New York Strip “Fajitas”

These are not what you’d call traditional fajitas, but we were looking to mix up our Mexican-inspired menu a bit. We have done plenty of taco/enchilada variants so it was time for something along the vein of Taco Tuesday, just elevated. Enter this awesome New York Strip recipe.

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Rob really took the lead for the steak, as usual. It’s something he really enjoys cooking and experimenting with, so I am going to let him keep going with it. The steak cooking technique is old-school European in style. Rob took the traditional French butter basting technique but added a lot of Mexican inspired flavor.

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First was the spice rub for the steak. It had the normal elements like cumin, chili powders, garlic powder, etc. But this time around, he used some freshly cracked coriander seed and ground coffee in the mix. The cracked coriander seed has a bright aroma that offsets the warm spices a bit. The coffee really brings some unique notes depending on what you use; my recommendation is find one with sweeter notes of chocolate or caramel. Those flavors pair really well with the other spices and is actually pretty in-line with some traditional Mexican flavor combos.

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Next was the butter for basting. Rob actually created a Mexican compound butter that had all of the flavor elements pre-mixed in. He added lime zest, serrano pepper, green onion, and cilantro for a bright, spicy butter. This would also be great on a grilled street corn. Rob tossed garlic and some lime slices in while doing the basting to round out the flavors.

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Lastly, I whipped up some fajita veggies to serve as a base side for the steak. This is really simple, just slice some onion and bell pepper fairly thin. Heat up some oil in a skillet and toss in the veggies cooking until soft. Our other side was a creamy corn salsa, but I am saving that for another post.

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Print Recipe

New York Strip “Fajitas”

An elevated take on Fajitas combining classic French cooking techniques with classic Mexican flavors.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: brown butter, cilantro, coffee, compound butter, fajita, french, mexican, new york strip, NY Strip, skillet, Steak, technique

Servings: 4 People

Ingredients

Steak and Spice Mix

• 2  Lb  NY Strip 1.25 inch thick
• 1.5 Tbs Grapeseed or Avocado Oil
• 1 Tsp Cumin
• 1 Tsp Chipotle Powder
• 1 Tsp Ancho Powder
• 1 Tsp Fresh Ground Coffee
• 1 Tsp Coriander Seed cracked
• 1/4 Garlic Powder
• 1/4 Tsp Onion Powder
• 1/4 Tsp Salt
• 1/4 Tsp Pepper

Compound Butter

• 4  Tbs  Butter
• 1/2 Serrano Pepper finely minced
• 1 Green Onion finely diced
• 1 Lime zested and 3-4 slices
• 1 Tsp Fresh Cilantro minced
• 4  Garlic Cloves  smashed
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400F.
• Add 1.5 Tbs of Grapeseed or Avocado Oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
• Pat the steak dry and coat with the spice mix.
• Sear the steak for 5 minutes per side.
• Stick in the oven for 7-8 minutes for a medium.
• Cook fajita veggies during this time if desired by heating 1.5 Tbs of oil in a skillet and sautéing the veggies of medium heat for about 8-10 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, put the skillet back over medium heat, add 3/4 of the compound butter along with garlic and lime slices, and baste both sides of the steak for 1 minute.
• Let the steak rest for 5-10 minutes.