Steak Fajita Salad with Mucho Fix-ins’
Serves 2-4
This big, bright, bold salad is superb if looking to prepare something a little different this Cinco De Mayo. Heavily inspired by the “Half Baked HARVEST Cookbook, RECIPES from MY BARN in the MOUNTAINS” by Tieghan Gerhard. This recipe works great for your BRB carne asada, skirt steak or flank steak. There are a lot of fix-ins’ for this recipe and we loved the additional flavor of the sweet potato fries but if short on time, skip the fries.
Meat Marinade
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon honey
zest and juice of 2 limes
3/4 teaspoon of salt and freshly ground pepper
1-2 lbs of carne asada or skirt steak or flank steak
Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl and stir together. Place your BRB meat into a large Ziploc bag and then pour the marinade into the Ziploc bag. Seal the bag and then rub the marinade all over the meat covering both sides. Place bag in fridge and let marinate for 2-12 hours.
*We suggest making the vinaigrette dressing now as most of the ingredients you need are handy as they are also in the marinade. (See below for vinaigrette recipe.)
To Grill the Meat: Take meat out of fridge and let it get to room temperature. Turn grill on and get it to 500°. Place meat on grill and sear for 1 to 2 minutes (depending on thickness). Turn meat over using tongs and sear for another 1 to 2 minutes. Next, greatly reduce heat of the grill. (You can shut off one or two burners, turn others to low.) Move meat to coolest part of the grill and cook via indirect heat until meat reaches desired level of doneness.
Use a meat thermometer to pinpoint level of doneness. Remove meat when it is 5° under desired temperature. Cover with foil and rest 5 minutes.
Carne asada is typically the thinnest cut when compared to skirt steak or flank steak so it will cook the quickest. We used carne asada for this recipe and seared it 1 minute on each side and then another minute or so via indirect heat.
*Medium doneness is 140°-145°
*From www.certifiedangusbeef.com
Salad and Fix-ins’
1-2 heads of fresh romaine or leaf lettuce
1 mango, cubed
1/4-1/2 jalapeño seeded and chopped
1-2 avocados
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese or crumbled quest fresco
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 poblano chile pepper, seeded and sliced
Optional: 1-2 sweet potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch wide strips
Roast the peppers: Pre-heat oven to 450°. Slice peppers thinly, toss with tablespoon of olive oil or avocado oil and salt and pepper to taste. Arrange in a single layer on rimmed baking sheet and bake in oven for approximate 15 minutes or until soft. Remove from oven and set aside.
Optional: Make the Fries: Preheat the oven to 450°. Toss the sliced sweet potatoes with tablespoon of olive or avocado oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes. Check and flip half-way through cooking. Remove from oven when lightly crisp.
The peppers and sweet potato fries can be roasted together but on separate baking sheets for best results.
Vinaigrette Dressing:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive-oil
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Make the dressing. Whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, honey and chili powder and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add salt and pepper to taste.
To Prepare the Salad: Toss together lettuce, mango, jalapeño and cilantro. Add sliced avocado, grilled peppers and sweet potato fries (if you make them) on the sides of the salad. Now thinly slice the grilled meat across the grain and add it to the middle of your salad bowl. Top with crumbled queso fresco or shredded cheddar cheese. Drizzle salad with home-made vinaigrette. Take a seat and enjoy!
