Best Ever Skirt Steak Marinade + How to Grill Skirt Steak!
This skirt steak marinade recipe has savory, bold flavor and just the right touch of sweetness to create the most tender, flavorful grilled skirt steak you’ve ever had. Whether you’re making it for a busy weeknight dinner or showing up to a summer cookout with something impressive, this delicious marinade does ALL the heavy lifting. And with just 10 minutes of prep, you’ll be making this on repeat all grilling season long.
Let’s talk skirt steak.
A few weeks ago, I was at a food blogging retreat in Atlanta. I felt SO spoiled because we had a private chef cooking all of our meals. One of my favorite dinners, he made roasted potatoes with grilled skirt steak and cilantro chimichurri. The skirt steak was SO tender and delicious and the chimichurri? Muah! Chef’s kiss. Literally.
It got me thinking about how I don’t know if I’ve ever made skirt steak. My go-to is usually my MIL’s best-ever flat iron steak recipe, but I wanted to recreate this dish from the retreat! So I set out to make 1) an absolutely incredible skirt steak marinade 2) nail the method and cook time for grilling skirt steak and 3) make it all into a taco situation with cilantro chimichurri.
Mission accomplished, y’all. So today we’re talking about how to trim, prep, marinate and grill skirt steak. And then tomorrow we’re putting it all together in some delicious tacos.
If you’ve ever been intimidated by beef, I got you. Skirt steak is lean, affordable, and with this method, it’s foolproof!
Hope you love it as much as my family did.
Ingredients You’ll Need for This Grilled Skirt Steak Marinade:
- Skirt steak is the star here! Look for it at your regular grocery store or ask your butcher. It’s typically more affordable than ribeye or NY strip and is seriously underrated. You could also use this marinade for flank steak, flat iron steak, or hanger steak (just adjust your cook time since those cuts are thicker).
- Balsamic vinegar and low-sodium soy sauce adds that rich, slightly sweet tang that plays so well with beef and helps tenderize the meat. You could also use coconut aminos or tamari for a gluten-free option.
- Smoked paprika and cumin are the simple seasonings that add SO much great flavor.
- Worcestershire sauce is packed with deep, savory flavor that is a must for any good steak marinade.
- Olive oil helps carry the flavor into the meat and prevents sticking on the grill. You could also use avocado oil or vegetable oil.
- Brown sugar creates this gorgeous caramelized crust on the grill. Don’t skip it!
- I love using garlic paste in a tube as a shortcut, but freshly minced garlic cloves work perfectly if that’s what you have.
How to Make the Best Skirt Steak Marinade:
Place your skirt steak on a cutting board and use kitchen scissors to trim away as much of the visible silver skin and fat as possible.
Give it a few good whacks all over with a meat mallet to tenderize. Pat dry with a paper towel, then place in a shallow dish or large Ziploc bag.
In a small bowl or jar, whisk together all of the marinade ingredients until combined.
Pour the marinade all over the steak, making sure to flip it around or smoosh it in the bag so every nook and cranny is coated. Marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours for the best flavor.
Pull the steak from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking and let it come to room temperature (this helps the steak cook evenly).
Preheat your grill to 500°F and oil the grates well. Use tongs to let the excess marinade drip off before placing the steak on the grill.
Grill for 1 minute, then rotate the steak 90 degrees and grill for 1 more minute to get those beautiful crosshatch marks. Flip and cook another 1–2 minutes for medium-rare (about 4 minutes total). Skirt steak cooks lightning fast so don’t wander far! If using a meat thermometer, pull it at 130 to 135°F for medium-rare. I don’t recommend going past medium for this cut.
Let the steak rest for 10 minutes before slicing it, it’s important for helping the juices redistribute. Then slice against the grain and drizzle with any extra juices (see FAQs or recipe notes below for details). This is THE trick for tender skirt steak.
Voilà! Your backyard just became everyone’s new favorite steakhouse.
FAQs
Anywhere from 2 hours to 24 hours. Longer = more flavor, but don’t go beyond 24 hours or the texture could get weird.
Skirt steak has long, visible muscle fibers that run in one direction, that’s the grain. If you look closely at the raw or cooked steak, you’ll see parallel lines running across it. Against the grain means cutting perpendicular to those lines, so your knife is essentially cutting the fibers short rather than leaving them long. Short fibers = tender, easy to chew. Long fibers = tough and stringy. Refer to my photo above for what it looks like when you cook with/against the thick grains. This means you’ll be slicing the skirt steak in quite long pieces. I cut my skirt steak in half once with the grain, and then sliced those two smaller pieces against the grain, for shorter, thinner pieces of steak.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat it quickly in a hot skillet for a minute or two rather than the microwave, which will dry it out. Leftover steak is incredible in tacos, rice bowls, salads or over eggs the next morning!
You can! This marinade works great on flank steak, flat iron steak and hanger steak. Just note that those cuts are thicker than skirt steak, so you’ll need a little more cook time.
Heat a cast iron grill pan or cast iron skillet over high heat until very hot, about 2-3 minutes. Add a swish of high smoke-point oil like avocado oil or vegetable oil and swirl to coat. Then follow the same steps you would for grilling.
Tomorrow we’re turning this skirt steak into beautiful tacos and I cannot WAIT. 🌮
If you try and like this recipe please don’t forget to leave a comment and star rating down below! For more lifestyle, behind the scenes and ‘eating in real life’ type of content come find me over on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or Youtube – I love connecting with you all there!
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Best Ever Skirt Steak Marinade Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes + 2-24 hours to marinate
- Cook Time: 4-5 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Beef, Dinner, Entertaining
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Dairy-Free
Description
This skirt steak marinade makes tender, juicy, flavorful steak with just 10 minutes of prep. Learn how to marinate, grill, and slice skirt steak for an easy weeknight dinner, taco night, or bowl topper situation.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb skirt steak
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced or paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Instructions
- Place skirt steak on a cutting board and use kitchen scissors to trim away as much of the visible silver skin and fat as possible. Use a meat mallet and whack it a few times all over to tenderize. Pat dry with a paper towel. Place steak in a shallow dish or large Ziploc bag.
- In a small bowl or jar, whisk together ¼ cup balsamic vinegar, ¼ cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 2 teaspoons smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon cumin and 2 tablespoons brown sugar.
- Pour marinade all over the steak, making sure to flip the steak around or smoosh it in the bag so that the marinade is coating every nook and cranny.
- Let marinate in the fridge for 2-24 hours. Pull out the steak and let sit at room temperature 30 minutes before cooking.
- Preheat grill to 500°F. Oil the grill grates. Use tongs to let excess marinade drip off the steak, then place it on the flaming-hot grill. Grill for 1 minute, then rotate the steak 90 degrees for 1 more minute; this will give you those nice grill marks.
- Flip the skirt steak and grill for another 1-2 minutes, for a total of 3-4 minutes for medium-rare steak. Caution my friends, do not overcook! You can throw the steak back on the grill for another several seconds if needed, but you can’t uncook it. Err on the side of under. I cooked mine exactly 4 minutes (you can see the doneness in the photos). If using a meat thermometer, aim for an internal temperature of 125°F for rare, 130-135°F for medium rare, 140°F for medium and 150-155°F for medium well. For skirt steak, I don’t recommend anything more than medium rare, but you do you boo.
- Remove the steak and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing against the grain.* See note. Drizzle with extra juices/marinade. Ta-da! Perfection.
Serve straight up, in tacos, on salads, rice bowls, eggs or anything your heart desires.
Notes
Slicing against the grain: Skirt steak has long, visible muscle fibers that run in one direction, that’s the grain. If you look closely at the raw or cooked steak, you’ll see parallel lines running across it. Against the grain means cutting perpendicular to those lines, so your knife is essentially cutting the fibers short rather than leaving them long. Short fibers = tender, easy to chew. Long fibers = tough and stringy. Refer to my photo above for what it looks like when you cook with/against the grain. This means you’ll be slicing the skirt steak in quite long pieces. I cut my skirt steak in half once with the grain, and then sliced those two smaller pieces against the grain, for shorter, thinner pieces of steak.
Types of steak: You can also use this marinade recipe for flank steak, flat iron steak or hanger steak, but you will need to adjust the cook time based on the thickness of your steak (all of those cuts are thicker than skirt steak).
Stovetop instructions: Heat a cast-iron skillet or grill pan over high heat until very hot, about 2-3 minutes. Add a swish of high smoke-point oil like avocado or vegetable oil and swirl to coat. Use tongs to let excess marinade drip off the steak, then carefully lay it away from you into the pan. Sear for 2 minutes. Flip and cook another 1-2 minutes for a total of 3-4 minutes for medium-rare. Aim for an internal temperature of 130-135°F.
Refer to the above blog post for step-by-step instructions, ingredient information and answers to frequently asked questions.
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5oz cooked steak
- Calories: 282
- Sugar: 7.7 g
- Sodium: 510.4 mg
- Fat: 8.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 10.6 g
- Fiber: 0.6 g
- Protein: 37.5 g
- Cholesterol: 102 mg
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