Cooking Weblog

Tender and juicy sirloin steak grilled over high heat. The steak is marinated in a blend of Mexican spices, onions, garlic,  red, green and orange peppers then grilled over high heat. Add cheese, lettuce, tomato and your favorite hot sauce and you’ve got one tasty burrito! Add rice and beans and make it a great meal!

Fajita Burrito with Rice and Beans

Ingredients: Steak Fajita Mix

1 1/2lbs. top sirloin steak

1/2 onion (sliced)

1/3 red pepper (sliced)

1/2 green pepper (sliced)

1/3 orange pepper (sliced)

3 cloves garlic (minced or crushed)

1 1/2 teas. salt

1 teas. pepper

1/3 teas. chili powder

1/8 teas. cumin

1 teas. dry oregano

corn oil for cooking

Method: Steak Fajita Mix

Start by slicing all of your vegetables and meat.

Spread the meat out on your cutting board and sprinkle the vegetables over the top. Sprinkle the seasoning over everything and mix it all up to incorporate the spices.

This is an easy way to insure that your seasonings will be distributed evenly.

Put your mix into a ziplock bag, or,  into a bowl, with a piece of plastic wrap that has been pushed down onto the meat, squeezing all of the air out. This prevents “aeration”,  sealing in the flavors. Marinate your mix at least 1 hour up to overnight.

To cook:

Heat a large skillet to high heat.

Add about 1teas. of corn oil to the skillet. When it starts to slightly smoke it’s ready for your mix.

It’s best to make the fajita mix in batches of enough for 1 or 2 burritos at a time.

Too much meat at one time will cause the liquid in the meat to bubble up, steaming the meat.. we don’t want this.

Less meat in the skillet will allow the liquid in the meat to come out and evaporate quickly. This gives you a better sear on the meat, cooking it quicker.

After adding a batch to your skillet, spread it out to get as much of the meat touching the bottom as you can and let it go for about a minute. This will help get rid of excess moisture quickly, giving you a head start on the “saute” part.

After a minute, start to move the mix around the skillet with a wood spatula loosening up any bits that may be stuck. If you know how to “flip” your mix now”s the time otherwise just keep stirring it around until you get your desired doneness, usually about 8 to 10 minutes start to finish. Your mix is now ready for burritos.

Use your cooked fajita mix as fast as possible. It’s best to transfer the cooked mix directly from pan to tortilla. Or, line a bowl with foil, place the cooked mix into it and cover with another piece of foil. Although doing this will steam the meat, it will stay hot, juicy and tender for up to 30 minutes.  This fajita mix is also great for soft tacos

Ingredients: Steak Fajita Burrito

fajita mix

1/2 head lettuce (shredded)

2 tomatoes (diced)

10 oz. cheddar or jack cheese (shredded)

4- 14 inch flour tortillas (really big burritos)

or

8-10 inch flour tortillas

hot sauce or salsa

Method: Steak Fajita Burritos

Heat your tortillas, as this will make them pliable, by either placing them in a microwave, 1 or 2 at a time (45 seconds to a minute), or, by heating them on a 350 degree grill, griddle or big skillet, flipping until hot, about 30 seconds total per tortilla. Or, wrap up to 10 tortillas tightly in foil and place directly on the  oven rack of  a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for about 5 to 8 minutes or until hot.

Note: With the oven method, as long as the foil is wrapped tightly around the tortillas, you can slowly heat them at 200 degrees or lower. This way will keep them hot and fresh for up to an hour… as long as they remain tightly sealed… take “em” as you need “em”.. just remember to close it up good. Extra cooked fajita mix (remember the bowl trick from earlier) can be kept in with the tortillas.

Wrapping the burrito

Arrange your hot fajita mix in a line across the center and to one side of a warm tortilla as shown in the picture.

Quickly add your shredded cheese over the top of the mix to melt in. Add your lettuce, tomato and sauce.

Fold the side where you left the space,  over that side of the burrito.

Take the bottom edge closest to you and fold it up over the burrito.

Using both hands, fold that bottom lip down under the mix to tightly seal it in.

Once you get it tight, keep it that way and roll it over on itself until it’s all the way rolled up.

There ya go…. ready to eat, enjoy!

Add some beans and rice and you’ll have a full plate of delicious!

The meat with the peppers grilled on high heat with the seasoning is awesome. Guacamole, sour cream and pico de gallo are all great additions to give you even more great flavor, it’s hard to go wrong with your toppings.

Give fajitas a try.. you’ll be glad you did!

-David

P.S. New environmentally friendly cookware site on the way at www.onestopcook.com