Grilled Skirt Steak With Caramelized Butter And Cumin

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 4 cups canned diced tomatoes, drained (28 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic (about 2 cloves)
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 long thin green sweet peppers or 4 hot peppers or 2 green bell peppers
• 4 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground aleppo chilies or 1 teaspoon medium-hot paprika
• 3 lbs skirt steaks, trimmed of fat and any silver skin, and cut into 6- to 8-inch-long pieces
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 large pita breads, cut in half
• plain greek yogurt or other whole-milk yogurt, for garnish

Recipe

• 1 heat the oven to 375°f
• 2 in a medium saucepan over medium heat, simmer the tomato chunks with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, the garlic, and the salt and pepper for about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes break down and become soft and saucy.
• 3 meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt one stick of butter on low heat and simmer for about 12 minutes until the butter turns nut-brown and smells like hazelnuts. the solids will begin to separate and then fall to the bottom. butter turns from brown to black very quickly, so watch closely.
• 4 immediately remove the butter from the heat, and strain through a fine sieve into a dry container. set aside to cool. the butter is very hot, so be careful not to spill any water in it as it cools; otherwise, the butter will spit and bubble, the way hot oil does.
• 5 stir half of the caramelized butter into the tomato sauce and purée it in a blender until smooth. reseason it with salt and pepper; set aside.
• 6 in a medium mixing bowl, put the peppers in the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and season them with salt and pepper.
• 7 place the peppers on a baking sheet, and roast them in the oven until they are soft and collapsed, 8 to 10 minutes. set them aside but keep them warm.
• 8 in a small mixing bowl, combine the cumin with the oregano and aleppo chiles, and sprinkle the skirt steaks evenly on both sides with the spice mixture.
• 9 grill the steaks over charcoal, or sear them as follows: in a large, heavy skillet or cast iron pan over medium-high heat, mix 1/2 tablespoon of the canola oil and 1/2 tablespoon of the remaining butter. when the butter turns brown, add the steaks and sear them on the first side, allowing them to brown for about 5 minutes.
• 10 lower the heat if the pan becomes too smoky or if the spices begin to burn. cook for another 5 minutes if you want the steaks more well done.
• 11 put them on a platter to rest and wipe out the pan. brown the remaining steaks with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of butter and canola oil.
• 12 arrange the pita halves on a platter. remove the steaks from the pan and rest them on the pita. as the meat rests, the juices will soak into the bread.
• 13 top with the tomato sauce, yogurt, and peppers, and serve with the extra caramelized butter to drizzle over all.