Southwest Grilled Skirt Steak

Spicy, southwest grilled skirt steak is a quick easy meal for busy days and goes great with homemade roasted tomatillo salsa

Living in the midwest, we grill all year long and this is one of our dinner staples. I generally serve it with polenta and salsa. The prep and cook are so simple and quick that this makes a great weeknight meal even when you are running late. The spice level is easily adjusted. If you prefer more heat, kick up the amount of the peppers you add to the spice mix.

Southwest Grilled Skirt Steak

Ingredients

• 1-1.5 lbs skirt steak

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1/2 tsp onion powder (or garlic powder)

• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

• 1/2 tsp ground ancho pepper

• 1/2 tsp ground chipotle pepper

• 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Trim large areas of fat from skirt steak.

2. In a small bowl, mix all the spices.

3. Coat both sides of the skirt steak liberally with the spice mixture. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.

4. Heat the grill at the medium-high setting. When hot, clean any old debris off the grill. You also spray the grill grates with a non-stick grill spray if you would like.

5. Grill steak 4 minutes on each side for steak that is done medium. You can cook for a minute or two shorter or longer depending on your tastes.

6. Remove from grill to a large, sturdy cutting board and let sit for 5 minutes.

7. Slice skirt steak against the tissue grain and serve.

This skirt steak goes great with polenta and roasted tomatillo salsa. You can also serve it in tortilla shells as steak tacos or dice it to put on nachos. I use yellow corn polenta (dried) and make it mostly per the package directions; I omit salt and use a little low-fat yogurt and a little grated cheese to add creaminess and flavor.