Recipes

Easy Steak Fajitas

Serves 6

| Prep Time: 20 mins

| Cook Time: 20 mins

| Total Time: 2.5 hrs

You may need: Taco Elixir

Discover The Recipe

Today, Fajitas are widely known in the U.S. as a Tex-Mex restaurant staple, the meat arriving on sizzling metal platters, accompanied by mounds of grilled onions and peppers. However, Fajitas have an interesting story and reflect the reality and austerity of American border life in the early 20th Century. Out of the vast cattle ranch lands of South and West Texas, new culinary traditions were born from necessity.

Throwaway pieces like the head, entrails, and meat trimmings such as skirt steak were given to Mexican vaqueros (cowboys) as part of their pay. Many (now) classic Mexican border dishes emerged from the Rio Grande valley: barbacoa de cabeza (head), menudo (tripe), and fajitas (skirt). Lucky for us, enterprising chefs brought fajitas from backwoods campfire to big city food trucks in the 60's and to mainstream by 1990. The key to making flavor-packed fajitas is a good marinade for the steak and allowing the marinade to work at least a couple of hours. Citrus juices are natural acidic meat tenderizers that break down tough meat fibers. They also leave their fabulous flavor behind. We further infuse bold Mexican flavors in the fajita marinade with our Taco Elixir spice blend. This seasoning not only makes perfect beef or chicken tacos, it also takes these easy steak fajitas from good to great!

Ingredients

1/4 cup orange juice
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Piquant Post Taco Elixir spice blend
1 lime, juiced
2 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
large handful of cilantro leaves, chopped
1.5 - 2 lbs of skirt or flank steak
Kosher salt & black pepper (optional, to taste)
1 large white onion, sliced
1 poblano pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
2 bell peppers (red, orange, or green), seeded and sliced into strips
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Notes

Fajitas are traditionally made with skirt or flank steak. Both work great in this recipe. You can also use the flatiron steak cut.

These thin cuts of steak cook quickly. If you prefer your meat Medium-Rare, watch the cooking time carefully.

if you're running short on time, we think you can get a lot of flavor in 20-30 mins of marinade time. But to get the max flavor, plan ahead to get 2+ hours of marinade time.

Optional ingredients add a little character and flavor but don't sweat it if you don't have them.

Instructions

Add all marinade ingredients to a large resealable plastic bag. Seal and shake to combine. (you can also use a non-reactive bowl).

Add the (whole) steak to the marinade and place in fridge for 2 hours up to overnight. You can marinate for less time in a pinch but for max flavor, we recommend you plan ahead and marinate for 2 hours. While the steak is marinating, prep all the fresh ingredients.

After the steak has marinated, pull the meat from the marinade and gently pat with paper towels. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Heat a large skillet or sauté pan on Med-High heat. Add oil to pan and cook steak for 3-5 mins per side (for Med-rare doneness; longer if desired). Remove meat and set aside to rest.

When the steak is done, cook the onions, and peppers for 10-12 mins on Med heat, stirring occasionally. When the onions begin to caramelize and the peppers soften, remove from heat. Slice the meat into finger-sized strips. Serve immediately (family style) with tortillas and garnishes of your choice: salsa, cheese, sour cream, lime wedges, guacamole, extra herbs.

Alternatives & Substitutions

Fajitas can be made with steak, shrimp, chicken, vegetarian or all of the above. Feel free to sub in your protein of choice for steak and marinate accordingly.
For a vegetarian fajitas, try using any mix of sliced yellow and red bell peppers, sliced poblano peppers, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash and corn. Cut down on the marinade time from 2 hours to ~10-20 mins.
Our taco elixir spice blend is the perfect all-purpose Mexican seasoning. Use it to make our perfect beef tacos recipe (which you can of course make with ground turkey, pork, chicken cubes, fish or mixed veggies).
Or, try our authentic-tasting Chicken Tinga Tostadas, or our Chicken Tamale Pie recipes.
Need a dish for the big game? Try using our taco elixir spice blend to make gameday chicken nachos!
If your local market doesn’t carry Mexican cotija cheese, try subbing in your favorite shredded cheese blend. Or use another salty cheese variety like Feta crumbles or Italian cheeses like shredded pecorino, Asiago, or even parmesan.
Mix up your Taco Tuesday game with our fantastic Pumpkin Tacos al Pastor recipe!
Be sure to leave comments and feedback on your meals and experiments in the comments for others to read.
Post pictures of your masterpiece meal on social media and tag us. We repost!