Full Flavor Fajita Marinade
Have you ever noticed that there are LOTS of Mexican recipes here on Deals From MS Do? We’re kind of Mexican food junkies, as if you couldn’t tell. We could honestly eat Mexican food three or four days a week, every week and not have a problem with it.
I’ve bought all kinds of packets and bottles of fajita marinade mixes over the years, and liked most of them. However, I’ve tried to get more back to the basics and try to make as much from scratch as I can these days. I’ve also learned that the flavors are so much better when you make marinades than when you use a store bought variety. In addition to the flavor, it’s cheaper in the long run when you use products that you already have on hand.
Full Flavor Fajita Marinade calls for pineapple juice. I almost always keep canned pineapple but rarely have pineapple juice. I just popped the lid open and poured juice from a can of pineapple. What to do with the pineapple? Eat it, of course! If you plan to grill your fajitas, throw the pineapple on the grill. It is absolutely fabulous to go along with your fajitas!
Now, for the real question, why pineapple juice? It’s a natural meat tenderizer! If you don’t have any pineapple juice available, use meat tenderizer instead. Do NOT use raw pineapple or raw pineapple juice. It will actually break down your meat instead of tenderizing it!
I buy meat bundles from my local grocery store, but get “stuck” with sirloin steaks. I don’t like sirloin, because it’s usually bland and tough. This little meat tenderizer and the fajita marinade changed that! The steak became about 1/2 as thick, it was pounded thinner with little effort. There is no doubt these fajitas were anything but bland and tough once they were tenderized and marinated for 24 hours.
Since we only eat well done steak around here, we throw the chicken in with the steak to marinate. If you don’t like yours cooked that well, you may want to marinate your chicken separately from your steak. Why? Some chicken may be infected with the salmonella bacteria. While you are likely to cook it out of your chicken, the steak could harbor salmonella or other bacterias, from the chicken, if the steak isn’t cooked enough after being marinated with the chicken.
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
- Zest from one lime (about 2 tsp)
- Juice and pulp from one Lime
- 2 tbs Pineapple Juice (or meat tenderizer)
- ¼ c. Vinegar
- ¼ cup Olive Oil
- 1 -3 tsp hot sauce (Tobasco, Red Hot, etc.)
- 2 Tbs soy sauce
- ½ red onion, sliced or chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic, diced
- ½ bunch chopped Cilantro
- 1 - 3 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 Tbs Chili powder
- Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
- Chop about ½ a bunch of Cilantro. Finely chopped cilantro will remain on the meats while grilling, giving that extra flavor when eaten.
- Zest and juice one lime. Microwave for about 20 seconds to help break down the pulp. It makes the lime easier to juice.
- Combine all remaining ingredients and blend together.
- Plan to tenderize the meats before marinating? It's a great idea to help the marinade absorb throughout the meats, so the flavor is evenly distributed. This is a hand held tenderizer with a handle similar to an old-fashioned school bell. You just press down to push the tips through the meat. This helps to break down the meat, tenderizing it, and stretching the meat into a thinner cut. The steak shown was a before and after of the same piece of meat. The chicken shows the average tender size before and after it was tenderized. A fork can be used to repeatedly stab the meat on both sides to achieve a similar result. It will not flatten the meat, but will add the holes to allow the marinade to soak through.
- Place meat in a plastic storage bag or storage container. Layer the marinade above, below, and in between in layer of meat being marinated.
- Marinate fajita meat, in the refrigerator, between 20 minutes and 24 hours. Turn often to make sure the meat is thoroughly marinated.
- Drain marinade and cook onions, if desired. Onions can be cooked on the grill on stove top, but should also be cooked very well.
Speak Your Mind