I've never been a person who orders fajitas at restaurants. They intrigue me with all that sizzlin', but I usually choose pasta or queso...lots and lots of queso (depending on the type of restaurant of course). We tried to make fajitas at home once, and it was a fail. Big huge fail. They were saucy, and fajitas shouldn't be saucy. At least in my opinion. They should have great flavor though.
After that experience, we put fajitas on the back burner so to speak until I came across this fajita recipe in my Cook's Illustrated cookbook. I love Cook's Illustrated because they test everything multiple times until they come up with the perfect recipe. I have had a few not so great recipes from them, but this was a definite winner. It's easy, you make it on the stove, and they are very tasty. Also, there's no marinating involved, so you don't have to plan ahead. You can get this dinner on the table from start to finish in about 30 minutes. I cut this recipe in half since there's only two of us and the hubs doesn't care for leftover steak. One note, make sure you have the fan over your stove on when you start cooking the meat because it gets very smoky! Or at least it does in my house.
Steak Fajitas
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1 1/2 pounds flank steak, trimmed
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and sliced thin
1 red onion, halved and sliced thin
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon Tabasco
1/2 teaspoon cumin
12 flour tortillas (6 inches)
Pat the steak dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown the steak on the first side, about 5 minutes. Flip the steak and continue cooking (about 3 minutes for medium rare up to 6 minutes). Move the meat to a plate, drizzle with the lime juice, and tent with foil. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
While the meat is resting, add the other tablespoon of oil to the skillet and heat until shimmering. Add the bell peppers, onion, water, chili powder, Tabasco, and cumin. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan, for about 5 minutes or until the onion is softened. Remove from heat.
Slice the steak very thin against the grain and serve with the peppers/onions, tortillas, and any other toppings (cheese, lettuce, salsa, sour cream, etc.).
From Cook's Illustrated
After that experience, we put fajitas on the back burner so to speak until I came across this fajita recipe in my Cook's Illustrated cookbook. I love Cook's Illustrated because they test everything multiple times until they come up with the perfect recipe. I have had a few not so great recipes from them, but this was a definite winner. It's easy, you make it on the stove, and they are very tasty. Also, there's no marinating involved, so you don't have to plan ahead. You can get this dinner on the table from start to finish in about 30 minutes. I cut this recipe in half since there's only two of us and the hubs doesn't care for leftover steak. One note, make sure you have the fan over your stove on when you start cooking the meat because it gets very smoky! Or at least it does in my house.
Steak Fajitas
Print this recipe
1 1/2 pounds flank steak, trimmed
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and sliced thin
1 red onion, halved and sliced thin
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon Tabasco
1/2 teaspoon cumin
12 flour tortillas (6 inches)
Pat the steak dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown the steak on the first side, about 5 minutes. Flip the steak and continue cooking (about 3 minutes for medium rare up to 6 minutes). Move the meat to a plate, drizzle with the lime juice, and tent with foil. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
While the meat is resting, add the other tablespoon of oil to the skillet and heat until shimmering. Add the bell peppers, onion, water, chili powder, Tabasco, and cumin. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan, for about 5 minutes or until the onion is softened. Remove from heat.
Slice the steak very thin against the grain and serve with the peppers/onions, tortillas, and any other toppings (cheese, lettuce, salsa, sour cream, etc.).
From Cook's Illustrated
