The marinade must contain some sort of acid -- lime juice or vinegar, for example -- to help break down the connective tissue in the beef that can make it chewy. The acid also adds essential flavor, but too much can be overpowering and overdo the tenderizing effects, resulting in squishy, unpleasant fajita meat.
Poke the meat to see if juices are red or clearFor properly cooked chicken, if you cut into it and the juices run clear, then the chicken is fully cooked. If the juices are red or have a pinkish color, your chicken may need to be cooked a bit longer.
Preheat smoker to 250 degrees. Cover the trip-tip in olive oil and sprinkle your favorite rub on it. Place tri-tip on smoker unwrapped for 60-90 minutes. Cook until internal temperature is 130 degrees for medium rare – medium and remove.
Sometimes the meat will have some pink hues in the white, meaning that it needs to be cooked a tad bit longer. If the meat is white, then it is fully cooked. With practice and time, checking your chicken will become an easier and quicker task. When in doubt, remember the temperature of 165ºF.
Overcooking. One of the leading causes of rubbery chicken is overcooking the meat. Chicken is to be cooked quickly with relatively high heat. Since most boneless skinless breasts aren't the same thickness, it makes it difficult to cook them evenly.
It is hard to reach this temperature with a gas grill, so heat it as high as you can. Put your skirt steak directly over the heat. You may have to cut the skirt steak into pieces to fit on your grill, because it is a long steak. Sear for 2 minutes per side at 700F (2.5 minutes at 600F, 3 minutes at 500F).
Prepare a grill by lightly oiling grates or spraying with nonstick cooking spray. For a gas grill, preheat to medium-high heat. Cook steak until a deep brown crust forms, about 2–3 minutes per side. Let the steak rest 10 minutes and slice into thin strips against the grain on a cutting board.
Skirt steak is shaped much the same, but tends to have a beefier flavor. But, this cut comes from the diaphragm muscles of the animal, making it a tougher piece of meat. It can become very chewy quickly, especially if it's not cooked correctly. They love marinades and high-heat, quick cooking.
Press the tip of your ring finger and your thumb together. The flesh beneath the thumb should give a little more. This is what meat cooked to a medium doneness feels like. Gently press the tip of your middle finger to the tip of your thumb.
There's a simple, surefire way to check your steak's temperature without cutting into the meat, and all you need is your hand. Feel the palm of your hand, just below your thumb. It's a little soft and fleshy. This is what raw steak should feel like when you touch it.
Skirt steak
| Beef cuts |
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| Alternative names | Romanian tenderloin; Romanian steak; Philadelphia steak; Arrachera (Mx). |
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| Type | Plate cut of beef |
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until steak is medium doneness (160°F).
Try this finger test the next time you cook a steak and see how accurate your equipment is! Touch your thumb and forefinger together and press on the fleshy part below your thumb (illustrated in the red circle in the photo) -- it should feel soft to the touch with your other forefinger and a little bouncy.
Go in at an angle in the middle of the cut, wait for a second, and then touch the tester to your wrist. If it's cold, the meat is raw. If it's warm—close to your body temperature—then the meat is medium rare. If it's hot, it's well done.
Grill for about 9-10 minutes. Flip the chicken breasts at the halfway point. I normally like to grill my chicken for about 10 minutes, flipping them at the halfway point in order to have beautiful sear marks on each side of the chicken.
Preheat grill to medium high heat. Place chicken on the grill for 7-8 minutes. Flip over and cook an additional 7-8 minutes or until no pink remains and chicken reaches 165°F. Rest 3-5 minutes before slicing.
A steak is not a bag of juices, nothing significant will leak off of it. It's indeed better to cut in a smaller piece that fits your pan, the whole steak should touch the bottom of the pan otherwise you might have uneven cooking / raw ends. TL;DR: Yes, it's fine to cut meats before cooking.
No matter the cooking method, with or without a marinade, for the most delicious results, you should always cut flank steak across the grain. Slicing flank steak this way cuts through those tough fibers, shortening them so you get an easier-to-chew, more tender bite of beef.
The sear/fond contribute lots of flavor, and the more surface area, the more fond. So cutting it up before cooking makes sense. It also saves fuel since it cooks faster. If you are searing pieces of meat smaller than one-inch cubes, remove them from the pan once they are seared all around.
By Alex Delany. July 18, 2017. Going “against the grain” (or across it) usually implies hardship. It suggests that you've made a move for a reason that compels you put forth some extra effort. When it comes to meat, cutting across the grain is highly encouraged.
Score Meat Before Marinating: To help the marinade penetrate as deeply as possible (especially thicker cuts like flank steak), prick the surface of the meat with a fork or score it with a knife.
