Grilled steak fajitas dinner

The first time I made skirt steak fajitas at home, our tiny Manhattan kitchen filled with so much lime and garlic steam that Donald opened every window in the apartment and pretended he was doing it for the neighbors.

Jump to:

• Why You Will Love These Grilled Fajitas
• Ingredients You Need for Skirt Steak Fajitas
• Skirt Steak Fajitas
• How to Make Skirt Steak Fajitas Step by Step
• Storage and Reheating Tips
• Fun Variations for Skirt Steak Fajitas
• Common Questions About Skirt Steak Fajitas
• Recipes You May Like
• Final Thoughts

I had spent years thinking fajitas were a restaurant thing. You know, the sizzling platter, the little cart, the whole show. Then I stood at the butcher counter one Saturday, saw skirt steak on sale, and figured why not.

Honestly? Best three dollars I have ever spent on dinner ideas.

Here is the thing about skirt steak fajitas. The meat is thin, beefy, and full of little grooves that soak up marinade like nothing else. So you get big flavor in a couple of hours instead of overnight. Plus the steak cooks in about eight minutes total.

I make these on the grill pan most weeks and on a real grill whenever we get out of the city. Alex builds his own with extra cheese. Sarah picks out the peppers and eats them separately, which I have stopped fighting.

If your family leans more toward poultry, my chicken fajita recipe uses the same peppers and the same tortilla setup, so you can run both at once when you have people over. That is exactly what I did for Alex's birthday dinner in June, and nobody complained.

Why You Will Love These Grilled Fajitas

• Fast cooking. The steak needs four minutes per side over high heat. That is it.
• Short marinade. Two hours works. Four is better. You do not need to plan a day ahead.
• Real ingredients. Lime, soy sauce, garlic, cumin, a little brown sugar. Nothing strange.
• Tender bites every time once you learn the slicing trick I share below.
• Kids can build their own, which cuts down on the what is in this question at the table.
• Leftovers are excellent. Cold steak on a tortilla the next day is a small joy.

Ingredients You Need for Skirt Steak Fajitas

For the steak and marinade

• 2 pounds skirt steak, cut into pieces about 6 inches long
• ⅓ cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 jalapeño, seeds removed, chopped small

For the peppers and onions

• 3 bell peppers (I use one red, one yellow, one green), sliced thick
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced thick
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt

Serving

• 12 small flour tortillas
• Sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped cilantro, lime wedges

A quick note on the steak. Ask for inside skirt if the counter has it. Leave the fat cap alone. That fat melts down as the meat cooks and keeps every bite juicy.

I skip the soy sauce only if I am cooking for my neighbor who avoids gluten. Coconut aminos work fine there. Also, if you keep homemade taco seasoning in the pantry, two tablespoons of it can stand in for the cumin and chili powder.

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How to Make Skirt Steak Fajitas Step by Step

Mix the Marinade

Whisk the lime juice, soy sauce, olive oil, garlic, brown sugar, cumin, chili powder, black pepper, and jalapeño in a bowl.

Taste it. It should be tangy and salty with a little sweetness behind it. That balance is what carries the whole dish.

Marinate the Steak

Put the steak pieces in a zip top bag and pour the marinade over. Press out the air and seal it.

Let it sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours. I usually go 4. Any longer than 8 and the lime starts to make the outside mushy, which I learned the hard way one Sunday when I forgot about it entirely.

Pull the steak out 30 minutes before cooking so it loses the fridge chill.

Get the Grill Screaming Hot

Heat your grill or grill pan on high until you can only hold your hand over it for a second or two.

High heat matters here. Skirt steak is thin, so you want a dark crust before the inside overcooks. A medium grill gives you gray, tough meat every time.

Cook the Steak

Shake the extra marinade off each piece and lay them down. Do not crowd the pan.

Grill 3 to 4 minutes on the first side without moving them. Flip once and give it another 3 minutes.

You want medium, around 135 degrees in the middle. Skirt steak past that point turns chewy.

Rest, Then Cook the Vegetables

Move the steak to a cutting board and cover it loosely with foil for 10 minutes. Do not skip the rest. All those juices need somewhere to go.

While it rests, toss the peppers and onions with oil and salt, then cook them on the same hot surface for 6 to 8 minutes. Let them pick up some char. Soft and colorless peppers are sad peppers.

Slice It the Right Way

Look at the steak and find the direction the muscle fibers run. Then cut straight across them at a slight angle, in thin strips.

This one step decides whether your fajitas are tender or a jaw workout. I tell every friend who asks me about steak the same thing.

Pile the sliced meat and the peppers on a warm platter, squeeze a lime over everything, and bring it to the table.

Storage and Reheating Tips

Keep leftover steak and vegetables in a sealed glass container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Reheat in a skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes, no longer. The microwave turns skirt steak rubbery, so I only use it when I am truly out of time.

Cooked steak also freezes well for 2 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge first.

One thing I noticed after making this so often: the lime and cumin settle into the meat by day two, and the leftovers taste even better than night one. Donald takes them to work in a wrap and says people ask about it.

Fun Variations for Skirt Steak Fajitas

Want to make this your own? Here are the swaps that have worked in my kitchen.

• No grill? A cast iron skillet on high heat gives you the same crust. Open a window.
• Different cut. Flank steak or flap meat both work. Same marinade, same slicing rule.
• Milder version. Leave the jalapeño out. Sarah prefers it that way.
• Smoky version. Add a teaspoon of smoked paprika to the marinade.
• Skip the tortillas and serve everything over cilantro lime rice or a big salad.

The one mistake to avoid is slicing along the grain instead of across it. I did that the first two times and could not figure out why my steak was tough when the recipe seemed right.

Also, if you love herby sauces, spooning a little chimichurri over the top is wonderful. My grilled steak with chimichurri post has the sauce I use.

Common Questions About Skirt Steak Fajitas

What is the best cut of steak for fajitas?

Skirt steak, without question. It has loose, coarse muscle fibers that grab onto marinade, and it tastes richer and more buttery than most cuts at that price. Flank steak and flap meat come next if your store is out. I tested all three in one week last spring, and my family picked the skirt every time.

How long should you marinate skirt steak for fajitas?

Two hours minimum, four hours ideal. The acid in the lime juice works fast on thin meat. Once you pass eight hours, the surface goes soft and slightly mealy, which is not what you want. I set a timer on my phone now.

How do you grill skirt steak so it stays tender and juicy?

Get the grill as hot as it goes, cook it fast, and pull it at medium. Three to four minutes per side is usually right. Then rest it 10 minutes before slicing. Cutting into it early lets all the juice run onto the board instead of staying in the meat.

How should you slice skirt steak for fajitas?

Always across the grain, in thin strips, holding your knife at a slight angle. Cutting across those long fibers shortens them so each bite gives easily. Slicing the wrong way is the number one reason homemade fajita meat comes out chewy.

Recipes You May Like

• Air Fryer Chicken Fajitas for Quick Family Dinners when you want the same flavors without turning on the grill.
• Garlic Butter Steak Bites for another fast beef dinner that comes together in one pan.
• Creamy Mexican Street Corn Soup makes a lovely starter next to a platter of fajitas.

Final Thoughts

So that is how I make skirt steak fajitas at home. Marinate the steak a few hours, grill it hot and fast, rest it, then slice it across the grain.

I love this recipe because it feels like a small celebration on a regular Tuesday. The platter comes out, everyone reaches in, and dinner turns loud in the best way.

Give it a try this week and tell me how it went in the comments. I read every one.

Save this to your Pinterest dinner board so you have it ready next time skirt steak goes on sale.