The Best Way To Cook Pork Skirt Steak - If You Can Find It

If you're a fan of stir-fry, fajitas, and even Philly cheesesteak, there's a good chance you've tasted skirt steak. In each of these dishes and beyond, the most common type of skirt steak (by far) is beef. But whether you're making spicy quesadillas or just tossing your meat on the grill, opting for pork skirt steak instead of beef can give you just as delicious results.

To get the lowdown on this less-common type of protein, we picked the brain of Rich Parente, chef and owner of Clock Tower Grill in Brewster, New York. Parente and his wife Cassie (the grill's co-owner and general manager), also run Clock Tower Farm where they raise their own pork and grow vegetables for the restaurant. According to Parente, pork skirt steak is smaller than the beef variety. "It's a fatty cut of meat that I would marinate before cooking to add flavor and help get it tender," he said in an interview with Tasting Table. As for the best cooking method, the chef recommends going "hot and fast on the grill until it reaches medium doneness."

What exactly is pork skirt steak? You may sometimes see it called by the nickname "Secreto Iberico," since the meat comes from the "secret" cut on the edge of the shoulder muscle. If you're going to grill your slices like chef Parente suggests, start with a marinade that contains acidic elements like lime juice, orange juice, and vinegar. These ingredients will break down the proteins in your steak, creating room for flavorings to seep in and making your meat tender. To further encourage it to become succulent, Parente says to "slice it on a bias so each bite is tender and serve it with an herby chimichurri." If you're unfamiliar with slicing on a bias, this means you'll want to cut at a 45-degree angle, which will disintegrate muscle fibers and lead to juicy pieces.

As delicious as this all sounds, the one drawback to planning a meal around this cut of pork is that it can be difficult to acquire. "You're probably not going to find pork skirt steak at a regular grocery store," advises Parente, "so you would have to find a specialty butcher shop or call your butcher ahead to find it as there are only two skirts on each side of the pig." When all else fails, some online retailers (like Second City Prime Steak and Seafood) sell it too.