Summer activities heighten the appetite. If steak is on the menu, you can spend a fortune. Try skirt steak, an affordable cut popular in some Latin cuisines. It’s more fibrous than expensive alternatives, but a quick sear maximizes its tenderness. Cook the steaks in a heavy skillet — cast iron is best — in a well-ventilated kitchen or outside on a hot grill. Give the potatoes a head start in the oven to bake or on a moderately warm spot on the grill because they need more time than the steak. A simple salad rounds out this retro favorite.
Go from a neat skirt steak to sloppy Joes
Steak, homemade rub, and potatoes turn into sloppy Joes the next day. The sandwich was not named for its unruly appearance but rather for an untidy club in Key West, Fla. Established in 1937, Sloppy Joe’s Bar began the tradition. Customers ribbed former owner Jose Garcia when melted cocktail ice and fresh seafood created a slick and sloppy floor. The sandwich is served on a soft hamburger bun. Using leftover skirt steak, make a flavorful sauce beginning with onions, bell peppers, some of the spice rub, and commercial tomato sauce (choose one that contains tomatoes only, not a marinara). Cut leftover potatoes into wedges, toss them with oil and roast them in a hot oven until crisp on the outside and fluffy in the centers. Two hearty meals fit for hungry hikers or beachcombers.
Karoline Boehm Goodnick can be reached at kgboehm@yahoo.com.
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