) comes from the “plate” on the cow. Simply put, the area below the ribs and near the front underbelly of the cow, it’s the diaphragm muscle. Flank is the cut from a similar area but more toward the rear of the cow. If you get it from your butcher, all good, because you likely don’t need to trim. If you are butchering, be prepared for some tedious trimming of silver skin or membrane. That is key to remove prior to cooking to avoid a tougher cook. Marinating helps tenderize the meat. Some will use a meat tenderizer to assist, but we don’t. We just marinate and then grill, keeping it rare or medium rare for that texture and tenderness.
Grill it hot and fast for a couple minutes per side. And that’s it!
A quick and easy grilled steak marinated in a savory wine sauce. Perfect for weeknight meals, or your next Taco Night.
- 1 1/2 - 2 lbs skirt steak
- 2 tbsp dry rub, this rub consisted of equal parts salt, pepper, garlic powder. Simply mix all three, in equal parts, in a bowl to mix together, then measure out how much you need for the meat
- 1 cup red wine
- 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 sprigs rosemary
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Combine all marinade ingredients together in a large gallon size Ziploc bag and mix together. Add the meat, seal the bag and place in a large baking dish or bowl (this is in case your bag isn’t properly sealed. It protects in case of any possible liquid leaking out). Place in refrigerator from 30-60 minutes.
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Preheat grill for indirect cooking.
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Remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry. Allow the meat to come to room temp. Coat the meat with dry rub.
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Place meat on the grill over direct heat for roughly three minutes. Then flip and place over direct heat for two minutes. If your instant read thermometer is showing the steak still in the rare range and you want to cook more, place on indirect side and close the lid for no more than three more minutes. It cooks quickly. We like ours served rare, or roughly 120 degrees (F) internal temperature.
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Let rest for 10 minutes to let juices settle and then slice against the grain or chop depending on how you will serve.
WINE PAIRING FOR SKIRT STEAK
This cut of meat soaks in all of those delicious flavors from the marinade. You get incredible savoriness that comes through and a hint of that rosemary. There are many options that would fit the bill, but I lean towards full bodied reds with some herbal characteristics for this. This is great with red blends, like Rhone Style GSM (Grenache/Syrah/Mourvedre) blends. Cabernet Franc is also a beauty with this meat, and one we often turn to. Tempranillo is also a tasty choice.
What about you? Do you cook with skirt steak? What are your thoughts on this underused meat?
For more tasty recipes, BBQ tips and tricks, check out the Recipe Index.
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This looks incredible! I am adding it to our grilling list 🙂
Awesome! Let us know if you try it!
This looks AMAZING. I’ll definitely be trying this next time I buy steak!!!
Oh man, this looks so good! As much as I want to be a great meal planner, we often end up with that after-work trip to the grocery store, too. Definitely adding this to my list of recipes!
Oh yum, my husband really likes steak so this would totally be up his alley. I guess I need to make it for him.
Dooooo it! He will thank you for days 🙂
I think you’ve just put together the meal of my dreams! It’s been ages since I made steak with red wine. Yum!
Haha, thanks! It is pretty dreamy if I do say so myself 😉
This looks SO yummy! Love that it cooks up so fast and that you can quick marinate it too!
The steak look amazing, and those tacos!! I can’t wait to try it!
Oh my goodness, this looks sooo delicious!
I have a half-empty bottle of red wine that we did not really love. I am thinking that it will be perfect for this recipe.
Thanks for the great weeknight meal inspiration! I love throwing a flank or skirt steak on the grill, and am looking forward to trying your marinade.
I thought when I saw that initial shot of the steak and potatoes on the sheet pan that could just be my eating plate…
Mmmm I love skirt steak. This looks like such a great meal to enjoy with a big ol’ glass of red wine!
Ha, I went through the same struggle when I moved from my apartment to my house in the country. Your skirt steak recipe looks fab. Steak and red wine is a winning combo!
Skirt steak is such a great option for quick weeknight grilling, and your marinade sounds so good! Thanks for sharing, Mary!
What am I doing with the dry rub? I feel like an idiot.
Ahhh, great catch, we just updated the recipe instructions. After you remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry, coat meat with the rub and then add to the grill. Thanks for asking!!