One of my favourite cuts of steak is skirt, and the fact that is a fraction of the price of the prime cuts makes it all the more desirable. I had guests over for dinner, one of whom said she fancied some steak a bit different to the usual. It was a lovely May evening at the start of the bank holiday weekend and just the sort of night you want to be outside with your friends and family; chillin' and grillin'!
I marinated the skirt overnight in a mixture of red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and salt. A few hours before I was due to cook the steak I shook off all the marinade and let it dry out a bit before coating it in my mocha rub (see recipe below). I had some pork shoulder in the Weber so I dragged the old cast iron barbecue that I had turned into a fire pit last year by cutting the legs off it (which as you can see in the photo I raised up on a workmate, firstly making it easier to grill on but also to stop the dog and kids from interfering!).
When the coals on the barbecue were ready I quickly made up a baste (see recipe below) by blitzing all the ingredients in a spice grinder. I then cooked the steak over the screaming hot coals until it was just starting to char, I then turned it over to grill the other side. On the already charred side, now on top, I basted it with the baste mix, and let it cook until the other side was charred. I removed the steak from the grill, basted the other side of the steak (the one most recently charred) and placed it in a tray to rest for at least five minutes.
When I cut into the steak to serve I could see it was a perfect medium rare, as I suspected from the feel of the steak, although this was part chance as I hadn't cooked the steak to temperature, just 'when I thought it was done'. I'll put this down to part experience and a bit of luck!! I served it with some asparagus wrapped in Parma ham that had been grilling at the side of the steak, some grilled fennel, grilled lettuce splashed with lemon juice, some potato wedges (the only item not done on the barbecue) and all accompanied by some chimichurri. This was obviously washed down with several glasses of slightly cooled red wine, just right for a summer's evening. We then sat outside playing cards, using the barbecue in its repurposed mode as a fire pit to keep us a bit warmer as the sun faded as well as providing ambiance. Perfect evening!
Dirty Baste
1 tin of anchovies
Lemon juice
Sea salt
Fresh rosemary
Fresh thyme
Fresh parsley
Mocha Rub
2 x tbsps dark brown sugar
2 tbsps sea salt
1 tbsp Azera coffee powder
1 tbsp cacao powder
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp corriander powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp turmeric
