Tangy goat cheese, perfectly cooked steak, topped with pesto and drizzled with reduced balsamic vinegar over a crisp baguette!
What is a crostini??
A crostini is an Italian appetizer that is typically small toasted or grilled slices of bread served with some form of toppings
The toppings you can use are only limited by your imagination
For our crostini we are going with goat cheese, grilled skirt steak, basil pesto and a reduced balsamic vinegar drizzle
Though these are typically appetizers we are going to serve them as our main meal with a side salad
You can’t deny this sounds real good!
Let’s start with the skirt steak
We are using 2 steaks (roughly 2 pounds)
Unlike flank steak the grain in a skirt steak runs from top to bottom
You will need to keep this in mind when it is time to slice the meat
Skirt works well with a marinade so let’s work on that next
We will need 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon of Gravy Master, 2 garlic cloves, 2 teaspoons each of kosher salt and ground black pepper
Add all of the ingredients into a bowl
Grate the garlic cloves and add them in as well
Whisk everything to combine
Place the skirt steaks in a large resealable bag
Pour in the marinade
Force all of the air out of the bag and seal
Rub the meat and marinade all around to ensure coverage
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight (even better)
After the steak has marinated allow it to come to room temperature before grilling
Since skirt steak can be quite long we cut them in half to make grilling easier
While the steak is warming up, let’s work on the crostini part of this recipe
We are using a baguette
Yes, I know… French bread for an Italian appetizer
What can I tell you?? There is nothing like a good baguette!
Slice the baguette on a bias and drizzle with a little olive oil
Heat your grill to medium heat and lay down the bread
Keep a close eye on them and flip
You want them lightly toasted but you should still be able to bite through them
Once toasted remove and set aside
Heat your grill up to 425 F direct heat meaning all burners are on
We have three burners and used Medium Low Medium
Lay the skirt steak down and grill for 5-6 minutes on the first side
Flip and cook for another 4-5 minutes for medium
Remove to a pan and allow the meat to rest at least 10 minutes before slicing
While the meat rests, let’s prepare some crostinis
We chose goat cheese because the tartness will be a great contrast to the rich steak and pesto
Leave the cheese on the counter until it softens slightly to allow for easier spreading
You can certainly substitute cream cheese, fresh mozzarella or even omit cheese all together (but why??)
Spread each slice with some softened goat cheese
Let’s discuss the grain of the meat again
For meat to be tender you have to cut against the grain and since skirt is a bit different then other cuts, this becomes important to get right
For demo purposes we are going to use one skirt steak
When I place the steak on the board the grain is running top to bottom
To simplify this we cut the skirt steak in half so the grain runs left to right
Then we will cut against the grain
Using a sharp knife slice the meat thinly against the grain on a slight bias
Repeat with the rest
Now for some assembly
Place 3-4 pieces of skirt on top of each crostini
Top with some Pesto
Click on our link to make your own homemade Basil Pesto
Finish them off with a drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar
Serve and watch them disappear!
Enjoy!!!
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Simply Sundays! ~ Skirt Steak Crostini
Ingredients
2 skirt steaks
2 baguettes
1/2 cup of Soy sauce
1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of Gravy Master
2 garlic cloves grated
2 teaspoons of kosher salt
2 teaspoons of ground black pepper
Reduced balsamic vinegar for drizzling (optional)
Directions
In a bowl whisk together 1/2 cup of Soy sauce, 1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon of Gravy Master, 2 garlic cloves (grated), 2 teaspoons each of kosher salt and ground black pepper
Place 2 skirt steaks into a large resealable bag. Pour in the marinade. Force all of the air out of the bag and seal. Rub the meat and marinade all around to ensure coverage. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight (even better)
After the steak has marinated, allow it to come to room temperature before grilling. Since skirt steak can be quite long we cut them in half to make grilling easier
Slice two baguettes on a bias and drizzle with a little olive oil. Heat your grill to medium heat and lay down the bread. Keep a close eye on them and flip. You want them lightly toasted but you should still be able to bite through them. Once toasted remove and set aside
Heat your grill up to 425 F direct heat meaning all burners are on. We have three burners and used Medium Low Medium. Lay the skirt steak down and grill for 5-6 minutes on the first side. Flip and cook for another 4-5 minutes for medium. Remove to a pan and allow the meat to rest at least 10 minutes before slicing
After the meat rests, cut each length of skirt steak in half and lay on the cutting board so the grain of meat runs left to right. Using a sharp knife thinly cut the steak against the grain
Take out log of goat cheese and allow to soften slightly to make spreading it easier. Spread some of the cheese on each slice of bread. Top each slice of bread with 3-4 pieces of steak. Top with Basil Pesto. Finish each one off with a drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar (optional)
Architec Carving Board, Gripperwood
ZELITE INFINITY Chef Knife 8 inch
Wilton Recipe Right Non-stick Cookie Sheet Set, 2-Piece
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