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How Do I Choose the Best Marinade for Skirt Steak?

G. Wiesen
G. Wiesen

When choosing a marinade for skirt steak, you should typically consider the other flavors you might want to accompany the meat and any tenderizing you wish to do. The ingredients you use in your marinade should compliment any other dishes you are serving, including vegetables or other side dishes. If the skirt steak is going to be used as part of a larger dish, such as fajitas, then you may wish to consider ingredients in the marinade that work well with your other components in the dish. You should also consider how your marinade for skirt steak might tenderize the meat, and choose ingredients appropriate for the time you have to marinate it.

One of the first things you should consider as you choose a marinade for skirt steak is the overall flavors of the meal that accompanies the steak. In general, try to choose ingredients for a marinade that compliment the other flavors you are going to be eating. If you are choosing a marinade that has already been made, such as one bought from a store, then look for ingredients that should work well with your meal.

Olive oil is a good ingredient in skirt steak marinade.
Olive oil is a good ingredient in skirt steak marinade.

In creating a marinade for skirt steak, you should look for different recipes that have various seasonings and ingredients in them. You can then choose one recipe, or mix ingredients from different ones together, that works well with your meal. If you plan on making some roasted vegetables, for example, then you might choose a barbeque marinade that can flavor the meat accordingly. A marinade that includes hot peppers and spices like cumin and chili powder could be more appropriate if you have rice and beans to accompany the meat.

Spicy marinades for skirt steak often feature chiles, cumin, and garlic.
Spicy marinades for skirt steak often feature chiles, cumin, and garlic.

You should also consider marinade for skirt steak that might introduce appropriate flavors if the meat is going to be used as an ingredient. If, for example, you are making fajitas, then you should choose a marinade with seasoning and ingredients often used in Mexican cuisine. On the other hand, if you are going to use the skirt steak as an ingredient in a stir fry, then you should consider Asian ingredients such as soy sauce, green onions, and ginger.

As you choose the best marinade for skirt steak, consider the time you plan on marinating the meat. This is important since marinades with a high amount of citrus, such as lime or orange juice, begin to tenderize meat during marinating. While skirt steaks are fairly tough, they require less tenderizing then other cuts like flank steak and so they should not be marinated as long in a high-citrus marinade. If you only have about an hour to marinate the steak, then a mixture with citrus can be ideal, while marinating overnight in such a mixture could produce meat that is too tender and chewy.

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    • Olive oil is a good ingredient in skirt steak marinade.
      By: margo555
      Olive oil is a good ingredient in skirt steak marinade.
    • Spicy marinades for skirt steak often feature chiles, cumin, and garlic.
      By: Igor Dutina
      Spicy marinades for skirt steak often feature chiles, cumin, and garlic.