Fajita joy!

I don’t think there is a lot of difference between Philly cheese steaks and your average stir fry. OBVIOUSLY there is a huge difference in the flavor profile, but the essential method is the same. You take thinly sliced meat and veggies and saute them with high heat very quickly. And it’s happiness!
My fajitas are kind of tex-mex my way.
I start with a flank steak marinated in garlic, chili powder, cumin, lime zest and juice, salt, pepper, and olive oil. I rub the steak all-over with the spices and flavorings and then allow the steak to marinate in the freezer for 30 minutes.
WHAT? THE FREEZER? Yes, the freezer. It allows the meat to firm up so that it can be cut into thin strips later. It’s brilliant.
While the steak is firming up, slice the peppers and onions into thin strips. Then slice the steak into thin strips. As thin as you can make them. I used the electric knife that is typically reserved for the Thanksgiving turkey.
Heat a cast iron skillet on high. WARNING: there will be smoke. Add a little vegetable oil. It will smoke. A lot. Add about half of the meat. By this point in time there should be a lot of smoke. If not, it isn’t hot enough. Steak should cook in 1-2 minutes. Remove cooked steak and add second batch of steak. Once again, heed the smoke.
When the steak has all been cooked and removed to a separate dish, add the onions and peppers to the hot skillet. Add more oil if necessary. Keep the heat on high. The onions and peppers should cook quickly. They may take a few minutes longer to soften since there are so much more of them. Allow the onions to caramelize and the peppers to darken around the edges.

Add the steak and juices back into the pan of peppers and onions. Heat through. Add the juice of two limes.

I ate my fajitas with shredded lettuce, cilantro, salsa, and Mexican cheese.

The fajita mix re-heats exceedingly well. It may even be better the second day. Marinating the fajita mix in it’s own fajita-y goodness…………….and then I died.

You can thank me later. 🙂