These things are so damned good. I'm gonna do some cooking this weekend and thought I'd give it a try. I've heard to marinate them in lime juice and soy sauce, but I could be wrong. Anybody have any guesses?
Yech, even from 3000 miles away I can still sense that the ones they are making right now suck as much as the ones I have had there. Good tortillas though.
Actually I have never tried fajitas from this place. Horse mentioned using lime juice. I have heard quite a few people say that use lime juice in their fajita recepies. I have heard that it tenderizes the meat as well as flavors it.
****.. I was forced to go to that place a couple weeks ago because my wife's friends love it and we were having dinner with them.... I still don't get the fascination with the place... the chips are average... the salsa sub-par... queso was decent... fajitas average.. rice/beans bland... I could name 5 other places in a heartbeat with better food/fajitas: 1. Fajita Flats 2. El Tiempo 3. La Jaliscience 4. Fajita Willies 5. Pappasitos
I was bullshitting with a friend one night. I mentioned that I was going to apply at lupe tortilla so I could infiltrate their kitchen to get their recipes. ************ dared me to apply...so I did. went for an interview and all, and the guy basically told me I was over qualified. this question was classic: "so why do you even want to work here?" funny thing is, a week later I got a call to ask if I would be interested in a managerial position.
Oh yeah, no idea how they prepare their fajita meat. Lime sounds reasonable. LT's has a fantastic reputation. They are doing something right, that's for sure.
Ok, I found a recipe that sounds like it could be about right. 4 cups light soy sauce 1 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder and ginger juice of 4 limes let the marinade sit overnight, then marinate and let the meat sit overnight. I'm gonna try it this weekend and will report back.
If you are marinating fajitas...you are cooking the wrong cut of meat. There is a HUGE difference in skirt steaks, and if you are cooking any other cut of beef in lieu of skirt steak you have never eaten a fajita. As the son of the man who intorduced fajitas to the world there is none better than my fathers, and he never marinated a single one. If any of you had the ones he cooked at Omaha this year you know I am preaching to the choir. So to help you guys out....go to HEB at Hancock Center ( this is the only place I have found them) and look in the open meat counter across from the seafood/meat counter, look for an approx 2lbs vaccum pack fajitas and make sure they say "original" on the label or the 'excel' name on the vaccum pack ( this is not the premarinated stuff the have either) . Take the fajitas home and split them with a butterfly cut to make two thin pieces and then grill over coals and DO NOT put grill marks on the meat ( keep turning them) cook them to med rare-med and you will see the difference of what a real skirt steak should taste like with no marinades.
Lime is acidic and will help break down the fat and longer fibers of the meat so it's a no brainer with fajitas. The truth is that Lupe's buys in bulk the premarinated fijita's from HEB...
Agreed - anything other that skirt steak is just a steak with fajita seasoning. The cut of meat, which almost has a gamyness to it, imparts a huge amount of flavor. That said, lime juice, cumin (even better if toasted), and cilantro and S&P, in the blender and marinated overnight is pretty damn awesome.
sonofson - wow, what a family. Dad invents the fajita and son invents the internet. I read a thread here about LTs and was skeptical. Family went and it is without a doubt the best fajita on the planet. Great suggestion hornfans. It is now a weekly ritual.
Egg Marinades plain and simple are used to break down the muscle tissue in the wrong fajita cut. Not to put some sort of exotic flavor into the meat, its used to cover up. There are two skirt steaks and the one typically sold is the other cut. The reason why the markets sell you the cheaper cut is because traditionally the skirt that is the better cut is exported to Japan ( they have had a corner on the market for years) Once you try the right cut you will not need any marinades (chemical or mechanical) and you will see what a fajita should really taste like. Did I claim to invent the internet?? One thing that cant be refuted is my father sold the first commercial fajita in 1969 in Kyle,TX and no one has ever been able to document the fajita before then. Want to read about it? Get a copy of Robb Walsh's new book- The Tex-Mex Cookbook
what's wrong with marinades? Sometimes with the right cut of meat, with a good marinade adds even more flavor, not necessarily to hide the quality of the meat. In part I think it's what you're trying to achieve when you cook. Oh well, my opinion only of course. Also out of curiosity on fajita history....was it created by the poor class or the rich class...or was that chili? I can't imagine the poor class being able to afford "good" cuts of meat.
Ychang your right about the poor class. I don't want to get into who invented the fajitas, but I will tell you a story. Back in the 1940's my grandparents worked on the ranches of Knolle Jersey Farms, located in Sandia Texas. I recall stories of the workers butchering cattle for the ranch owners. The owners would received the steaks and ribs. The workers would received the left overs. That is where the Mexicans would make use of the head (barbacoa de cabeza), tongue, tripas, etc. My grandmother would always tell me that they would make use of what they could. The skirt steak was one the "gringos threw away". They would cook it over an open flame, cut it into strips and place it in a flour tortilla. The fajita taco was also a regular lunch meal for my mother at school. During the 1950's, she would take "tacos" with her to school. She still tells me today that the mexican kids would be embarrassed to eat the fajita tacos at school, because it was the lesser meat. She does recall trading with some kids for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and watching the "gringo kids" enjoy the sandwich. So the fajita taco or fajitas date back to the 1940's-1950's in South Texas. I am just glad someone introduced them to me, as I have been enjoying them for over 30 years. please reallize the the term "gringo" is not used as a racial slur.
