Recipe: Tom Colicchio’s Skirt Steak

Chef, restaurateur and TV cooking judge Tom Colicchio offers “Sunday Morning” viewers a recipe from his latest book, “Why I Cook,” for Skirt Steak with Shishitos, Hot Cherry Peppers, and Onions. He writes:

“This recipe started as a salad for our babysitter Tenzin, who is a vegetarian. I, clearly, am not. But the flavors of that salad — sweetness, acid, spice, saltiness, and umami — work so well together I knew they would go perfectly with steak. For the record, this combo of hot cherry peppers, shishitos, and red onions, which touches every flavor receptor, works just as well with grilled pork, chicken, or fish. Sometimes I’ll add raw cucumbers at the end; sometimes I’ll cut the onions into rings and grill them. And if you have leftover steak, just slice it, toss it briefly on the grill, and use.”

Skirt Steak with Shishitos, Hot Cherry Peppers, and Onions
By Tom Colicchio
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1¼ pounds skirt steak
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 red onions, cut into 1-inch wedges
Kosher salt
½ pound shishito peppers
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon chili crisp
¼ cup sliced pickled hot cherry peppers
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
½ cup fresh mint leaves
½ cup fresh parsley leaves
½ cup fresh basil leaves
2 or 3 scallions, sliced
Juice of 1 lime

Instructions:

Allow the steak to come to room temperature.

Warm a large heavy-bottomed sauté pan over medium heat. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan, about 2 tablespoons. Place the onions in the pan, season with salt, and cook until browned and soft, 6 to 7 minutes. Transfer the onions from the pan to a large bowl.

To the same pan, add 1 tablespoon oil and the shishito peppers. Season with salt and cook, turning occasionally, until the shishitos are charred and blistered, 6 to 8 minutes.

Transfer the shishitos to the bowl with the onions. Toss the onions and peppers with 1 tablespoon olive oil and salt and black pepper to taste. Add the fish sauce, chili crisp, and pickled peppers. Taste and adjust the amount of chili crisp and pickled peppers based on how much spice you like. Add the fresh cilantro, mint, parsley, and basil and mix.

Dry the skirt steak with paper towels and cut crosswise into pieces that will fit in the same heavy-bottomed sauté pan. Generously season the steak with salt and black pepper.

Heat the pan over medium-high heat. Pour in enough oil to coat the bottom, about 2 tablespoons. When the oil shimmers, add the steak to the pan (in batches, if needed, so as not to overcrowd the pan) and sear for 2 to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare.

Transfer the steak to a cutting board and allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing against the grain and tossing with the onion/shishito/herb mixture. Spoon any accumulated juices over the steak, top with the scallions and lime juice, and enjoy.

       
From “Why I Cook” by Tom Colicchio. Copyright © 2024 by Tom Colicchio. Reprinted by permission of Artisan, an imprint of Hachette Book Group. All rights reserved.

     
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