Recipes
Peri Peri Skirt Steak
Serves 4-6
| Prep Time: 5 mins
| Cook Time: 10 mins
| Total Time: 1 hour
You may need: Peri Peri
Discover The Recipe
This recipe for Peri Peri Skirt Steak starts by making a tangy-spicy sauce traditionally made by grinding fiery African Birds Eye chilis with spices and lemon juice. Peri Peri sauce will leave you licking your fingers and longing for more. Peri Peri traces roots to a Portuguese-Mozambique fusion dish, owing to a colonial history beginning with Vasco de Gama, one of the early global explorers famous for the first sea voyage from Europe to India (1497-99) via the Horn of Africa. Portugal colonized many of the regions along de Gama's route and spent nearly 500 years in Mozambique, a country in Southeast Africa with beautiful turquoise waters.
While you can use our Peri Peri spice blend as a dry rub, we encourage you to make the full marinade to achieve a lemony-garlicky tanginess that so characterizes Peri Peri sauce. Customize heat to your taste by adding 1 or 2 jalapeño peppers to the marinade (or habaneros if you want it authentically fiery!). Reserve some of the Peri Peri sauce to spoon over the steak as a condiment. Try this magic marinade with chicken or roast veggies.
Ingredients
1.5 - 2 lbs skirt steak, fat trimmed
salt & pepper (optional)
1/4 sweet (yellow) onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded & coarsely chopped
1 lemon, juiced
5-7 large, fresh basil leaves
3 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1.5 tbsp of Piquant Post Peri Peri spice blend
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded (optional)
Notes
Skirt steak and flank steak are both cuts that work great for this Peri Peri skirt steak recipe. However, another good option for this recipe is the lesser known flat iron steak, which has become increasingly popular in restaurants and available in supermarkets as a lower-cost alternative to pricey cuts. The flat iron steak (aka top blade steak) is cut from the shoulder but is nearly as tender as the tenderloin and nicely marbled for great flavor. You can also use the marinade on other steak cuts.
After cooking the meat suggested in this recipe, we recommend letting your meat rest for 3-4 mins before slicing. This locks in the juices and finishing the cooking process.
When slicing any thin cut of steak, you'll want to cut across the grain with a sharp knife.
Optional ingredients add a little character and flavor but don't sweat it if you don't have them.
Instructions
Trim excess fat from steak then season with salt & pepper to taste and set aside. Coarsely chop onion and red bell pepper. Juice 1 lemon.
Add onion, bell pepper, lemon juice, basil, garlic, olive oil, Peri Peri spice, and jalapeño (optional) to a food processor. Purée for 30 seconds then use a spoon to scrape bits from side and pulse for 20 more seconds until sauce is mostly smooth. Reserve 1/3 of this mixture (~1/4 cup) to drizzle on steak after serving.
In a large zipper bag or non-reactive bowl, add steak and remaining sauce to marinate steak. Place in fridge for a minimum of 30 mins (up to overnight).
Heat BBQ grill. Cook steak 4-5 mins then flip and cook for 4-5 more mins for Med Rare, or longer as desired. (Note: if using the oven, turn broiler on high. Cook steak 4-5 mins per side.) Let the steak rest for 5 mins then slice against the grain. Spoon extra Peri Peri sauce over steak as a condiment.
Alternatives & Substitutions
If you don’t BBQ or weather forces you to make the Peri Peri skirt steak indoors, you can use your oven broiler. Broilers require more attention to the oven to make sure you don’t overcook or worse, completely char the meat. First, make the marinade and add the steak per the recipe. Then, adjust your wire oven rack to be 6-9 inches below your top broiler. Next, pre-heat the oven on Broil High. Finally, in an oven safe baking dish or on a foil-lined roasting pan, cook the steak for approximately 4-5 mins per side. Set a time and check on the every 2 mins to make sure it is not burning.
For those who prefer a vegetarian or vegan meal, make the Peri Peri marinade and use as a delicious dressing or tapenade on everything from crusty bread, to salad, to grilled veggies like corn, portobello mushrooms, eggplant, or zucchini. You can choose to marinate pre-cooking or just drizzle after serving.
Try our BBQ Peri Peri grilled chicken or Peri Peri Chicken with Ranch recipes for more perfect pairings with this sauce!
Our Peri Peri spice blend works fine as a dry rub on chicken and other meats. But we always recommend trying the full marinade first to achieve maximum flavor. We recommend trying it for our Portuguese Pork Tenderloin recipe.
Vegetarians: try our delicious Peri Peri Cauliflower Steak or hearty African Vegetable Pelau (Rice Pilaf) , or our Spicy Fries with Peri Peri Aioli recipes instead.
Post pictures of your masterpiece meal on social media and tag us. We repost!
Be sure to leave comments and feedback on your meals and experiments in the comments for others to read.
Peri Peri Skirt Steak
Serves
4-6
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
1 hour
Piquant Post spice you'll need: Peri Peri
Ingredients
1.5 - 2 lbs skirt steak, fat trimmed
salt & pepper (optional)
1/4 sweet (yellow) onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded & coarsely chopped
1 lemon, juiced
5-7 large, fresh basil leaves
3 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1.5 tbsp of Piquant Post Peri Peri spice blend
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded (optional)
Instructions
Trim excess fat from steak then season with salt & pepper to taste and set aside. Coarsely chop onion and red bell pepper. Juice 1 lemon.
Add onion, bell pepper, lemon juice, basil, garlic, olive oil, Peri Peri spice, and jalapeño (optional) to a food processor. Purée for 30 seconds then use a spoon to scrape bits from side and pulse for 20 more seconds until sauce is mostly smooth. Reserve 1/3 of this mixture (~1/4 cup) to drizzle on steak after serving.
In a large zipper bag or non-reactive bowl, add steak and remaining sauce to marinate steak. Place in fridge for a minimum of 30 mins (up to overnight).
Heat BBQ grill. Cook steak 4-5 mins then flip and cook for 4-5 more mins for Med Rare, or longer as desired. (Note: if using the oven, turn broiler on high. Cook steak 4-5 mins per side.) Let the steak rest for 5 mins then slice against the grain. Spoon extra Peri Peri sauce over steak as a condiment.
Notes
Skirt steak and flank steak are both cuts that work great for this Peri Peri skirt steak recipe. However, another good option for this recipe is the lesser known flat iron steak, which has become increasingly popular in restaurants and available in supermarkets as a lower-cost alternative to pricey cuts. The flat iron steak (aka top blade steak) is cut from the shoulder but is nearly as tender as the tenderloin and nicely marbled for great flavor. You can also use the marinade on other steak cuts.
After cooking the meat suggested in this recipe, we recommend letting your meat rest for 3-4 mins before slicing. This locks in the juices and finishing the cooking process.
When slicing any thin cut of steak, you'll want to cut across the grain with a sharp knife.
Optional ingredients add a little character and flavor but don't sweat it if you don't have them.
Other Products You Might Like...
You May Also Like These Recipes
