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I got another pack of hanger steaks from Restaurant Depot. They are great.

I trim them down and marinated them for 18 hours in this.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/fajita-mar ... etail.aspx



Hit them on the keg at 600



Sliced them up



Added them to the cast iron with some onions and peppers and taco seasoning.



Topped it with some fresh salsa and guacamole.



This steak is so good I easily could have eaten it by itself. It was awesome just with the marinade.

Try some hangers if you can find them.

Those do look great. I'll try not to harp on one point too much, that the only possible cut of meat that is fajita is the inside skirt steak. But, those look like great steak tacos.

And, if a chicken ever grows an inside skirt steak then maybe we will have chicken fajitas.

salumi512 wrote:Those do look great. I'll try not to harp on one point too much, that the only possible cut of meat that is fajita is the inside skirt steak. But, those look like great steak tacos.

And, if a chicken ever grows an inside skirt steak then maybe we will have chicken fajitas.

There fajita's around here. Chicken, steak, shrimp. I'm good with calling them tacos too. Either way I like them.

Interesting point though. I guess I would call anything with whole pieces of meat fajita's. Ground meats for tacos. Just my thinking. I'm pretty far from Mexico though.

Vindii wrote:Interesting point though. I guess I would call anything with whole pieces of meat fajita's. Ground meats for tacos. Just my thinking. I'm pretty far from Mexico though.

Unfortunately the commercial food industry has butchered the usage. Fajita means belt or girdle in spanish, referring specifically to the diaphragm muscle. Calling some other cut of meat fajita, would be analogous to serving someone a sirloin and calling it a ribeye.

Down here you can specify fajita meat or sirloin in steak tacos. The fajita meat is more expensive as it needs to marinate a lot longer, and is not as plentiful.

I've only used hangers. Do you think skirt is better? I'd be surprised as the hanger is pretty damn good.

I have been looking for hangers for just that reason. I usually use skirt steak for fajitas and even flank if I can't find skirt. I would like to try it with hangers to see what the difference is.

Vindii wrote:I've only used hangers. Do you think skirt is better? I'd be surprised as the hanger is pretty damn good.

The technique for skirt steak is harder to get right, but when done properly the end result is something you will be able to pick out from any other steak cut that may be used.

Since the skirt gets more action during the life of the cow than the hanger does, it has a different flavor and texture.

I'd start by looking at how the Argentinians grill skirt steak for how to cook it properly. Then you can slice it up into your taco as you normally do. The Mexicans have a different way of cooking skirt. They leave the diaphragm whole inside of the casing and bake it in a sealed clay oven with onions and peppers. All good stuff.

solaryellow wrote:I have been looking for hangers for just that reason. I usually use skirt steak for fajitas and even flank if I can't find skirt. I would like to try it with hangers to see what the difference is.

If you can get access to a Restaurant Depot then they carry hangers. You need to know someone with a food tax ID to get in there.

Otherwise, I am with you guys that it is great to try them all side by side for how they taste.

I can cook hanger steak tacos from start to finish in an hour, including lighting the charcoal. Flank, about two hours, and Fajita is at least 12 hours.

They are all steak tacos. Only one is Fajita.

Vindii,

I tried that marinade, very good. I substituted red wine for the water though.

salumi512 wrote:

solaryellow wrote:I have been looking for hangers for just that reason. I usually use skirt steak for fajitas and even flank if I can't find skirt. I would like to try it with hangers to see what the difference is.

If you can get access to a Restaurant Depot then they carry hangers. You need to know someone with a food tax ID to get in there.

Otherwise, I am with you guys that it is great to try them all side by side for how they taste.

I can cook hanger steak tacos from start to finish in an hour, including lighting the charcoal. Flank, about two hours, and Fajita is at least 12 hours.

They are all steak tacos. Only one is Fajita.

Any business tax ID will get you into RD. Doesn't have to be food related. Awesome store for people that like to cook.

salumi512 wrote:

solaryellow wrote:I have been looking for hangers for just that reason. I usually use skirt steak for fajitas and even flank if I can't find skirt. I would like to try it with hangers to see what the difference is.

If you can get access to a Restaurant Depot then they carry hangers. You need to know someone with a food tax ID to get in there.

Otherwise, I am with you guys that it is great to try them all side by side for how they taste.

I can cook hanger steak tacos from start to finish in an hour, including lighting the charcoal. Flank, about two hours, and Fajita is at least 12 hours.

They are all steak tacos. Only one is Fajita.

There is a Restaurant Depot in Charlotte. I have been meaning to get a membership there so maybe this is my excuse?

When you say the fajitas take 12 hours, I am assuming this includes the time to marinate the meat. Is that correct?

solaryellow wrote:When you say the fajitas take 12 hours, I am assuming this includes the time to marinate the meat. Is that correct?

Yes, total processing time.

Looks good!

salumi512 wrote:

solaryellow wrote:When you say the fajitas take 12 hours, I am assuming this includes the time to marinate the meat. Is that correct?

Yes, total processing time.

You must use different marinades for hanger, flank and skirt? Even with a quick marinated on the hanger I couldn't trim, marinate, and cook them in an hour.

Vindii wrote:You must use different marinades for hanger, flank and skirt? Even with a quick marinated on the hanger I couldn't trim, marinate, and cook them in an hour.

Absolutely, I use different marinades and different acidity based which cut I am using. I believe I posted my hanger steak marinade on my Hanger Steak Taco thread a couple weeks ago. 45 min is all you need, and I trim my hangers before I vacuum seal them so that time is not spent when cooking them. My process once the clock starts is this:

Prepare the marinade (2 min)
Leave hanger in marinade (35 - 45 min)
Start fire while meat is marinating (30 min to get everything ready for grilling)
Grill hanger (15 min)

At this point, we are within 2 minutes of one hour. I let it rest for 15 min while I prepare the toppings and warm the tortillas, but that can all be done while it is cooking as well.

Ta Da!