Skirt Steak With Warm Spicy Corn-and-Peach Salsa Recipe

Seared skirt steak with a bright, spicy salsa made from summer corn, peaches, and jalapeño.

By
Yasmin Fahr
Yasmin Fahr: Contributing Writer at Serious Eats
Yasmin Fahr
Yasmin Fahr is a food writer, recipe developer and author of the cookbook Keeping it Simple. She has a penchant for cheesy phrases, lemons, fresh herbs, feta and cumin.
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Updated May 01, 2024
Overhead view of Skirt Steak With Warm Spicy Corn-and-Peach Salsa, served on a black plate.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Why It Works

  • Charring the corn in the steak pan infuses it with flavor, all while the cooked steak rests.
  • The peach helps balance the heat of the jalapeño and cayenne pepper.

If you've been a devoted Serious Eats reader for some time now, then there's no way you've missed The Food Lab's amazing posts on pan-searing and grilling steaks.

For those of us who are not blessed with outdoor space or access to a grill, I decided to take the meat indoors. But, to give it an outside feel, I decided to serve it with summer ingredients like peach and corn. The method is straightforward: get the oil and pan hot hot hot, add the seasoned steak, and cook, flipping regularly, until the steak is done to your liking. (If you have a hood, this is the time to turn it on.)

The efficiency and speed of this recipe is what does it for me. I start off by seasoning the steak with cumin, oregano, and cayenne, letting their flavors settle on the meat while I work on cleaning the corn and dicing my onion, jalapeño, and peaches. Once I've cooked the steak, I can use the steak pan—and the fatty juices that remain—to cook the base of the salsa-like mixture while the steak rests. The result is a perfect wanna-be alfresco meal indoors, and it only takes about 15 minutes. It's almost enough to make me forget that I don't have an outdoor space. Almost, but not quite.

August 2014

Recipe Details

Skirt Steak With Warm Spicy Corn-and-Peach Salsa Recipe

Prep 5 mins
Cook 15 mins
Active 15 mins
Total 20 mins
Serves 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin

  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

  • 2 pounds skirt steak, trimmed and cut into 5- to 6-inch pieces (see note)

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1/4 cup canola oil

  • 2 ears corn, kernels sliced off and cobs discarded

  • 1/2 medium red onion, diced

  • 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced

  • 2 medium peaches, diced

  • 2 tablespoons fresh juice from 2 limes

  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped

Directions

  1. Stir together cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Season steak with salt and pepper and rub with the spice mixture. Set aside.

  2. In a 12-inch skillet, heat canola oil over medium-high heat until lightly smoking. Add steaks and cook, flipping every 1 minute, until an instant-read thermometer registers 115° to 120°F (46° to 49°C) for medium-rare or 125° to 130°F (52° to 54°C) for medium, about 5 minutes total. Transfer steaks to a large plate, tent with foil, and let rest. Proceed to step 4.

  3. Alternatively, to cook on a grill: Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange the coals on one side of the charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Alternatively, set half the burners on a gas grill to the highest heat setting, cover, and preheat for 10 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Place steak directly on hot side of grill and cook, turning frequently, until well-browned and an instant-read thermometer registers 115° to 120°F (46° to 49°C) for medium-rare or 125° to 130°F (52° to 54°C) for medium, 3 to 8 minutes total depending on thickness. Transfer steak to a cutting board and set aside.

  4. Meanwhile, pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the skillet and heat over medium heat until shimmering. Add corn, red onion, and jalapeño and season with salt. Cook until corn begins to char and onions and jalapeño soften, about 3 minutes. Scrape corn mixture into a large bowl and add peaches, lime juice, and cilantro and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Slice steak across the grain and serve with corn salsa.

Special Equipment

12-inch skillet

Notes

An equivalent weight of flap, hanger, or flank steak can be used in place of skirt steak.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
617Calories
40gFat
21gCarbs
45gProtein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories617
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 40g51%
Saturated Fat 11g56%
Cholesterol 101mg34%
Sodium 540mg23%
Total Carbohydrate 21g8%
Dietary Fiber 3g12%
Total Sugars 10g
Protein 45g
Vitamin C 18mg89%
Calcium 67mg5%
Iron 7mg36%
Potassium 922mg20%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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