Fajitas
 

How long should I marinade a steak for fajitas? Am
using a sirloin steak. Any good recipes?

At least 2-4 hours.

I use a lime juice/worchestershire sauce combo to marinate my fajitas and let them sit from at least 45 minutes to all day.

In Texas I used skirt steak for the fajitas. Now that I'm in Virginia where this cut is not so popular, I often use strips of steak/beef cut for stir fry.

Fajitas have been a passion at my house for over 20 years; now that I'm single I make them with deliberate leftovers so I can have them quickly for lunch.:thumbup: I also make my own salsa for them.:)

Jan in VA

Has anyone used the mccormicks fajita seasoning mix or the southwest marinade? Does the fajita mix
have a good flavor. My husband wants me to marinade it in the seasoning mix that we have and use
another pack to cook everything together. I know that I have to discard the marinade. Should I or would
you also marinade the vegetables too? Never made my own fajitas.

We get skirt steak, put some dry fajita seasoning on it, squirt fresh lime juice on it and cook with very little setting time. We use pico de gallo.

I'm with you Jan - love em and a must have is fresh never cooked salsa yumm. I like to slice my veggies put them all in a container/zip bag add a little olive oil to coat S&P and grill.

If you are lucky enough to live in Texas, we have a supermarket called HEB..their house brand of seasoned fajita chicken and beef and pork is delicious...DH swears that they are better than he can season...sorry, couldn't resist the remark about living in Texas, you know us Texans, we think this is the only place in the world to live..

Jan, your marinade sounds yummy. Will you share how you make it? Do you baste with it too?

QuiltQueen, I DO miss HEB!!! Might have to have some of those fajitas shipped to me....hadn't thought of that!!

I squeeze at *least* 3 limes (or lemons if I'm desperate and that's all I have on hand) and use about 1/4 cup 'W' sauce. That's it!! The lime itself gives a lovely flavor.

Put the juice, 'W' sauce, and sliced meat in a baggie and squish it all together and squeeze the air out.
Lay it flat on the counter and turn it over several times to redistribute the marinade during the 30-45 mins. when I'm washing and slicing and browning/sautéing (no marinade) the peppers/onions, making the salsa, laying out the dishes, etc.

IF I'm cooking on the grill -- which I rarely have the chance to do any more now that I'm alone -- then I do brush with marinade during the first part of the cooking. I stop basting with the marinade from the baggie in time to allow the meat and the wetness on it to be safely "done". Cooking really does not take long!

I serve this with Mission brand flour tortillas, a light spread of sour cream, lots of sauteed (no marinade) peppers and onions, several strips of the meat, spoonsful of salsa, sprinkle of salt, some grated “taco-style” cheese for those who want it (yuck on mine!), and plentiful napkins and beer!

I love food that’s fun to eat….like tacos, spaghetti, watermelon, pizza, fried chicken, ribs, fajitas……messy and fun!!

Somewhere on this site is my salsa recipe, but I admit it is not made with fresh-from-the-garden ingredients, though it is not cooked. Maybe we can convince Daisy Dew to give us hers!

Jan in VA -- heading to the freezer to pull out the fajita meat right now!!

We used the McCormick's fajita spices that are in the little individual plastic packets and it was very good. I just followed the instructions that were on the main package and we liked it. I saved the package for a while because it actually gave the measurements for the individual spices that were included but haven't used that yet. I'm not a real experienced fajita maker, but did like their mix of spices. When in Texas, we usually just go out to eat when we want fajitas:)

Okay! I'll try and post (new to me) just call me chicken little (LOL) I love salsa, TexMex, etc Spi - cy! Stay tuned. Get that food processor ready OR get that chef knife honed - it's all in the wrist.

Linda's Salsa: This is my favorite: all ingredients are used raw. Wash all your vegetables well, yes I use diluted dish soap!

Yield: Approx 1/2 gallon

1. Tomatoes: (8)

Experiment - a combination of varieties is good. You will experience a more interesting flavor
Roma tomatoes have much less juice
Some heirloom type give interesting flavors and yes, colors. I do not peal or seed the tomatoes.

Use 8 tomatoes (combination of your choice)
Quarter cut then rough chop in food processor
Pour into large serving bowl.

1. Garlic: 4-6 or more cloves (add to tomatoes in processor).

1. 1 large Sweet Onion - yellow/red combination

rough chop then pulse in food processor.
Pour into large serving bowl.

1. Add juice of 1 lime ( microwave lime for about 15 seconds and you'll get much more juice.)

1. 4-8 Tomatillos' depends on size and how much of the tangy zest you like of these little green gems. Cut in half and rough chop and add to mixture. (smaller & firm are the best)

1. 2-4 jalapenos seeded. Or serrano's depends on the heat you want Chopped very fine.

1. Hint: you can add some roasted green pepper or pepper of your choice. Blister the skins put in brown paper sack and let 'sweat' then peal the skin off, seed, chop and add to mixture. If you do it on the grill you'll get a nice smoked flavor.

1. At least 1cup or more of fresh chopped cilantro.

1. 1-2 tablespoons ground cumin (opt) as it will change the color a little bit.

1. Salt - afraid so. You be the judge but tomatoes need salt. I would use 1 tablespoon, maybe more. Try a course Kosher salt

Ya gotta taste this as you go along! Believe you me the taste just gets better especially if there are margaritas' involved. We like our salsa kinda chunky but you decide how fine or course you want your vegges.
Somebody get the flank steak going!

Yeah!! Get that steak going; I'll be there with some Coronas shortly!!
How about setting a bowl of that salsa aside just for me!! Sounds divine!

Jan in VA

I have used the McCormick fajita mix before and we really liked it. My DH and I love to eat fajita's at Chili's and when I am home cooking our own, I try and follow their way of doing things. I add my peppers and onions and cook without seasoning, add the sour cream etc. Guess we are going there this week for dinner. My cooking is somewhat stopped as I had hand surgery and am protecting it now.

Thanks for sharing your recipe Jan. Told hubby about it, he's like "let's make some now!", lol. It's raining and cold now.

I used to live in TX and remember HEB. Fondly remember buying beer in a six pack, white can with black letters that said "beer". This was many moons ago.

Well it's 5:40 Saturday afternoon and my tummy is full of my homemade fajitas, thank you all very much for the idea!!:thumbup: I made enough to have another one in a few hours, YUM, YUM, YUM!!:D

Jan in VA