Perfectly Tender Skirt Steak Recipe

Skirt steak has become one of my favorite cuts of beef, right next to ribeye and strip steak. I’ve been eating skirt steak for years; it’s very budget friendly and full of flavor. The “knock” on skirt steak however, is that it can be a tough cut of meat, which is why it’s one of the more budget friendly cuts. It’s also why this cut is generally sliced very thin and often used for tacos and quesadillas, but I digress. Following my method, I promise the most tender skirt steak you’ve ever eaten. 

First things first, there are actually two different “types” of skirt steak, the inside and the outside skirt. I detail both here, if you’re interested. The outside skirt is the more desirable of the two cuts, but it’s also harder to find because of limited supply and high demand from restaurants, etc.

Omaha Steaks solves the demand issue as they ship outside skirt steak right to your door. What’s better, they ship the steak pre-trimmed and ready to go which saves a ton of time. Skirt steak is generally sold with the membrane and hard fat all over it. In my blog about the two different cuts you can see how much trimming is required when purchasing these cuts over the counter.

OK, let’s talk about how to cook skirt steak. If you’ve ever looked for methods to cook a piece of skirt steak, you’ve probably run across various marinades, been advised to allow the steak to reach room temperature before cooking, and not to cook it past medium rare. All solid pieces of advice for great flavor, but those methods don’t solve for the tenderness issue. If you plan to thinly slice the meat for taco night, those tips (and maybe a few others) are all you need, carry on. BUT…if you want a hearty steak dinner that will stand on its own next to any ribeye or filet mignon, read on.

OK, just a couple of quick notes before we jump into the step-by-step instruction. First, this is going to seem like a long process, and from a time perspective it is. However, most of the work is hands off when using the sous vide technique like I’ve done with other proteins, like this 36 hour sous vide corned beef. My advice is to drop these steaks into the water bath before work one morning, and you’ll have an amazing (and quick) dinner the following evening.

It took a pretty extensive amount of testing to develop this method but trust me when I say, it’s SO worth it. The meat will melt in your mouth.

Next, there are several ways to sear these skirt steaks after the water bath and before serving. I used a cast iron pan for this blog, but you can achieve the same results using high direct heat from a charcoal grill or some gas grills. If you own a personal high temperature salamander style grill, this is a perfect opportunity to use that as well.

Finally, using this method doesn’t require you to wait any number of resting minutes before slicing. Because of the technique used here I recommend slicing it, across the grain, as soon as you get the sear you’re looking for. Serve it hot, it’s a thin cut and tends to cool down fast.