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Braised Skirt Steak with Garlic Sauce

May 19, 2008

This dish was a nice surprise — I chose it only because I wasn’t able to get to the grocery store, and yet I had everything I needed at hand. Usually I can get a feel for how something will taste after it’s cooked just by reading the ingredients, but the combination of whole cloves with lemon and garlic was stumping me. (Or perhaps it’s just that I haven’t been getting much sleep.)

The braised skirt steak tasted comfortable and familiar, yet with the creamy-looking gravy (which I forgot to add in the photo above) it can certainly be made for company. Dredging the meat before pan-frying (which leaves a soft, tender coating on the meat as it cooks), plus the lemon, reminded me a bit of a francese sauce. And there was an element of pot roast flavor, too, but less earthy.

After the initial pan-frying, this recipe could be completed in a crock pot instead of on the stove. I will probably try that next time, since I’m not usually home in time to start dinner two hours before we eat (the prep is short, but it simmers on the stove for an hour and a half).

An important note: when you’re blending the sauce, make sure the liquid in your pan is deep enough to use an immersion blender! Mine wasn’t quite, and I briefly sprayed the sauce all over myself and the kitchen. I had to remove the sauce to a tall, heat-proof container and blend it in there instead. You can also use a regular blender, of course.

Braised Skirt Steak with Garlic Sauce
Adapted from Braised Flank Steak with Lemon and Garlic

1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. garlic powder
black pepper (about 10 grinds)
1 Tbsp. canola oil
3 lbs. skirt steak, trimmed and cut into 6″ lengths
3 c. vegetable stock
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
12 cloves garlic, peeled but whole
6 whole cloves

Combine first three ingredients and spread flour mixture out on a dinner plate. While the oil is heating in a large skillet, dredge the skirt steak pieces in the flour mixture. Then add to the hot skillet and cook until browned on both sides. (I needed to do this in two batches, but I did not add more oil.)

Add remaining ingredients to the skillet, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for an hour and a half, or until the meat is tender. Check periodically to ensure meat is mostly submerged in the liquid.

Once meat is cooked tender, remove to a plate and tent with foil.

To prepare the sauce, scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any flour, meat bits, etc. Using an immersion blender, blend sauce until garlic is incorporated into the sauce, and the sauce is smooth, velvety, and creamy. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Serve sauce over the skirt steak (on top of brown rice is perfect). If you slice your steak before serving, do so against the grain.

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Filed under: Beef

Tags: creamy, dinner, grain, recipe, sauce, Skirt Steak, whole