Because of the unseasonably warm weather I figured that some of you may want to get out and do some grilling this weekend before it (hopefully) gets cold again.  If so, you may as well do something easy but different from your basic burgers or chicken.  One of my favorite things to put on the grill are skirt steaks.  You can use them for tacos, teriyaki, something southwestern or something completely different.  Here’s a recipe for something on the completely different spectrum that is pretty hard to mess up.  I am not going to take full credit for this recipe, but I have made some tweaks and will give you some ideas to make your own.  I’m going to call it the Old Kentucky Skirt Steak.  If I am having people over I usually like to make my own sauce or dry rub so they get a little something different  and I also think it makes you look a little cooler than just using a store bought marinade or rub.

First, here is what you need.

½ cup of bourbon
½ cup of light brown sugar
1/3 cup of soy sauce (substitute with some Chaka zesty sauce for a little bit more zestiness)
2 tbs. of Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp. of Tabasco sauce (or add more for more of a kick, but these steaks are meant to be more sweet than spicy.  You can substitute with any kind of hot sauce or use some cock sauce.)
1 tbs. of Dijon mustard (If you live in SF and can get to Memphis Minnie’s BBQ, their mustard works the best.  If not, I would use a honey Dijon or spicy mustard)
1 tsp. of corn starch
2 or 3 skirt steaks

(OPTIONAL)
You can substitute the brown sugar with honey if you want to make a little bit more of a glaze, but I would still go with the brown sugar.  Or, just add 2 tbs. to a ¼ cub of honey.  It’ll sweeten it up quite a bit, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

1 or 2 tbs. of horse radish.  This I actually recommend, but some people can’t stand the stuff so I put it under optional.

Remember that the better the ingredients the better the sauce.  If you use some garbage generic bourbon or French’s yellow mustard it is not going to come out as good as if you use something like Makers Mark and some fancy mustard you get at a nice market.

What to do…

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and thoroughly mix until all of the brown sugar has dissolved.  Smell the sauce, it should make your eyes water a little bit, especially if you use the horse radish.  Don’t worry though, the longer the sauce sits, the more the ingredients will mix and that will dull the booziness a bit.   Then dump sauce in a big zip lock bag or Tupperware.  I prefer the zip lock.  Then add the steak to the marinade.  (Note: skirt steaks are usually very long, so you may have to cut each one in half so they fit in the bag.    It is also easier to manage on the grill if they are a little shorter.)  Toss the bag in the fridge and let it sit for at least 2 hours.  I usually try to start the marinating in the morning if I plan to cook it that night.  Let the steaks really soak up that booze.  Pull them out of the fridge about 20 minutes before you are ready to cook.

Preheat your grill until very hot.  When it’s heated, turn down to medium hot, spray some Pam on the grill and toss on the steaks.  You should only have to turn the steaks once.  Cook for 3 (rare) to 5 (med) minutes on each side then pull your steaks and put them on a plate.  Loosely cover the plate with foil and let the steaks sit for 5 to 10 minutes.  It is important to let them sit to finish the cooking process.  Cut the steaks in very thin slices and you are ready to go.

You can do this inside on a grill pan or something too.  I just think it comes out a little better on a fire grill.

If you have a lot of people over, this is great for an appetizer.  Or for a smaller group it is an excellent meal.  Serve over steamed rice with a grilled veggie of your choice.

To Drink:

Serve with large quantities of alcoholic beverages.  That’s how I like to serve everything I cook, but I guess it’s still great without.  If you are going to have something to drink with this I do have some options.  If you are doing wine you have to go red.  Depending on how much hot sauce you use, this isn’t very spicy.  With that in mind I would go with a pinot or smooth cab.  If you are going to have some beers with it don’t do anything too hoppy.  Go with something dark, but probably not pale ale.  Something like a Bass, Fat Tire or Anchor Steam is perfect.

Hope you all enjoy.  It’s good stuff.