Wagyu Skirt Steak Tacos: A Central Texas Recipe Worth Repeating

Skirt steak is one of the most underrated cuts in any Long Road Ranch beef share. From a Wagyu animal grass-finished on Central Texas pasture, it's the best taco meat we've ever cooked. Here's the recipe we send to new share buyers who don't know what to do with the skirt that arrives in their first quarter share.

The cut: a Wagyu skirt steak is roughly twelve to sixteen inches long, an inch wide, and a half-inch thick. The grain runs across the short dimension. There's usually a thin silver-skin layer on one side that you can leave on for cooking and slice through afterward.

The marinade: skip the bottled marinades. The simplest, best treatment for a Wagyu skirt is two tablespoons of olive oil, two cloves of garlic minced, the zest and juice of one lime, a teaspoon of cumin, a teaspoon of kosher salt, and a half teaspoon of coarse black pepper. Mix in a bowl, rub on the steak, let sit for 20 minutes at room temperature. Don't marinate overnight — the lime juice will start to cook the surface.

The pan: a screaming-hot cast iron skillet or a carbon steel pan. Not a grill — skirt steak loses too much fat through grill grates and the dripping fat ignites and turns the surface bitter.

The cook: 90 seconds per side, max. The steak should be deeply seared on the outside and medium-rare in the middle. If you cook it past medium, the muscle fibers tighten and you'll be sawing through it.

The rest: 5 minutes minimum on a cutting board. This matters more than you think — skirt steak that doesn't rest will leak juice all over the cutting board and end up dry on the plate.

The slice: across the grain, on a slight diagonal, in quarter-inch strips. The grain on a skirt is obvious — you can see it. Cutting with the grain produces chewy meat. Cutting across produces tender bites.

The taco: warm corn tortillas (Vista Brand from HEB are the best Central Texas grocery option, La Tortilla Factory is a fine fallback). One tortilla, double up if it's a delicate brand. A small handful of skirt strips. A spoonful of fresh salsa verde — tomatillos, jalapeños, garlic, salt, lime, blended raw or charred. A pinch of chopped white onion. A few cilantro leaves. A squeeze of lime.

What not to add: cheese, sour cream, lettuce, hard taco shells, or anything else that would obscure the beef. The skirt is the point. Everything else is supporting cast.

What to drink with it: a cold lager, a glass of dry red wine, or a paloma. Whatever you'd drink with a friend on a Tuesday night.

Spouses who 'don't really like beef' end up eating four. Kids who normally negotiate at dinner ask for seconds. The skirt from a real Wagyu animal does almost all the work — your job is to not get in its way.

Want beef like this in your own freezer? Claim a share of a real steer — one-time purchase, cut to your spec, raised here in Georgetown.