We all love grilled steaks. They have a smoky flavor, unique taste, and crustiness on the exterior (caramelized exterior). It’s due to the high heat and the Millard reaction process.
What is a skirt steak? It’s a beef cut that comes from the beef, particularly from the diaphragm muscle. It’s characterized by tough, thin muscles. This thin cut is best for grilling because you can easily tell when the steak is done.
However, if done wrongly, you may end up with a tough steak. In this post, you’ll learn how to grill a skirt steak on an indoor electric grill perfectly.
How to Grill Skirt Steak on Indoor Electric Grills
Choose a quality skirt steak: Choosing the best steak is a critical process while grilling. A bad steak will profoundly result in a poor grilled steak. So, what should you look for in a skirt steak? A good skirt cut should be long, narrower, and tender.
Skirt steak is of two types, but the outside skirt cut is the best. It’s about 3 to 4 inches wide and a ½ inch tender. The inside skirt steak is 5 to 7 inches wider and ¼ to ½ inch thick but chewy.
Prepare skirt steak for cooking: Preparation of a cut is a significant process in grilling. Once you remove your steak from the packaging, lay it on a clean flat surface. If you find it too long for your electric grill’s cooking surface, you may slice it into 2 halves.
Give your skirt steak an excellent seasoning. Start by adding salt and then a good layer of black pepper on the steak. You can pat and rub the seasoning to ensure it evenly covers the entire surface of the cut.
Then let the steak rest for about 10-15 minutes and brush it with a light coat of oil. You can as well consider marinating the steak. However, it takes longer to prepare than a dry rub.
Additionally, if your steak is stored in a fridge, you should defrost it or let it sit on the countertop for about 30 minutes as it attains room temperature.
Prepare the indoor electric grill: You should preheat your electric grill for about 10-15 minutes before placing the skirt steak on it for cooking. Preheat it to medium-high heat.
Preheating the grill prevents your steak from sticking to the cooking surface. Also, a well-preheated grill forms nice and deep grill marks on your steak.
Cook the steak: Once your skirt steak and grill are ready, it’s time to cook. Since skirt steak is not that thick, you should cook it for about 2-4 minutes on each side. Ensure you achieve a brown crust and nice grill marks on the steak.
If you want your skirt steak cooked to medium, target an internal temperature of approximately 135-145 degrees F and at 130-135 degrees F for medium-rare.
Let it rest: Once your skirt steak is cooked to the preferred doneness, you should remove it from the electric grill. Let it rest for about 5 to 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
It’s worth noting that you should slice your steak against the grain to avoid having a chewy cut. It also makes the steak more tender.
FAQs
- How do you make skirt steak tender? You should cook the skirt steak at a high temperature and quickly to break down and loosen the muscle fiber and fats. Also, you should avoid poking holes on the steak before or while grilling to prevent losing moisture and natural juices that make it tender.
- Does skirt steak get softer the longer you cook it? No, the longer you cook skirt steak on the grill, the tougher it becomes. The longer you cook the muscles, the more the protein tightens up and dries out, thus making your cut harder.
- How long does it take to cook a skirt steak medium rare? It takes about 4-8 minutes of cooking both sides of a skirt stake to attain medium-rare doneness. The steak should attain at least 130 degrees F.
- What should you serve grilled skirt steak with? There are various side dishes you can serve with grilled skirt steak. They include roasted potatoes, crispy garlic potatoes, salads, Salsa Verde, corn-tomato relish, mashed cauliflower, etc.