Skirt steak, the way you slice it ....

Skirt steak is one of my favorite dishes ... but only when it's prepared correctly.  There are many things that are important to cooking a steak, but the most critical things about skirt steak is the slicing of it.

First things first though ... a nice marinade (I like my Arachara mix, Magi sauce and black pepper) is critical to loosening up the skirt steak.  I like marinating it for about 24 hours, but any amount of time will do.  Once it's marinated, cook it on a hot grill, depending on the thickness about 5 - 8 minutes per side for rare.  Also, as always, remember to let your steak sit a minute so that all the juices don't come out as soon as you cut it.

Now, the two single most important things about slicing the skirt steak are the knife and the direction.  For the knife, you want a razor sharp, long bladed slicing knife.  I have an 8" Wusthof that I prefer for this, but a chef's knife will work in a pinch.  For the direction, as counterintuitive as it seems, you should always slice against the grain.  I've highlighted with the knife here which way you should be cutting.

Now, when you start slicing you are going to want to cut against that grain, which is going to leave you cutting on an angle.  Now, if you want to get really clever, you can cut at an angle back away from the majority of the meat too to create angled slices on two planes, but for now just cut as I am here, strait down with the angle against the grain.

A pair of tongs (as you can see behind the knife blade here) can definitely help with the cutting process.  Always remember to cut thin slices, as they will keep it tender.

Once the steak is cut, serve it over your favorite carbs ... I used dirty rice and beans here.  Enjoy!