Skirt Steak Tacos

We are continuing to try and cut our shrinking food budget. Oregon is threatening to cut school days and simply not pay teachers for up to 20 days. This has me trying to scramble to put aside cash for up to a month. Isn't the economy fun?

Beef isn't often on our menu due to cost. Also, the feedlot and grain-feeding practices really turn my stomach. Sadly, the pasture raised, grass fed, humanely-slaughtered animals are extremely expensive, particularly when trying to save money.

That being said, Justin has been under the weather and this weekend is an anniversary weekend for us. We needed a little celebration. And steak. Skirt steak is a great, budget cut of beef. It needs to be marinated in something acidic to break the meat down a bit. It can be very chewy. But, like flank steak, when it is sliced thinly the flavor is worth the extra chewing needed.

This is one of our favorite recipes. The original recipe is from Jeffery Steingarten's book It Must've Been Something I Ate. It is a great collection of funny foodie stories. We love making skirt steak tacos for a crowd in the summer. They really are best off the grill, but in the winter, the broiler works just fine.

Serve these up with guacamole, sour cream, finely sliced purple cabbage and radishes.
Skirt Steak Tacos
2 pounds skirt steak
juice of one orange
juice of one lime
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
4 garlic cloves, crushed

1. For really crispy steaks cut the steaks in half width-wise. Lay a steak on the cutting board and holding a knife parallel to the board slice the steaks in half.
2. Mix up the marinade in a large plastic bag. Add meat and refridgerate for at least an hour.
3. Turn broil on high. Broil meat about 8 minutes on each side or until cripy. Let the meat rest about 5 minutes and then cut thinly.
4. Pile up a flour tortilla with meat, guacamole, sour cream, cabbage and radish. Open a beer and toast to a good life, even when the world is a bit crazy.