- What cut of beef is actually fajitas?
The main difference between all of these meats
is where it comes from on the animal.
Now, today's not a butchery lesson,
so we won't get into that.
But these are the most popular cuts of meat
that are used for fajitas.
Flank steak, very popular for fajita meat,
particularly up north
where they don't get a lot of skirt steaks.
Flap meat is also very popular as a fajita meat.
Here in south Texas, it's also called sirloin fajitas.
Some places call it a "bavette",
some call this an "arrachera" in Mexico,
and some other parts of the country.
And it's also called a "ranchera",
I believe in Arizona and New Mexico.
The big, giant hanger steak,
also called an arrachera here in south Texas,
but in some parts of Mexico, and some parts of this country,
they actually call this a fajita.
Now the two most popular cut of meat
that we know here in south Texas, and Texas in general,
are the outside skirt and the inside skirt.
The inside skirt is a very long piece of meat.
Normally quite a bit tougher.
Outside skirt comes with this membrane on the outside
that we're gonna remove,
but it's a lot more tender.
Will the real fajita please stand up?
We're gonna season all these meats with OG.
This is a very simple salt, pepper, garlic.
I don't normally cook flank steaks down here.
Actually, they're very hard to find
down here in south Texas.
So, I want to taste the meat in order to evaluate it,
and be able to tell you what I think about it.
Flap meat.
This is a big piece of meat.
Not too aggressive on this trim.
We're gonna get our OG, season it up.
Nice and even all the way across.
Next up, is the hanger steak.
This has a big thick membrane,
very similar to the outside skirt.
So, we're gonna get that off first.
Has a thick membrane here on this side, too.
So we're gonna get that off, too.
It has a very thick piece of membrane.
Very hard.
It usually gets butterflied in half
to make it look a little bit more presentable.
It also is thicker,
so it cooks a little bit quicker when you butterfly in half.
This is a little thicker cut of meat,
so we can get a little bit more aggressive
with our OG and our salt.
This is the inside skirt,
and it's always a big, long cut of meat.
It's delicious.
I'm gonna cut the ends off of this.
So it's kind of matching the size of the other ones.
And I can tell, just from the fat,
that this is probably gonna be a pretty good fajita today.
Let's go ahead and season it up.
A nice, little coat of OG.
This is the outside skirt.
Very tough membrane on the outside.
We're gonna take that off, as well.
Sometimes you can peel it right off,
sometimes you gotta filet it off.
It's very well-marbeled.
You can kind of see through the other fat that's there.
It's a very, very well-marbeled piece of meat.
All right, let's season up this outside skirt steak.
First one up is Mister flank steak.
(sizzling)
Oh, we got a little sizzle going there.
Next one up,
Mister flap meat.
(sizzling)
Hanger steak, outside skirt, and inside skirt.
The aroma is intoxicating.
It smells amazing.
Let's flip this thing over.
It's okay if it doesn't have a char yet.
We're looking to seal the juices inside
as much as possible.
As you'll see here shortly,
they're all gonna get a nice, pretty little char, anyway.
(quiet whistle)
Yeah, baby, look at that.
(sizzling)
Now we're talking, we're starting to get a little sear here.
Check that out, folks.
See how we're starting to develop
some really nice color, now?
Really starting to look better, much better.
See how that's sizzling?
Really nice looking piece of meat there.
This time we're gonna flip it this way.
This time we're gonna flip this one this way.
Looking good, papa.
Beautiful.
(sizzling)
Beautiful.
I think this'll be about the last flip
for the outside skirt.
We do not want to overcook that one.
I don't like to make mistakes
when it comes to expensive meats.
So I use an Mk4 from ThermoWorks.
It is the best meat thermometer on the market,
and I didn't get paid to say that.
(quiet whistle)
(sizzling)
Dang, that thing's done.
I'm gonna stick it in here,
let it stay warm.
Our inside skirts are done.
(low whistle)
Talk about juicy, wow.
(sizzling)
Whoa, baby.
Outside fajitas are done.
126.
A little bit longer, folks.
One that I think is gonna take longer,
is this hanger steak.
Yeah, we're still at 116 on that one.
I'm gonna put it right there on the fire,
or next to the fire.
Oh yeah.
(sizzling)
140.
I know, I know some of you like 'em at 120,
I like 135 to 140.
That's my personal preference.
All right, we have one last little piece left to cook.
This is the hanger steak.
That's one of the reasons why
it's usually butterflied in half like that.
It's 140 degrees,
we're gonna go and pull it out.
Cool, we're good.
We're good to go.
(utensils clanking)
The first one we're gonna slice,
is the first one that went onto the grill,
is the flank steak.
Let's get to it.
I'm cutting them a little bit thinner,
maybe about a quarter inch or so.
This flank steak is looking really, really good.
Just a hair past medium.
I say it's perfect.
Texture's nice.
Let's take a bite.
It's actually very, very good.
This flank steak is very tender.
Has a different texture
than the skirt steaks and the flap meat I'm used to eating,
little different texture,
more like a real steak.
Very, very good.
Many, many years ago,
I saw it at meat market in Lubbock, Texas.
Thought it was pretty good,
but I don't remember it being this good.
Of course, we didn't have OG back at the time.
Maybe it's the OG that just really made it shine.
(laughs)
I would not have any problem using that for fajitas.
Let's try the other ones.
All right, friends.
Next up is the flap meat, AKA sirloin fajitas.
Bavette, ranchera, call it whatever you like.
You always want to cut meat across the grain
for maximum tenderness.
But first, I mean, I'm not gonna cut a big old, long strip.
That's just where we start.
Now, you see the grain runs this way,
so we're gonna cut it across the grain.
This is very soft.
I can feel that it's super soft.
Friends, that's what I call
"perfectly cooked steak" right there.
Some people call it "arrachera".
Some people call it "ranchera".
I call it "good".
That's just gorgeous, look at that.
(hums)
That is amazing.
Fantastic texture.
It does taste different,
not quite the same flavor.
But very, very good.
I did lay the seasoning on a little bit heavier on this one.
And even now, I feel like it could use a little bit more.
But, it's excellent just like that
'cause the meat is so delicious.
It's not called an "arrachera" in other parts of the world,
but down here, this is what we call an "arrachera".
It is the hanger steak.
Thick membrane here in the middle.
You normally separate that and then do the slicing,
but, for today's purpose,
we're just gonna slice right here across the grain.
One more time.
Perfect.
All right, here we go.
Let's see what this tastes like, mama.
Hmm.
Oh.
Very, very good.
So far, friends,
this is the most tender in my opinion.
It is definitely beefier.
But, it's super soft.
Gorgeous.
All right, we got two more to go, folks.
So far, this is my favorite at this point.
Mm mm mm.
Dripping with juice is the inside skirt steak.
Here in deep south Texas,
this is the one that we've always known as "The Fajita".
Not for fajita, but "The Fajita".
All right, we cut this piece in half,
just to make it shorter.
Now, we're gonna cut it across the grain.
Super juicy, super moist.
A little bit thinner than a couple of those other cuts.
Let's take a bite.
(utensils clanking)
Mm.
That's a good piece of meat, right there.
Again, very different texture, different grain structure.
Very good.
It just tastes great.
This is probably the fajita that has created
all the different marinades throughout the world for fajitas
because it's generally a very tough cut of meat.
I knew, this is actually a very tender inside skirt,
compared to most of the ones that I usually get to buy.
They're almost always like shoe leather.
That's one of the downsides to the inside skirt.
Today's was really, really tender.
This skirt steak shines with a really hot sear.
Up next is the outside skirt.
It's also a nice long strip of meat,
but it is thinner than the inside skirt.
We're gonna cut it right about here,
and we're gonna slice it across the grain over here.
Just a hair over medium.
Let's see what it tastes like.
(laughs) Oh, baby.
That is soft.
It tastes amazing.
It's super soft.
The flavor's great.
In my opinion, it has a similar flavor to the hanger steak.
A little bolder, and a little beefier than the inside skirt,
than the flank steak, and the flap meat.
Now, these outside skirt steaks are very expensive,
and very hard to find, in most places.
Gotta get another one.
We have the flank steak, the flap meat, the hanger steak,
the inside skirt, and the outside skirt.
They all have their own unique, little flavor profile.
A little different texture.
I was thoroughly impressed by the flank steak.
Flap meat, what we call "sirloin fajitas" down here,
is probably the one I cook the most often here at home
because it's always super tender.
The hanger steak, which we call "arrachera" in south Texas,
today, it was perfect.
Just amazing.
Beefier flavor than the others,
softer than the other two ahead of it.
Very good piece of meat.
Inside skirt, I don't cook that one real, real often.
Even though I truly believe
that has a better flavor than all of them.
When you cook the inside skirt steak just right,
it tastes amazing.
And then we have the outside skirt steak,
which I don't cook very often.
Two reasons.
Number one, it's very hard to find.
Most restaurant chains scoop those up
before they can ever go to a store.
Secondly, it's very expensive.
I believe it's more expensive than rib eyes, even.
It is an amazing piece of meat, tastes fantastic.
Which one do I like the most?
I like 'em all.
I'm a beef loving Texan.
I really love the hanger steak,
and I love the flap meat, just because they're tender,
they're easy to get, and they cook perfect every time.
If I could only buy one piece of meat,
let's just say there was
only one ever gonna be available to me,
it would be the outside skirt steak
because it's always tender and always delicious.
But friends, any one of these meats will work for fajitas.
They all taste amazing.
Today, they were all tender.
Friends, we never stopped learning, myself included.
I had several people kept telling me
the flap meat an arrachera.
And then the ranchera inside skirt
was actually an arrachera.
There's so much confusion.
But, I've come to realize, at the end of the day,
it just depends on what they call it in your region,
or your local area.
Whatever they happen to call
any one of these steaks in your area,
whichever one you can get.
Buy it, cook it, cut it into strips.
And you'll have an amazing piece of meat
that you can call a "fajita".
So friends, if you get some value out this video,
go ahead and comment, like, and share.
Tell us which one is your favorite.
Which one do you call a "fajita"
out of all of these meats,
or is there a different one?
Let us know in the comments below.
We seasoned all of these steaks the same, with OG.
You can get this at pitmaster.us.
If you want to get some WOW,
you can get that also at pitmaster.us.
This one was originally created for fajitas and steaks,
but it's so versatile.
It's just good on everything.
If you wanna up your barbecue game,
go to pitmasterclass.us.
Thanks for watching, everybody.
Hope you got some value out this.
Keep the smoke light.
Make it work, and make it wow!
Boom!
(imitates snoring sounds)
Flap meat, also known as "sirloin fajitas"
here in south Texas- damn it's hot there.
We only have one really big problem, today.
We are out of beer.
Not good.
(chuckling)
I'll go ahead and season these pieces,
they're already here.
I shouldn't have seasoned them
so I could give 'em to my puppy dog.
(chuckles)
Hey, buddy!
You want some fajiters?
Hm?
Y'all say "hi" to my bud, my buddy boy.
(laughs)
He's hungry.
Mic check, mic check.
Fajita time.
I've never seen a dog that likes barbecue
as much as this dog.
This guy, literally, will fast for three days
if he doesn't have meat in his bowl.
He has to have meat.