Sometimes there is nothing better than a pile of food placed upon your dinner plate. Something you can really feast your eyes on and relish its gastronomic possibilities. When you need something to really tuck into come dinner time, I suggest you make skirt steak pile up. What is that you ask? Well it’s skirt steak underweight of sweet potato shoestring fries and buttermilk fried onions.
This is a delicious feast and ideal for serving family style. You can just double or triple the ingredients and serve on a huge platter or board. Can you imagine placing a pile of food such as this in front of your family and friends? They would be giddy with excitement and ready, fork in hand, to do their best.
This recipe asks that you marinate the skirt steak in Sriracha, honey and balsamic vinegar for at least 8 hours, but preferably overnight. It is not mandatory, but you will be really pleased if you do. This marinade will sink into the meat and provide an absolutely wonderful smokey flavor, nothing too overpowering, just a subtle smokiness with a little heat, a little sweet and a touch of zing. You’re gonna love it. I also added a balsamic reduction, just a little on top of my steak. This is a personal preference, you can go simple and just add your favorite barbecue sauce, or go naked and go without sauce if you want to simplify the recipe. It all depends on how you like your skirt steak cooked; the closer to well done, the drier the steak will become, and thus, the more likely you will need a sauce. What you don’t need to do is stress about sauce or no sauce, just do you. It’s skirt steak pile up, so any way is fine.
I like to make shoestring sweet potato fries quite often, and my friends always ask “how do you get them so thin”? Well, I have a mandolin, I couldn’t live without my mandolin, as I have a fetish for finely cut foods. But no need to rush out and buy a mandolin for this dish, as I said, it’s skirt steak pile up, any way will do. Just make your fries thicker, they’ll be fine. If making fries has you completely ill at ease, then buy them – Alexia does a great variety of sweet potato fries, they’re delicious.
However your dish turns out, I know it will be great because this dish is just too sensational. Give it a try and let me have your feedback.
Skirt Steak Pile Up
Ingredients
- 1 lb skirt steak
- 1/4 cup Sriracha
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup of onions sliced
- Vegetable or canola oil for frying
Balsamic Reduction Ingredients
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 honey
- 1 garlic clove sliced
Equipment & Utensils
- Grill pan
- Mandolin if you have one
- Deep fryer or deep pan for frying
- Large sieve
- Saucepan
Instructions
- Remove excess fat from steak if any, wash and pat dry.
- Place steaks in gallon sized ziploc bag and set aside.
- Mix Sriracha, balsamic vinegar, honey and salt together, and then pour on top of steaks in ziploc bag.
- Make sure steaks are completely covered with marinade and then seal and place in fridge for at least 8 hours.
- Once steaks are marinated remove from ziploc bags and throw out marinade.
- Heat grill pan and then add canola oil.
- Once oil is nice and hot, carefully place steaks in grill pan, being careful not to splash the hot oil.
- Cook steaks on either side for approx. 3 mins for medium and 5 mins for medium well. Any longer and the result will be pretty dry steaks, but cooking time does depend upon your pan, and the size of your steaks, so use your discretion.
- While steaks are cooking heat up oil in deep fryer or deep pan.
- Slice up sweet potatoes. A mandolin works best, but if you don't have one, work on creating the thinnest fries you can.
- Add fries to oil and cook until crispy, then allow to drain on paper towels.
- Your steaks should be done by now, place them on a board and allow to rest.
- While steaks are resting, place buttermilk in a dish and flour in another.
- Drop you onion slices into the buttermilk, then pull out handfuls and place into flour, covering onions with flour completely.
- Repeat until all of your onion slices have been doused in flour, then place them in a large sieve and shake off excess flour.
- Make sure oil is nice and hot then add onion slices and cook until golden and crispy.
- Transfer onions to paper towel to drain.
Balsamic Reduction Directions
- Place balsamic vinegar, honey and garlic into a saucepan and place on high heat.
- Stir until ingredients have combined and risen to a boil.
- Lower heat to a simmer and reduce to half.
- Strain reduction to remove pieces of garlic.
To Serve
- Layer ingredients starting with steak first,
- drizzle balsamic reduction,
- than layer with shoestring sweet potato fries
- then layer with buttermilk onions
