Balsamic Marinated Skirt Steak

Balsamic Marinated Skirt Steak, seared on the outside, cooked to your liking on the inside, is one of the most flavorful pieces of meat you can prepare. The steak is left to marinate in a mixture of balsamic vinegar, oil, fresh garlic, mustard and Worcestershire sauce along with cayenne pepper for four to six hours, which makes the meat tender and really flavorful.

Balsamic Marinated Skirt Steak

If you are not familiar with skirt steak, it might be because the meat may go by a different name at your local butcher shop. Depending on where you live, it might be called beef plate, inside or outside skirt steak, boneless diaphragm, fajita steak or even Philadelphia steak. This particular cut of meat is known for its outstanding beefy flavor and is often used in fajitas and stir-fries. Since this is not a tender cut of meat by nature, it is very important to only cook skirt steak to rare or medium rare and then cut the steak against the grain very thinly just before serving. This all helps to ensure that your steaks will end up tender and delicious.

Balsamic Marinated Rear Skirt Steak, Crispy Potato Cake And Tomato Salad

Balsamic Marinated Skirt Steak

Serves two, adjust the recipe accordingly.

  • 1/2 to 3/4 lb. skirt steak
  • 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 c. oil (I used peanut for high heat grilling)
  • 2 – 3 cloves garlic, mashed to a paste
  • 1 tsp. mustard
  • 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper or to taste
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Skirt steak is a long piece of meat so cut it into shorter, more manageable pieces and then place into a resealable zip bag. Mix all the rest of the ingredients except the salt and pepper until blended and pour over the meat. Remove as much air from the bag as possible and seal. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours but I like to marinate the meat 4 to 6 hours so that the vinegar in the marinade has a chance to tenderize the meat. When you are ready to cook, take the steak out of the refrigerator and remove from the marinade. Season the meat generously with salt and pepper and let come to room temperature before cooking.

Preheat your grill until hot and cook quickly. I use the sear burner on my gas grill which has intense heat and cook each side for about a minute for rare. Timing on your grill may vary but try not to cook the steak to more than medium rare which has a very rosy pink center, approximately 2 to 4 minutes depending on the thickness of the meat. The steak should register 120 to 125 F for rare, 130 to 140 F for medium rare when checked with a meat thermometer. Once you take the steaks off the heat, wrap with foil and let rest for about 10 minutes for the juices to even out. *If you don’t have a grill or it is the wrong time of the year to be cooking outdoors, you can prepare the steak in a very hot grill pan or skillet on your stove top.

If you would like, you can use the excess marinade to prepare a sauce. Simply bring the balsamic marinade to a boil, lower the liquid to a simmer and cook for a few minutes to reduce then serve with the sliced steak.

Skirt Steak Cooked Medium Rare With Chimichurri Sauce

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This balsamic marinated skirt steak  is very simple to prepare and I believe your family and friends with enjoy it. You can make your marinade early in the day then marinate the skirt steak a few hours before you are ready to cook…I suggest 4 to 6. Prepare your sides at meal time and then grill your steak. While the meat is resting, you can get the rest of the meal on the table then slice your steak and serve. I served the balsamic marinated skirt steak with cheesy potato cakes which were crispy on the outside and soft and flavorful on the inside along with an heirloom cherry tomato and basil salad. Other good options for side dishes are twice baked potatoes, sweet potato wedges or sautéed spinach. If you don’t reduce the marinade to use as a sauce, a nice accompaniment when serving skirt steak is Chimichurri Sauce, you can find the recipe here.

 

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56 thoughts on “Balsamic Marinated Skirt Steak

  1. The steak looks delicious but I am in love with tomatoes at the moment so the salad looks even better to my eyes. It’s not very sensible to love tomatoes in Christchurch right now, when it is winter and tomato prices are exorbitant. 😀

  2. Great idea for a lovely meal. I prefer the idea of a skirt steak as opposed to the other names it goes by.

  3. This looks like another winner and something that my husband would really enjoy. I am not a great lover of beef steaks unless it is fillet, which is lovely and tender, but very expensive. Still, your pictures look mouthwatering and I am sure it is worth a try. Thanks for sharing. 👍

  4. This looks wonderful! LOVE skirt steak — it has so much flavor. It’s become a bit hard to find in supermarkets here, alas, although I have a nearby butcher where I can always find it. Great looking recipe — thanks.

  5. I think skirt steak is also known as hanger … still my favourite piece of beef to use in fajitas. I think it’s tasty on top of a Caesar salad for a beef version of a chicken Caesar.

  6. I also know this cut by the name of skirt steak and appreciate its taste value. Our supermarkets don’t seem to keep – my wonderful butcher does! Only eat steak blue or rare so that is no problem . . . and do like the use of balsamic rather than ordinary vinegar and shall not forget the cayenne. The lovely tomato salad shall have to wait a season . . .

  7. You kind of got me with “boneless diaphragm,” Karen. LOL! But as Skirt Steak, the marinade is very appealing. My granddaughters, young as they still are, have identified this cut of beef as a favorite. So I will be popular with them. I’d like to have the beautiful potato in your photo. 🙂 I hope you’re enjoying your summer!

  8. yum this sounds delicious. we are not steak eaters in our house and i’ve never cooked it, but this does look great. yes we call it skirt steak here in Australia. cheers S

  9. I’m glad you posted this, Karen, as we love skirt steak and I hope others try it as well. Funny—growing up we had skirt steak quite often and it was very inexpensive. Of course my mom cooked it up until it tasted like shoe leather, but maybe she and others didn’t know the quality and tastiness if it were marinated and tenderized. I know, at least here in Chicago, its gotten pricy.

    Anyway, I do love your marinade. I love the flavor the balsamic adds. Another flavor enhancer is a good squeeze of lemon juice over the steak or slices just before serving. We love it on a bed of lettuce dressed with a dab of ranch dressing for the creaminess, to offset any tartness from the meat.

    Thanks so much! Hope you’re having a good summer! 🙂

    Jane x

  10. I am not sure what skirt is called here in France. Love the flavour of balsamic so I must do some research. Keep well, cheers Diane

  11. There are only a few things I like to make on the grill and this is one of them. Flank steak takes so well to rubs and marinades. Then there is pork tenderloin, chicken breasts, steak, turkey burgers, corn…. etc. I like to grill items that don’t take more than 30 minutes 🙂

  12. I wish we could get skirt steak over here, it was my favorite cut when we lived in the US. However, your marinade looks to be perfect with a nice piece of pork as well.

  13. As a purist, I never marinate steak (I even use the shop bought rubs intended for steak for other meats and veg) but I think I need to try this, it sounds delicious.
    My research was vague on skirt steak here in Germany – would flank steak do (or is it even the same)?

  14. I remember my mother marinating our skirt steaks in Kraft French dressing all day… I am more inclined to use something similar to your version! Believe it or not, we avoid grilling in the summer here in the desert – but we are getting close to grill season and I can’t wait to try your marinade (minus the garlic for me, though!).

  15. We just had filet mignon, and I’ve seen skirt steak all the time at the butcher but have never tried it. Sounds good and tasty though!

  16. That’s a very fine marinade for a very fine steak. I use skirt steak quite often but I’ve learnt (from bitter experience) that what I call skirt steak might not be what those outside of the UK call it. There’s no United Nations for butchers.

  17. What a beautiful recipe for a more affordable piece of meat. We just bought a Big Green Egg so I am dying to try grilling steak on it. This would be beautiful on a salad, the perfect summer meal.

  18. My husband was asking me about skirt steaks the other day because we usually grill flank. Now I’m going to have to buy a skirt steak so he can make this for us. Love the marinade.

  19. What a beautiful plate of food Karen!! We grill so much more in the summer– and this looks like a dish we’d love. thanks thanks! Are you off traveling soon?? xox

  20. I like the way you eat steak Karen! I freaking LOVE chimichurri and will make a big batch of it to pour over everything and anything I’m grilling. I’m going to try your marinade next time I make some steak.

  21. Looks like a terrific marinade! I will definitely try it before grilling season is over. It’s hard to get decent skirt steak around here, but I’ll make it with flank steak—and I know it will be delicious!

  22. Thats a lovely way to prepare steak with a balsamic glaze. yum. I haven’t had much luck with skirt steak, I’ll have to give this recipe a go.

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