Recipe: Fajitas, Verde Valley Fajitas and No Bull Tequila Fajitas

FAJITAS

2 lb. skirt steaks, cut into large pieces
1/4 Cup Mexican lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/2 Cup olive oil
1/4 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Mix lime juice, garlic, paprika, peppers, salt, oil, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Put fajitas into marinade and let stand for about 3 hours. Remove meat from marinade and cook about 5 inches above hot coals and mesquite. Slice meat into bite-size strips. Put the meat into a bowl with about 2 cups lime juice. Heat a cast iron skillet until it is very hot. Empty the contents of the bowl, sliced meat and lime juice, into the hot skillet and remove it from the heat. Take it to the table in the skillet. Serve in hot flour tortillas. Top with pico de gallo, guacamole and hot sauce. To serve the Fajitas encebollada, or covered with onions, cook 2 sliced onions in 3 tablespoons of oil with a little garlic and about 3 whole serrano chiles until the onions are well browned.

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VERDE VALLEY FAJITAS

1 1/2 to 2 lb. skirt steak or lean flank steak, or 6 chicken breast halves, boned and skinned
FOR THE MARINADE:
1/4 Cup vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. chopped scallions
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. coarsely-ground black pepper
1 tsp. celery salt
1 tsp. jalape o juice (optional)

Fajitas: Warm flour tortillas
Garnishes: salsa, refried beans, guacamole, grilled sliced onions, grated cheese, chili con queso

Remove all fat from the steak and wipe the meat with paper towels. Combine the marinade ingredients and mix well. Place the steak and the marinade in a shallow dish. Let stand at cool room temperature or in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, turning frequently. Drain off the liquid. Broil over hot coals to the desired degree of doneness. Cut the steak diagonally in thin slices. Provide guests with warm tortillas, sliced steak and bowls of garnishes to make their favorite rolled and stuffed fajitas.

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NO BULL TEQUILA FAJITAS
Source: Recipe for the film Urban Cowboy on TBS's Dinner & a Movie.
Serves 4

FOR THE MARINADE:
1/2 Cup tomatoes
1/2 Cup beer
1/2 fresh cilantro
1/2 Cup yellow onion
8 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 Cup tequila
1/4 Cup lime juice
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. canned chipotle pepper

FOR THE FAJITAS:
1 lb. skinned and boned chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 lb. tiger shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 pasilla pepper, seeded and sliced
8 flour tortillas, wrapped in foil

FOR THE SALSA:
1 pound tomatillos
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 serrano peppers
1/2 Cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

For the Garnishes
1 tomato, diced
1 avocado, peeled and diced
1 Cup sour cream
1 Cup red cabbage
1 can pickled jalape os, drained (reserve juice)
1 tsp. oregano
1/4 queso a ejo (dry cheese) crumbled

Heat oven to 300 degrees F to warm tortillas. Place marinade in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Place shrimp and chicken in separate, non-reactive bowls (glass) and cover each with half of the marinade. Cover and refrigerate. Heat a dry griddle or cast iron skillet on medium-high heat. Place tomatillos, garlic. and serranos on the griddle and roast for about 5 minutes until their skins are blistered and dark brown.

Transfer salsa to a food processor or blender, blend for no more than 5 seconds, so that salsa remains chunky. Transfer to a bowl and add cilantro, cumin and salt and pepper. Mix the cabbage, oregano and some of the reserved jalape o juice. Arrange cabbage mixture and other garnishes on a serving platter.

Clean and reheat the griddle. While griddle is heating, open a couple of Lone Stars, clean up the trailer and ring the grub triangle. With a slotted spoon rustle up some shrimp and chicken, letting the excess marinade drain off, toss onto the hot griddle. Add the red onion and pasilla pepper. If griddle is hot enough, you're in for a two minute ride.

Place tortillas in oven to warm, being careful not to overheat. Wrap fajitas filling in warm tortillas, add salsa and garnishes.