WAVY SKIRT SKEWERS WITH GRILLED LIMES

Wavy Skirt Skewers with Grilled Limes image

This recipe is inspired by Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This street has a night market that takes over the road completely. There you will find some incredible food, and skewers are among the highlights. For my version here, I use skirt steak, which is my favorite cut of beef.

Provided by Food Network

Time 55m

Yield 12 skewers

Number Of Ingredients 9

Ingredients

2 skirt steaks (about 2 1/4 pounds)
1/2 cup finely diced shallots
20 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
16 fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
2 limes, halved
Kosher salt

Steps:

While keeping the fat intact, trim the skirt steaks to remove as much silver skin (silvery-white membrane) as possible with a sharp thin filleting knife that bends. Cut each steak in half so you have 4 pieces that are all about 10 inches long. Cut the steak 1/4 inch wide, against the grain, to yield about 24 strips. Transfer to a large bowl and add the shallots.
In a mortar and pestle, pound the basil, sage, olive oil, pepper and flaky sea salt until smooth. The salt will act as sandpaper to help achieve a smooth texture. Transfer to the large bowl and combine well with the steak and shallots. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or so.
Heat an indoor or outdoor grill to medium-high heat.
Meanwhile, thread one end of a steak strip onto the skewer, folding the strip accordion-style and threading the strip every inch or so until the entire length of the strip is skewered securely. Repeat with a second strip of steak on the same skewer. Repeat the process until you have 12 steak skewers.
Take 2 of the remaining skewers and double thread 2 of the lime halves cut-side up, when placed on the work surface. Repeat with the remaining 2 skewers and 2 lime halves. (Double skewering will make sure that the limes grill evenly and don't spin around on the grill.)
Place the steak skewers on the grill and season gently with kosher salt. Grill, flipping frequently to prevent burning, until the steak reaches your desired doneness, then remove immediately. I like mine medium-rare, which takes about 4 minutes.
Grill the limes, cut-side down, until charred a bit and really juicy, about 15 minutes.
Squeeze the grilled limes over the steak skewers and serve them hot, straight off the grill, as a snack for your guests. Or serve them all together as part of a meal, tenting them with aluminum foil to keep everything warm for up to 20 minutes.