Back when I started dreaming up a cookbook I would one day write, all I knew is what I didn’t want: I did not want to work every weekday, weekend and evening on it, I did not want to set an insanely close deadline and then have to hastily throw together a book I wasn’t pleased with and above all else I did not want the time I had to devote to this web space to become squeezed, although I understood that there would probably be a harried point right near the end that all three rules could be suspended for a good cause. And indeed, they have been. I hope to deliver my manuscript in August and it’s pretty all-consuming right now — in a good way, because I’m finally starting to see the whole thing coming together. So, if things are a bit slow between now and then, do understand that I cannot wait until late summer when my attentions can be what they were before my son was 4 months old, and instead of doing normal New Mom things like catching up on sleep or rounding up preschool applications (ha!), I decided that at my earliest convenience, I would write a book instead.
Nevertheless, not a day goes by when I do not cook and this past weekend, it was my favorite kind: the lazy kind, mostly whims. On Friday, well, Friday was a crazy day and I’ll tell you about that real soon. It involved a cake I’m auditioning for the cookbook and a late summer dish I’ll tell you about even sooner. Also: photographers. It was a little scary, but it ended with some Vermontucky Lemonades, so I didn’t mind. On Sunday, I caved to the blueberries and peaches and decided to make two pies, but left one with my in-laws and delivered another to friends at their new house and can’t tell you how they came out because I wasn’t there when anyone cut into them. But warm pie fresh from the oven? I’m going to assume nobody complained. On Monday, I made a slaw and baked America one of those goofy berry-topped birthday cakes before heading out to watch the sun set behind Manhattan and catch the faintest glimpse of the New York Fireworks West Side of Manhattan and New Jersey Fireworks with friends.
But Saturday, I can tell you all about Saturday: I spotted a recipe in this month’s Bon Appetit that we absolutely had to make for my husband’s family, who love Bloody Marys. I prepared the salad in my kitchen and hightailed it out to the ‘burbs where there are things like patios and open air grills. In the past, I’ve never been much of a steak person. Even the best ones, perfectly cooked, rarely charmed me but something shifted when I discovered skirt steak, and how easy it is to make, on or off the grill. It’s thin and quick, not terribly expensive and when properly seared on both sides, gives off the crisp edge/soft interior I think all great foods have in common. Plus, it is absolutely lovely draped over a summery salad. I was informed that this salad of tomatoes, celery, olives and vinegar-tossed red onions with a funky-fascinating dressing with horseradish, Worcestershire and celery seed “tastes exactly like a Bloody Mary” and yet it did not freak out the Bloody Mary wary (sheepishly raising my hand) at the table. It made a ton of food, too, so much that the next day we made steak sandwiches a la Ina Garten and had the leftover salad on the side which earned it an immediate place in the file I’m building of summer meals for lazy evenings.
Skirt steak salad, previously: with Blue Cheese
One year ago: Sour Cherry Pie with Almond Crumble and Porch Swing
Two years ago: Watermelon Lemonade and Light Brioche Burger Buns
Three years ago: Project Wedding Cake: Ta-Da!
Four years ago: Israeli Salad + Pita Chips and Roseanne Cash’s Potato Salad
Skirt Steak with Blood Mary Tomato Salad
Adapted, only barely, from Bon Appetit because Sarah Dickerman writes consistently awesome recipes
I realized a bit after the fact that I’d used skirt steak when the recipe called for flank steak. Actually, no, I indeed used a flank steak. D’oh! They’re virtually interchangeable, however. The flank steak is cut from a little further back on the cow, and is a thicker and bit leaner. If using flank steak, I’d add two minute’s cooking time to each side.
I wanted more spice rub for the steak than the recipe had provided, so I’ve doubled it, below.
Steak
2 1 1/2 pound skirt steaks
Kosher salt
4 teaspoons (packed) brown sugar, light or dark
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil (for brushing)
Salad
1 cup finely chopped red onion
3 tablespoons Sherry vinegar, divided
2 pounds cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (from about 3 pints or 10 ounce containers)
1 cup chopped celery hearts (inner stalks and leaves; from 1 bunch)
1/2 cup chopped brined green olives plus 2 tablespoons olive brine
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Prepare steaks: Arrange steaks on large rimmed sheet or cutting board. Mix 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, dark brown sugar, paprika, cayenne and freshly ground black pepper together in a dish. Rub all over steaks and let them marinate in this rub for 1 to 3 hours, covered in the refrigerator. Remove steaks from fridge 1 hour before you’re ready to cook them, to bring them to room temperature.
Prepare salad: Pour 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar over onions in the bottom of a large bowl and let them sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. This will temper the onion’s bite. Add tomatoes, celery and olives. Whisk remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar, reserved olive brine, horseradish, Worcestershire, pepper sauce and celery seeds in a medium bowl. Slowly drizzle in oil, whisking constantly until combined. Add to tomato salad and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside until needed, and up to 4 hours in advance, if covered and refrigerated.
Cook steaks: Preheat a charcoal grill to medium-high or a gas grill to the highest heat. Brush grill grates with oil. Grill steaks for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing into 1/4-inch thick slices, against the grain.
Alternately, cook the steaks inside: Heat a large cast-iron skillet on medium-high to high and coat bottom with oil. When oil begins to shimmer, place steak in skillet and do not move it for 5 minutes. Turn it once, and cook for another 3 minutes for medium-rare. Repeat with second steak. If your steaks are too large to cook in one piece, you may halve them to fit. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing into 1/4-inch thick slices, against the grain.
The spice rub looks very simple – last week I had to look one up because I didn’t have the right marinade for the steaks – Now I have to try this one! Bookmark :)
I love skirt steak bc it’s so affordable and cooks up so quickly. Definitely giving this a try!
i admit that i am one of the bloody mary wary (i had a bad experience with a hangover and a too spicy drink, too olive-y drink, blech) but as usual your recipe might convince me otherwise. i like the pairing of the hearty grilled steak with the slightly acidic and spicy salad.
I’m not sure if I missed anything but is there a reason you’re calling yours just “Blood” instead of “Bloody”? Happy 4th!
pickyin — Typo, ugh.
I normally just leave my steaks plain when I cook them but the combination of spices sounds like it might be too good to resist. I’m a bit bloody mary wary too but I can imagine that the flavours work really with steak especially when it’s been on the grill.
Thanks Deb and I’m so excited to see the book when it’s done!
You had me at Bloody Mary Tomato Salad. Looks amazing!
CANNOT wait for your cookbook!
Jinx! I made this Saturday, too! It was ahhmazing!
I just came across a recipe for bloody mary skirt steak and had to make it. Marinating meat in a bloody mary like sauce packed flavor and familiar taste. It was amazing and blew us both away.Summer is the only time I really get into eating beef, the grill is hard to pass up on hot summer evenings. Bloody mary salad is right up there and is now in the batting cage. I am really looking forward to your book – I know it is going to be great!
I am so excited for your book!! This would be a great meal to make for some friends! Our new apartment has a few grills we can use by the pool, so I see grilling in my future!
*Sigh* You’re approach to your cookbook sounds like my pregnancy eating these days–I have no idea what I want to eat, but I definitely know what I don’t want (pretty much everything). While for the rest of the country this weekend was full of
slabs of meat and beer, I nibbled on chips and dip and nursed a Diet Coke. This one now goes into the file of “Food I Cannot Wait to Eat, Yet This Baby Clearly Can.”
There’s nothing quite like a good marinated skirt steak. My dad used to make one I loved as a kid, and now I make my own version – more of my own version of carne asada con cebollitas. I mix mexican beer, lime juice, sazon, cilantro, chopped green onion, salt, pepper, and a little chile powder. Let it marinate for a few hours and you will have an EXCELLENT flank steak that goes well with grilled spring onions (coat them in olive oil and salt and pepper and then grill until soft) and avocado. <3
Perfect for summer grillin’! Lovely pictures, as always. Happy Summer!
Love that tomato salad! Such a great compliment to the steak.
I am craving steak like there is no tomorrow! This sounds like summer perfection!
This looks fantastic! One question, though – how much does the sherry vinegar temper the onion’s bite? My stomach doesn’t do well with raw onion (but is fine with cooked onion), so I’d hate to use this much onion in a salad and not be able to eat the salad. Any suggestions for making the onion more palatable?
Kim — You can always either use less onion or let it marinate longer. Try the onion before adding it to the salad; if it’s still too strong, use even less or none.
Olives — Skip them if you don’t like them. The brine is like very salty water, so simply add more salt to the dressing and perhaps water for brine. (Mine was a water-based brine.) I kept the olives on the side since a family member doesn’t like them. I used the brine though, I don’t think it tastes especially olive-ish.
This looks AWESOME! Now if only I can convince Hubster to like tomatoes… I may have to make this anyway and hope for the best. Thanks for sharing!
This is a brilliant recipe. My goodness (and it will be mine)! Thank you so much for sharing this… and for making me mighty hungry for lunch.
Now this is a perfect summer recipe! Full of flavors and texture. I must make this really soon. Enjoy your week ahead!
Your posts are appreciated whether occasional or frequent – good luck with the manuscript delivery. Love your bloody mary salad (and the steak looks pretty great too!)
I hate to ask, but is there a way to do the tomato salad without green olives/juice?Olives = yuck in my house, but the idea of this salad seems so yummy…
This looks like perfect summer fayre. Well, I’m glad you’re writing a book, and can’t wait to get hold of a copy! It will be awesome!
Don’t worry about the slower posting Deb – I’m willing (and I be everyone else is too) to wait for the awesomeness that will be your book!
I’ve been dreaming of making this recipe since my recent issue of Bon Appetit came in the mail! Thanks for confirming the fact that I’m making it soon. :)
Oy this looks DELIC!!
(your title of the post though says “blood” and not ‘bloody’ ??
Ahhhh-mazing! Yum.
Oh yummy! I bet that salad was even better the next day.
As somebody who had her first Bloody Mary this year (on the plane to Mazatlan with my girlfriends to celebrate our 50th birthdays, no less), I found out I LOVE Bloody Mary mix and can take or leave the vodka so I make my own mix up by the half-gallon and drink a glass every morning! This salad will be made (and devoured, I’m sure), tonight. So happy I have the house to myself–no sharing tonight!
I love skirt steak this looks fantastic! Might add some chimichurri sauce to it!
My parents just got a grill. I might have to sneak over with this recipe and “treat” them.
hey! the steak in your pictures is a flank steak, not a skirt steak.
Seth — OMG, you are completely right! I completely bought the wrong thing, which was actually the right thing. Will edit that in! Thank you.
Funny, I just looked at the Epicuruous iPhone app today for the first time in ages…this was the first recipe that popped up under “summer grilling”! I was intrigued there, and am even more so now. I may have to go look for flank/skirt steak very soon!
Considering the number of folks who are anxiously awaiting THE cookbook, all I ask is that you publish enough for all of us!! Oh, and autographed copies, especially for those of us (ahem) who collect autographed cookbooks, please??
Oh my goodness all the pictures from this post are so wonderful! And your “birthday cake” for America looks great– I keep telling myself every year I’ll make one but when the time comes I just can’t bring myself to actually following through. There are always seems so many different patriotic desserts to try!
And by the way, I cannot wait for your cookbook! I think we all are so excited for it that you could get away with anything :D
@Amy,
The pictures are always wonderful :)
My surprise of the recipe was how precisely and clean she cut the little cherry tomatoes. I am keen on clean cut ingredients…
Oh, how to balance everything, from writing (either a book or a dissertation) to cooking and then blogging about it, is something I well and truly understand. I personally like to think that if I weren’t so busy, I’d be bored, but sometimes I have to wonder if that’s just my way of comforting myself.
In any case, this salad looks divine…and I too am wary of the Bloody Mary.
If I weren’t working against a ridiculous deadline of my own right now, I’d totally be making this tonight! One day soon, though!
I think you will need about 10 hands for all the things you ned to do. Just one thing would take up any” norma”l person’s time.
Great idea making a bloody mary salad. Boozy anything tends to work well.
I totally tagged that recipe, thinking that even if I didn’t make the steak, the tomato salad would be delicious. Glad to have your endorsement!
I have this recipe earmarked too. So glad to get your expert opinion on it. Looking forward to trying it out.
Seeing the words “steak” and “bloody” in the same title gives me the heebie-jeebies. I grilled a really awful flank seak last week that was bloody in all the wrong ways… but back on topic, this actually looks wonderful! Your in-laws must love having you visit!
I’m not a meat eater but I do love bloody mary’s. I think I need to make bloody mary tofu next :)
oh so good! here in Italy all the American students missed the 4th of July BBQ and meat+cole slaw in general. This is a little different and still soooo lovely!
Congrats on the cookbook, I will definitely be pre-ordering once available!
Skirt steak is the Rodney Dangerfield of steak cuts. So unappreciated! It really does not get the recognition and respect it deserves. It has so much flavor. I like to slice it on a slight diagonal, against the grain, for even more tenderness.
This recipe looks wonderful. Hasn’t Bon Appetit been great lately?
Can’t wait for the book!
This looks and sounds fantastic! Thank you not only for the great recipe but also the beautiful photographs. Dinner tonight is solved.
Love, love, love steak salads. I will absolutely be making this. I can’t wait for the book, my daughter and I are so excited! Also, regarding the pies, one of the things I most appreciate about you and your recipes is the balance. You have great healthy recipes, you incorporate whole grains where possible, but you don’t try to make desserts “healthy” and you use a store bought pie crust when that makes the most sense. I love that.
Oh, man. That looks beyond incredible.
I love the idea of a Bloody Mary salad–such great flavor combinations!
Skirt steak is one of my favorite things to grill. I love the idea of the bloody mary salad!
Duuuuuuuuude. I think my husband will propose again when make this one!! And it just made me say, “Dude”. Nicely done. I can’t wIt to try it. A
L.O.V.E. T.H.I.S.
I’m sure there’s room between those steak strips for me to snuggle.
That’s weird. Sorry.
Let me just go back to L.O.V.E. T.H.I.S.
That’s better.
living on the border of urban/suburbia, wishing that we too, had a grill. this looks fantastic. and there is absolutely nothing wrong with ‘goofy berry topped birthday cakes’ to celebrate, either. just sayin!
“summer meals for lazy evenings” That needs to be a new category in your index! This Texas girl sure would appreciate more ideas!
I think I sighed when I read the words “bloody mary salad”
Love the idea for this salad!! So creative :)
courage to you in your final weeks of cookbook madness! we are all rooting for you (and eagerly awaiting the day when we can preorder our copies!)!
I can’t wait to get your cookbook. The more smitten kitchen, the better!
Deb, you should go vegetarian again. My life was so much easier when I could eat all the things you post. :)
What a yummy dinner idea! Love this.
Oh my husband will love this!
Deb you just made a preggers day. Sans-alcohol but bloody Mary taste. Can’t wait to try it!
I was thinking of roasting the tomatoes and then adding them to the mix.
This looks delicious, Deb! Summer grilling and salad at it’s best!
I love the photo of Jacob. Wow…he is getting so big, but is still the most adorable child on the planet!
Congrats on your cookbook. I can’t wait to purchase it!
It’s always nice to get out of the city on a hot July weekend especially with a tot! Looks like it was a fun time. The fireworks photos were also so lovely too! Can’t wait to hear/read all about your new cookbook! Busy summer for you it sounds!
Thanks for the recipe – this is my favorite kind of steak, too. Another great recipe for an amazing summer meal is below. I’ve made it countless time and it is always a crowd please-er. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Grilled-Asian-Flank-Steak-with-Sweet-Slaw-242464
Thanks again and looking forward to your cookbook.
And this is why I need to unwrap and read my food magazines when they arrive and not let them sit around for months! That salad would have been perfect to make for the family for the 4th of July!
Oooh. I love the idea of the flavors in a Bloody Mary, but I don’t like tomato *juice8 (too thick and weird) and I don’t like vodka much (I’m a gin girl). This will be a perfect alternative for me. It might be good at brunch as well as dinner! Also, I just started Weight Watchers, and if I cut the oil in half, it works very reasonably with my weight loss plan. Awesome.
That looks like a really nice meal. Great summer grilling recipe!
This looks delish! I’ve made a similar salad with capers (adding a little juice) and balsamic vinegar. Yum!
A suggestion for those that are looking for a way to subdue the strong onion flavor – soak the onions for a few minutes in cold water that has dissolved table salt it it.
Deb – This looks amazing – I will be making this very soon.
I was wary of bloody mary’s as well until I went to this one brunch place in Tribeca. It had the most amazing bloody mary’s in the world and I now will always get one (if I am ever back in NYC for brunch…) It’s call Bubby’s and has the most amazing brunch items. along with their giant assortment of pies.
The bloody’s changed my outlook on them. I’d suggest trying it once!
Another excellent choice of a recipe! I’m counting down the days to 2010–not because of the end of the world and Quetzalcoatl, but because of the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. of course! Hope you’re enjoying the summer. (here in San Francisco we’re finally getting consistently balmy weather–yay a real summer!)
I mean 2012. Oops.
my pregnant body has left me craving steak lately, and i think that this might just cure that craving!:) delicious.
LOL, it’s great to see someone else is as bitter about the fireworks as I am. Sigh.
I am so freaking excited for your book! I hope comments like this don’t make you anxious. They would me! Good luck balancing all you’ve got going on.
Being pregnant this summer, I am craving any and all forms of mocktails–salad sounds so refreshing!
Also, what kind of camera and lens do you use to capture your “beans” and little bean?
Thank you!!
Beth
Hi there. I am a HUGE fan of your page and a self proclaimed home chef;) Last September I had a baby very prematurely (6months) and he passed away 17 days after he was born. I am currently pregnant again and on strict bedrest. It is very intense. One thing that gets me through is your website. I have been selecting recipes that I can’t wait to try out once I am off bed rest, hopefully with a baby by my side. I really just wanted to thank you for the work you do and keeping the my love of culinary delights aflame.
@laura b: making this for brunch sounds like a really good idea (so we can enjoy it outside the bbq season as well!)
I can’t wait to use my own homegrown tomatoes for yummy things like this!
When I saw that picture of the cake my reaction was “Deb is insane! But in a good way.”
funny, i was just giving my b.a. a final run-through, and soundly skipped over this number (rise up, bloody mary squeamish!).
you’re making me re-consider.
like i need another recipe.
(backwards: thanks!)
Go Deb! You’re on the home stretch ^_^
This looks so good! I’m dining alone tonight, but were I not, I would make a trip to the store to get all the good stuff right away! I just saw a magazine article about ways to use up those gorgeous cherry tomatoes that are so profuse at this time of year. This looks like the best one of all.
nom nom nom nom nom
Wow..this caught my eye right away, and I am a vegetarian! Yup, a strict one too..ya know, no gelatin/lard, ect…so after work I threw my butt in the car, the kiddos and I booked it to WF and picked up the ingredients for this awesome dish, sans meat. I used the same rub, but did it on these little gems http://www.gardein.com/index.php
I used the “beefless tips” frozen, sauteed them and skewered. If I had wanted to, I could have let them dethaw just a tad, skewered them and threw ’em on the grill. Delish!! I did find there was a bit too much onion for the hubs taste, so I would cut that by about a 1/4 next time I make it. Thanks!! What a wonderful site, cannot wait for the book.
The bloody mary salad is genius! Even my celery-averse fiance went back for seconds. We really like bloody marys with a sinus-clearing kick, so I think I will add even more horseradish next time I make the salad (and there definitely will be a next time). YUM!
The bloody mary salad looks awesome, I love tomatoes, olives, and horseradish. My husband thinks that celery is nasty, though. I’m wondering if some other vegetable would work instead. Radishes? Daikon?
This looks great. My boyfriend will love the bloody mary salad. Deb– do you have a great burger recipe? We’ve been doing a lot of grilling, and I thought you might have a tip or two. Thanks!
Jess — I’d really like to develop one but have no grill! Perhaps when we’re at a beach house later this summer…
Beth — Oh! We are rooting for you.
Beth (80) — I use a 50mm exclusively these days.
Kristen — Bubby’s is great! I think we went to the one in Brooklyn once though I heard they got rid of the high chairs… Perhaps they prefer tots running freely about rather than restrained in chairs? :)
I modified this by roasting the veggies on the grill for 45min. in a tin foil sack. Great recipe and easily adaptable/duplicated. Thanks!
I’m not a big fan of olives but this salad is so pretty and sounds so good I may have to try. I might find I like olives after all.
Lovely photos, can’t help it I’m sucker for those goofy berry flag cakes. Have to say, my my Deb have you come a long way from your iVillage days! Congrats on coming into the homestretch of your BOOK! It’s going to be Epic.
Are you sure that’s not flank steak?
I built that recipe for the website during my Bon Appetit internship, but I have yet to try it. You’ve inspired me to grill in my tiny kitchen.
I saw this recipe too!! I have made from BA this year so far: the strawberry conserve, which is fantastic; the peach vanilla-pops, which I almost drank before I could get into the mold, and the fudgy meringe cookies, which were super tasty, but very much weather-reliant. But steak beats it all. I just reviewed the Flatiron truck on my site, it serves Flatiron steak and sides from a truck here in LA!
Does anyone know how to substitute for sherry vinegar? I can’t get that in China, where we live! Red wine vinegar- yes, balsamic- yes, white distilled- yes. Can’t get sherry wine either.
Thanks!
Hi Liz..I used red wine vinegar! I did not have sherry, and was trying to get out of the store quick, so I just used that. It worked fine. The dish was awesome. I guess I would not use balsamic, as I think it would overpower the salad. (I’m just not that brave..lol)
So I am considering making this for dinner.
I am omitting the olives, as both I and The Boy hate them. How do you think the salad would do tossed with some lettuce, just to make it more traditionally salad-y?
It’s great to have one more thing to make with all the tomatoes starting to arrive at the market. I made this and used some pickled hot peppers with it too, it was delicious!
We had maple rosemary skirt steak this weekend at our daughter’s birthday BBQ and it was a big hit! Served with your ratatouille and some multi colored baby potato salad. I got lots of happy comments..lemon bars for desert along with birthday cake didn’t hurt either. Love your site :)
Oh my god! This is a wonderful recipe! I can’t wait to try this one out! Gorgeous photos too.
Oh man this is definitely being made soon! Steak and bloody mary, what a perfect combo. We moved into a house this year and got a grill and I’m completely obsessed now. I even managed to bake a gratin in it! Street tacos are another really tasty and easy summer go-to meal.
My cherry tomatoes are nearly ripe, this recipe sounds perfect. I understand being overly busy and I am amazed you are able to write as much as you do. I hope to get back to writing again soon, what ever happened to lazy hazy summer days?
~Brenda
I am like Pavlov’s dog when I hear “Bloody Mary” so of course I tried this last night. The tomatoes were delicious, but I have to say the steak blew me away! This will be a staple to grill from now on. Thanks for another great recipe, can’t wait for the book!
Cooked both of these last night. Have never been complimented so much on a steak. Glad I made to for the four of us. Thanks for the recipes – they were great!
Beautiful recipe, I love the bright red tomato colors with the dark brown of the meat.. lovely!!!
Teresa.
Hi Deb, I’ve been reading your blog for a while now, but not sure if I’ve commented before. I made this tonight and it was great. I’ve never been a fan of bloody marys (texture issue), but this was great. I just substituted flat iron steak and served the whole thing on a bed of fresh spinach. So good! Thanks so much :)
Except biscotti di prato. All things good have crisp outsides and soft centres except biscotti di prato. Although, now I think about it, I do like them slightly underbaked on their second trip through the oven…
Made this last night for 10 people- crowd loved it, so fun and easy. I think you could make salad way in advance to really get flavors, i added a lot more horseradish too! It was a gorgeous presentation!
I made this last night and it was amazing! I had tomatoes from the farmers market that were perfect. My 12 year old twins gobbled the salad up like I hadn’t fed them for a week. Thank-you for your recipes. Looking forward to your book.
Hi,
I can’t wait for your cookbook.
I have a question about skirt steak. Is it the same as flank steak? The last time I tried to make flank steak, it was really fatty. By the time I cut all the fatty pieces away, I didn’t have much steak left.
Thanks!
I make a Bloody Mary congealed salad. Outstanding. It too would be great with this steak. Mid to upper 90s in Hotlanta this Summer. Congealed vegetable salads are perfect for this kind of weather.
You’re so right: the crisp edge, the soft interior of great foods. Like crème brulée. Yum.
Great recipe! I love both grilled skirt and flank steak but prefer skirt. It seems to have more flavor. Oh man and with the tomato and bloody mary salad? I know what I am making this weekend. Can’t wait for the book!
Oh my gosh, the skirt steak looks awesome with those tomatoes. I will be trying this one this weekend. Will let you know how it comes out. Lisa
Yum! I made the bloody mary salad for dinner last night and it is awesome. Then my husband got home after band practice and killed half of the leftovers. So good!
I don’t mind you slowing down the posts so that you can finish your book. Just as long as you don’t start advertising/reviewing products in your posts, I’ll keep checking back! (I have been so disappointed that one of my favorite food bloggers started this trend as her book writing is wrapping up.)
Katie — Thanks. No, I don’t do product reviews. I have enough on my plate!
Carrie — I explain the flank versus skirt steak in the recipe’s head notes.
LOVED this salad.
Excellant salad!
Wow congrats on the book Deb!!! Can’t wait to pre-order it!
This looks beautiful! I’ve been searching for a good skirt steak recipe, and I think I found it! Good to know it isn’t overpoweringly bloody mary, I’m not a fan of the drink as well, but I love tomatoes!
wow! this looks great!
I don’t know why or how, but I subscribe to Bon Appetit, and when I read it, nothing sounds appetizing, yet when others try the recipes and describe them to me, they sound amazing. What you’ve done here has convinced me that I need to try this. Maybe it was the olives. I will delete them and try it – sounds so tasty! I am *so* looking forward to your book!
for those poor deluded people who do not properly appreciate nature’s most perfect fruit, the olive… my son has introduced me to Bloody Mary’s made with Dill Pickles and pickle brine. Maybe that would work as a substitute.
Hi Deb.
I’m a huge fan of your blog – to read it is one of my favorite things…
I’m a fairly young mother of two dreeeaaaming of starting my own food blog. I’ve bought a new camera that i’m getting to know but i don’t quite know where to start, or how to start blogging…
Any suggestions?
Keep up your amazing work! A new post from you really make my day!
A.
Anna — Go to WordPress.com, sign up, start typing. From there, you’ll figure out what you need.
Mmmmmmmm yum…. sounds and looks delicious, and what’s even better, It’s pretty easy to get ready!!
Love it!!!! kisses from Spain
This looks delicious….thanks for sharing!
Wow! its so amazing that you are one such successful blogger who setup her food on same counter top and yet it continue to wow us, we who try desperately to find props and try to make it look like photos from magazines.
Do we have to, you have proven, less is more. Its LOVE you put in ur platter that matters at end of the day. i’m not sure smitten kitchen if u will read my comment lost amongst sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo many more. But if you do, plz know you are my no professional training required HERO AND I LOVE YOUR WORK. GOOD LUCK.
Oh. My. God. Just made this. Amazing. I skipped the horseradish for my spice sensitive husby and kiddo, and used milder olives and this was a hit!!! Red wine vinegar was a fine substitution, as far as my palate could tell. Thank you for this recipe! I am in love. :)
Couldn’t get a skirt steak today but used a beef bottom sirloin and it was fantastic!!! As I tasted the salad throughout the afternoon I kept thinking it was going to need more…Gave the steak and salad enough time to marinate, really delicious! Husband rated five out of five!! Will do again, thank you!
Made this last night….well..um…it was ridiculously good! Perfect on a hot summer night, just back from the beach. Used my cast-iron skillet for the first time to make the steak (flank). MY wife and i are going to enjoy sandwiches for lunch at work today. Thanks for another great recipe!
made this twice this weekend! Really good and our friends loved it, also made the summer strawberry cake! love your site!!!!
I made this last night for dinner and it was outstanding! I am not a big fan of the Bloody Mary as a drink (can’t stand tomato juice), but when I saw this recipe and the beautiful cherry tomatoes…I thought this was a Bloody Mary I could get behind. Between the skirt steak, the rub and the salad, this was fantastic. My husband was very skeptical at first, but became a believer with every bite. This refreshing and beautiful dish will be a summer staple from now on. BTW, love skirt steak, we have it all the time…makes great burritos and is perfect “salad” beef. It is a flavorful and inexpensive cut of meat.
Oooh I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Beg to differ–there is a great deal of difference in skirt and flank in the areas of flavor, juiciness and tenderness. Skirt has a much richer, almost livery flavor (some say due to where it hangs). It’s far superior to flank.
Great sounding recipe . . . .
Tomatoes are probably my number one fruit at the moment. I’m jealous of your tomatoes. Oh, and skirt is really delicious, much nicer than flank, flank can be really tough to eat. Steven is correct, sorry. :)
Made this last night using a wonderful skirt steak from our butcher. The steak seasoning was good, though a bit too sharp on the pepper and too sweet on the sugar. I’d reduce the sugar or eliminate it. Set the steak on a bed of baby arugula. The salad was superb! We substituted wine vinegar for the sherry vinegar, which also probably made it less sweet.
And, I totally agree with Nick on skirt vs. flank steak. There’s no fat in flank steak, just connective tissue, which is why it’s great for pot roast or a daube but a very poor choice to grill. You’ll have one very tough piece of meat!
My husband loves to cook – not me. My sister sent me this recipe because I had promised to cook for a group of 10 on my husband’s birthday. I made the steak and the tomato salad and your potato salad with green beans. The whole meal was a huge success! My husband made the tomato salad himself a couple days later – he loved it so much. And, to be honest, cooking all of this myself gave me a bit more confidence in my cooking skills. I may even try it again!
Oh I made this and it KILLED. It made people at our BBQ/pool party say things like — isn’t it great to be “grown ups”? Look at all the grown-up food we’re eating! This is amazing!
This salad is like summer-season crack (even here in Seattle, where we’re not having much summer to speak of). Brought it to a cookout and it was a hit. I added a few handfuls of blanched green beans cut into one-inch lengths, cuz I thought it’d be pretty (and evidently, because I’m incapable of following a recipe as written) and it was fantastic. Even better the second day!
Hi, Deb – Making the tomato salad for the second time (de-li-cious!) and was wondering: do you choose celery hearts for the leaves? I didn’t include the leaves the first time I made it, but am thinking about adding them now. Can’t really tell from your picture, and I did scan over all your answers in the thread…Thanks. Sally
wait…maybe i do see a little leaf in the very first picture.
s.
midgetsal — I used the leaves and the stalks.
Leftover salad is terrific w/ the addition of a can of drained black beans & avocado. I used one 1.5# flank steak but still doubled the rub and leftovers do, indeed, make outrageously delicious sandwiches that are exceeeeeedingly picnic worthy.
The perfect meal for a sweltering summer night. This was fantastic. I was worried because my husband is pretty loyal to his lime and salt marinade for skirt steak, but he loved this version too. I made virtually no changes, except dialed back the cayenne for my three yr old. Lovely!
Help!
I would love love love to make this delicious skirt steak for friends but I don’t have a grill. Is it possible to make in the oven? Will it still taste good if I broil it? Or something similar?
Any ideas?
Sincerely,
Stephanie
ps.
I made your flat bread recipe the other night! It is great! Super quick to make – with such addictive results! Thanks for a great blog!
Stephanie — Not sure I followed. The end of the recipe includes directions for making it on a stove, as I usually do. (P.S. I actually think it’s better on the stove in a cast iron pan than a gas grill! It just seems to get hotter. Don’t tell anyone.)
I just made this, following your recipe and I think it is the best/most grown-up thing I have ever cooked! Thank you! So delicious. Tonight was a practice run, tomorrow I’m making it for the current tall-dark-and-handsome in my life. I think it will be a hit!
I love how this recipe is really two recipes in one. I loved the steak, but I have also been loving the salad. On these hot hot days, a baguette smeared with your homemade ricotta and this salad have been the perfect dinner.
Delicious! Rave reviews from my husband and son–who had many helpings. I substituted capers and their brine for olives (didn’t have them) and I omitted the hot sauce because I thought the salad would be too hot for the kids (not at all). Thanks!
Delicious recipe; the salad is a nice change from usual summer flavors, like tomato with basil. I made it on a grill pan on the stove, and served with some corn for a fresh and easy summer meal.
Peter–I agree that skirt and flank taste somewhat different, but flank is a grilling classic. It’s never grilled plain though–a rub or marinade is always in order to tenderize it.
This was terrific. Did not think I would like the horseradish dressing but it was great. I did throw in some capers instead of olives (I was out) and loved it!
This is one of the best (and easiest) recipes I’ve ever made. So delish! No one talked during dinner, which is usually a chatty, catching up with each other’s day time for our household. The only sounds were “yum-grunts” as I call them. You design the BEST recipes. Keep up the great work!
I have started over the last few months to only use fresh ingredients and try not to use any processed foods. Your recipes are fantastic. This was the first one I tried and it was delicious. I used the flank steak and everything was fantastic. There was nothing left for leftovers. Thank you for this fantastic recipe.
Beautiful recipe, and can’t wait to have it again – thank you. Bonus thank yous for calling out good magazine recipes for me… Maybe I’m still sulking about Gourmet getting pulled off the shelves, but I haven’t found a food mag to take its place yet. Boo.
Thanks for the suggestions you are discussing on this weblog
Oh my time to make again, excited for Wednesday evening dinner!
When I first read the name of this recipe I was intrigued…sounds so good. As far as a wine pairing for this, spice and wine fight a bit, and red wine seems to fight more than white wine. I think we can get a light-hearted California Zinfandel to behave with this dish.
Fantastic! I wound up using the leftover salad and some whole wheat baguette to make a panzanella-type salad. That dressing is too good to waste!
I am dreaming of making this again for a beach party with our skiing friends. I first made it for a friend’s birthday dinner. She is a Bloody Mary fanatic and makes her own tomato juice every fall. (When she calls and says she is opening the “red juice,” we drop everything and race over to her house…) I ended up serving it on a big white platter filled with baby arugula from our csa. The combo of all the colors, and the big yummy flavor of the sauce over the bitter greens was so divine. Thank you for this and all the many Smitten recipes that have played starring roles in many of our favorite foodie moments.
Nice to see the new issue of Food & Wine had this recipe in it. So sad it was not attributed to you.
This sounds like a lovely recipe to try, thanks for sharing this.
Simon
This looks delicious, thanks for sharing.
Simon
I love this recipe and make it with your slow roasted tomatoes. The super sweet chewy tomatoes are perfect here and in is a delicious twist on this recipe!
Excellent! Used a flat iron steak my butcher recommended & added a little pepperoncini juice with the olive juice. Salad has great Bloody Mary flavor but isn’t overwhelming – good rub on the steak. Try it!
I feel a little sheepish telling my food blog idol this, but my very favorite marinade for flank steak (to be used in any recipe) is 1 Tbsp fish sauce, some minced fresh garlic (1Tbls or so) and 1 Tbsp of olive oil. The fish sauce imparts the most Umami flavor, not at all fishy. Even my seafood averse sister eats it. She just puts her hands over her ears when people ask the ingredients as they invariably do. She knows it’s in there, she just doesn’t want to be reminded.
That sounds delicious! I think it’s like that with both fish sauce and anchovies for a lot of people. We (often) don’t love hearing about it but love the foods that incorporate them well.
Is there anyway you can adjust your comments from the newest dates to the oldest dates?
I prefer looking at the newest comments first.
Thank you
Not at this time, sadly.
I love this recipe. I haven’t tried it inside yet and am currently looking for skillet or oven broiled steak recipes to make in a very small NYC kitchen. I’ll try it inside soon! Do you have any sheet pan steak recipes you’ve been looking to post? :)
For inside, I tend to brown it on the stove on both sides and then run it under the broiler until I get the temp I want inside. With a thin steak, I don’t always need the broiler. For a thicker one, it can take a while. But I also like my steaks fairly charred on the outside.
one of my all-time favorites! the rub is a winner. and the salad is something I make all the time for chicken and more. do it!