SouthTxSmoker, welcome to SMF! Glad you're here and feeding the family with good ol' BBQ.
I spent some time in Kingsville a few decades ago. Learned about fajitas there at a place called El Jardin Mexican Restaurant. The restaurant closed just a few years ago, but I went there so often as a young man the owner told me the list of their ingredients, but not the amounts. I played with them and came up with a good copycat recipe, that unfortunately was lost to time and moves.
A few years ago I decided to try and duplicate what I remember. Give this a shot and you'll be knocking the fajita expert door.
South Texas Marinated Tri Tip or Skirt Steak
I created this recipe and this is now my go to skirt steak recipe. My wife said "I haven't tasted skirt steak like this since we were in Kingsville (TX)."
BTW, this works fantastic for Tri Tip, hanger steak. or flat iron steak too. It works for flank steak too but the meat must absolutely be tenderized first by pounding or by using a Jaccard needle tenderizer. Flank will over cook quickly so no more than medium rare or you'll be chewing shoe leather.
Ingredients
3 lbs skirt steak, or any of the cuts listed above
3 large sweet yellow onions, peeled and sliced (Walla Walla or Vidalia)
Marinade ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce (or Magi Jugo, the Mexican version of the same thing)
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tsp mined garlic
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3 Tbs dark brown sugar or Mexican brown sugar, packed
Directions
1. If the skirt steak still has a membrane attached to one side, be sure to peel it off the meat before marinating. If using trimmed tri tip, it is good to go. If using untrimmed tri tip, trim off the fat and the silver skin before marinating.
2. In a blender add all marinade ingredients and blend until pulverized. You don't have to use a blender. You can just chop the onions quite fine and that will work too.
3. In a large heavy duty, zip top bag, add meat and pour in marinade. Seal bag, removing as much air as possible. Massage the meat, and repeat every 6-12 hours. Allow meat to marinate 24-48 hours.
4. Remove meat from marinade bag and pat dry with a paper towel.
5. You can use any grill for cooking the meat, just make sure it is as hot as possible. If using charcoal add several chunks of stronger woods like mesquite or hickory. You can use oak and pecan too. Cook using direct heat. Cook each side on high temp for 3 minutes, 4 minutes max. You want a char on the outside and a rare to medium rare inside.
6. If using tri tip, grill the meat directly over the hot fire for 3-4 minutes per side, enough to put a light char on the meat. Then move the meat to the cold side of the grill, put in a grill pan and add sliced yellow onions. Close the lid and cook until IT is 135F°-145°F, about another 20-40 minutes, depending on your grill.
7. Remove from heat, cover, and let rest at least ten minutes, longer if prepping other foods.
8. If grilling peppers and/or onions, grill them after the meat while the meat is "resting."
9. Serve like steak or slice thinly across the grain of the meat if serving with tortillas, grilled peppers, grilled onions, sour cream, salsa, etc.
Servings: 6