Fajitas...

Faja in Spanish means belt or girdle. Tradition has it that fajitas came by this name because of the cut of meat which is shaped like a belt. Believe this if you like, It's a nice story and one which could be told over some cold beers and sizzling fajitas. Theres two cuts of meat which can be used, the flank or the skirt steak. They both come from the same area of the cow but the skirt is quicker to cook and is more tender than the flank which has much more fibrous tissue and if not cooked long enough you may be chewing on it from Monday until Friday.

For my fajitas I used flank steak, I probably wouldn't use it again but the skirt steak I saw in Costco today just didn't look very nice so I shuffled two steps to the right and grabbed the nice lean red flank. I massaged it with some of my Argentine spice rub which was one of my fathers day gifts, thank you very much, and left it to relax for about an hour at room temperature. This is important with any meat, give it some time to wake up from its chilly prison before you chuck it on the grill. I cooked it on a really high heat for about 8 minutes each side and then foiled it whilst the vegetables were being cooked using my second fathers day gift, a mesh basket which can be used on the grill as a saute pan. I like this tool as it lets the direct heat get to small things like sliced onion or shrimp without losing it between the grates. After the meat had rested for 10 minutes I sliced it against the grain which is another very important thing to remember. The grain is the lines you can see running along the meat, this is the chewy fibrous tissue which has to be cut across to release the tension from the fibers. Think of a rubber band stretched tight and then cut. That's what happens to the tissue and makes for an easier chewing experience.

The fathers day gifts did not stop there, I also scored an awesome grilling book which I'll review once a few recipes have been used and a gift card to Williams Sonoma which I couldn't wait to offload for some more man tools. This store is a very dangerous place to be in if you like to cook and after much wandering around and probably looking a tad suspicious, I ended up buying a traditional paella pan and a bacon and maple rub which I cant wait to smoke some ribs with! Thank you to my family for giving me the tools to feed your tummies everyday, I will make you proud.

To go alongside the flank steak I sliced some green bell pepper, sliced onion and baby potatoes which I par boiled before tossing in the grill basket with some olive oil, rosemary and salt and pepper. Served with tortillas and home made guacamole and my favorite salsa.