What's The Best Cut Of Steak For Sizzling Fajitas?

We all know the sound — that exciting "tssss" you hear when your sizzling hot fajitas are on their way from the kitchen to your table. The combination of onions, peppers, guacamole, sour cream, and warm tortillas makes for a top tier dinner, but the cut of steak used in fajitas is of paramount importance, and can make or break the entire meal. Flank steak and skirt steak are two cuts that rise above other cuts due to their flavor, texture, and ability to withstand being cooked at a high temperature, making them the ideal choice for steak fajitas.

Flank steak and skirt steak are both thin and fairly lean cuts of meat, making them ideal for being sliced into the thin strips you usually see in fajitas. When sliced and cooked properly, they are tender enough to bite through and have the perfect texture to complement the slight crunch of the grilled peppers and onions. However, it's important to know how to cut, marinate, and cook these steaks so you end up with perfectly delicious fajitas and not a tough, chewy mess.

Both flank steak and skirt steak have a distinct grain, which means it can be tough and chewy if prepared incorrectly. It's essential to cut against the grain to keep them tender, because it makes the muscle fibers shorter, resulting in a melt-in-your-mouth bite that is much easier to chew. Both cuts of meat naturally have a delicious beefy taste, due to them being a heavily used muscle, but marinating them for a couple of hours adds an extra layer of flavor to your fajitas. The loose muscle fibers of these cuts also mean the marinade is absorbed into the meat better than fattier cuts, and the textured surfaces provides lots of nooks and crannies for the marinade to seep into. 

Since they are thin, flank and skirt steaks grill quickly over high heat, only needing a few minutes on each side to get a crusty sear on the outside that retains all the flavorful juices. If you're attempting to make fajitas at home, try cooking the meat in a scorching hot cast iron skillet to achieve restaurant-quality strips of steak. Whether you're out to eat and order steak fajitas or want to try your hand at making them yourself, flank or skirt steak is the go-to cuts for sizzling fajitas every time.