GrillAmerican
Skirt steak frites
A thin steak on a ripping grate, fries that actually crunch, and onions that took the heat with it. The steak is the point. The potato is why people sit down.
Made it?
55 min · 35 min hands-on · pull 130°F · rest 8 min
Ingredients
1.5 lb on the fire · ~1.2 lb to the table · 2 plates at 8 oz
- outside skirt, or hanger1 1/2 lb
- kosher salt, for the steak2 tsp
- black pepper1 tsp
- russet potatoes2 lb
- neutral oil, for fries — or 3 tbsp for a sheet pan1 qt
- large yellow onions, thick rounds2
- oil, for the onions2 tbsp
Method
- 1
Salt the steak 30–40 minutes ahead. Cut potatoes into ½-inch sticks, soak 20 minutes, dry hard.
- 2
Fry at 325°F until just tender, 6–8 minutes, then drain. Or toss in oil on a sheet at 425°F for 15 minutes — they will not be as crisp, they will still eat.
- 3
Onions on the cool zone of a two-zone fire, oiled and salted, until soft and marked, 15–20 minutes. Park them.
- 4
Finish the fries at 375°F (or the hot sheet) until deep gold. Salt the second they leave the heat.
- 5
Steak on the screaming grate 3–4 minutes a side to 128–130°F. Rest 8 minutes. Slice across the grain, thin. Pile fries and onions. Do not sauce the steak into the potato.
If you don’t have it
- Skirt → Hanger or flap (bavette). Same hot grate, same thin slice across. Flank works if you pull it even earlier.
- Deep-fried fries → Sheet-pan fries. 425°F, dry potatoes, enough oil. Crisp is worse. Timing is easier.
- Yellow onions → A pile of grilled springs onions. Same cool zone. They finish faster.
Same cook, different day
Steakhouse frites
You have strip not skirt. Reverse a thick strip. Fries still finish in the rest. Onions optional.
No fryer
Apartment. Sheet fries. Do not crowd. One layer.
On the plate
With this, try
- With this dish, try making vinegar slaw.
Anytime. Better after an hour in the fridge. Cabbage, carrot, cider vinegar, a pinch of sugar, salt, pepper. No mayo if the meat is already rich.
20 min
- With this dish, try making grilled asparagus.
When the meat comes off to rest. Thick spears, oil, salt. Hot grate 2–3 minutes, roll, another minute. Lemon. Pencil spears go in a hot skillet, not on the bars.
10 min
- With this dish, try making french fries.
Par-cook while the meat dry-brines. Finish in the rest window. Russets, ¼-inch, soak, dry. 300°F then 375°F. Salt immediately.
50 min