Fajitas

While I was born and raised in Texas, my mother and father were Yankees. I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said, "I wasn't born in Texas but I got here as fast as I could" - that perfectly describes my parents. They moved to Texas in the seventies, leaving behind friends, sisters and parents. I am sure that was a tough move, especially since I am still sad about a move across the state, but I am so glad that they did.

I remember when my grandparents came down to Texas for a visit and to see one of my sister's graduations. We wanted to make the trip special and show them everything Texan. After eating Bar-B-Q and steaks it was time to move on to Tex Mex. At the restaurant we ordered fajitas for the entire table. It was so cute to see that my grandfather over filled his tortilla. He ended up having to eat his fajita with a fork and knife. Guess that is a Yankee for you.

I absolutely love Tex Mex food, especially fajitas. Just the thought of tender grilled meat topped with pico de gallo and sharp cheddar cheese and wrapped in a warm tortilla makes my mouth water. Yours too - I'm hoping - because that is the recipe I will be sharing with you today!

Ingredients:

1/2 c. lime juice

1/3 c. water

2 T. vegetable oil

3 t. vinegar

3 t. soy sauce, low sodium

3 t. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 t. liquid smoke

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. chili powder

1/2 t. cayenne pepper

1/2 t. course black pepper

1/2 t. onion powder

1/2 t. cumin

2 cloves garlic

1 lb. top sirloin or skirt steak

Combine all ingredients in a zip loc baggie. I like to place the baggie in a mixing bowl. That way I don't have to worry about holding on to the baggie while pouring in the ingredients or leaking.

Be sure to get half a cup of lime juice. The juice is really the key part of the marinade. I like to use fresh limes, but hey I am also the girl that uses jarred garlic. If you want to buy bottled lime juice I wont judge.

The purpose of a marinade is to tenderize the meat and provide flavor. The best marinades are made with acidic liquids because the acid breaks down the tissue of the meat. The acids in our marinade are the lime juice and vinegar. Lime juice has a pH of 2.35 and vinegar has a pH 2.4. pH measures the acidity or bascity of a material on a scale from 0-14. pH is defined as the negaive log of the H+ ion concentration. A pH below 7 is acidic, a pH above 7 is basic, and a pH of 7 is neutral.

Place the steak in the zip loc baggie with the marinade. This is also an excellent marinade for chicken, but I prefer beef fajitas. Let the beef marinade for at least four hours and up to 24 hours. If you have time for it to marinate overnight, do it. Trust me.

Grill the meat on an indoor grill pan or on an outdoor grill. Mr. T came home at a decent time so we decided to grill outside. Grill the steaks on medium high heat for four and an half to five minutes per side. Mr. T prefers his fajita meat to be cooked more thoroughly than a steak. He is the grill master in our household, but reduce the time if you would like some pink in the middle.

Let the meat rest for a couple of minutes before slicing into it. I have found that an electric knife makes slicing the meat very easy - thank you Grandmama.

Garnish with pico de gallo and cheese wrapped in a warm tortilla. I feel obliged to state the following for anyone like my Grandfather: be careful not to over fill the tortilla or you will be forced to eat them with a fork and knife.

I served chips and hot sauce and sweet corn cakes for sides. I am planning on posting the recipe for the corn cakes soon. Any left over meat is great in quesadillas!