Barbecue Beef Fajitas – A Smoky, Grilled Delight

Spring is in the air (well mostly!), and there’s never a better time for fajitas, especially smokey grilled ones. These are incredibly easy to prepare, and versatile enough to skip or fudge ingredients if you don’t have them readily available. I think fajitas require an excessive amount of bell peppers, they really make or break a good fajita, so I use 6 peppers and store any extras in the fridge for throwing on sandwiches or tossing with some pasta.

Ingredients for the beef

• 1 to 1.5 lbs your choice of beef (but tastes just as good with lamb, venison, pork, or chicken)
• 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 limes

Ingredients for the vegetables

• 5 or 6 bell peppers of mixed colors
• 2 large onions, cut into half-moon slices

Recommended ingredients for serving

• Fresh cilantro, finely chopped or torn
• Jalopeno peppers, thinly slided
• Sour cream
• 3 or 4 additional limes, cut into pieces
• 20 small flour tortillas (7 inch)

Step 1 – Prepare and marinate the fajita meat

Combine the chilli powder, ground coriander, cumin, garlic powder, salt and black pepper in a small bowl.

Rub the spice mix into the meat, and let sit for 20 minutes.

Squeeze the 3 limes over meat and spices, and let sit for at least 30 mins, preferably 1-2 hours.

Step 2 – Start your engines

Light up your barbecue or grill. You want a moderately high heat for this, firstly to char up the peppers, then the meat, and finally to soften the tortillas.

Step 3 – Roast the peppers and onions

Cut the bell peppers in half, core and deseed. Cook directly on the bbq grid. Make a pouch with aluminium foil for the onions and cook beside the bell peppers.

You want the pepper’s skin to go black and charred. Cook until the onions and peppers both feel soft. Remove from the grill, and pop the peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the peppers steam in the bowl for 15 minutes.

After the peppers have steamed, the charred skin should peel easily off. Remove all the skin, and slice the peppers into strips lengthwise, and set aside for serving.

Step 4 – Grill the beef

Now that the vegetables are finished, it’s time to grill up the beef.

If you have wood chips available, throw a small handful of unsoaked woodchips on your coals, or add to your smoke box.

Grill the steaks to taste. 1 to 2 minutes per side, for thin steaks at med-rare, for example.

Step 5 – Warm the tortillas

The best way to make tortillas soft and pliable (and a little smokey) is to warm them on your cooking grid. It’s very quick to do, and you can usually do a number of tortillas at once. You don’t want to burn the tortillas, but only to warm them. 15 seconds per side is normally enough, but keep a close eye on them so they don’t start getting crispy.

Step 6 – Serve and devour

Each guest can prepare their own fajita by adding spoon full of cilantro, jalapenos, sour cream, beef, onions, and bell peppers. A squeeze of lime juice is a nice finishing touch. Enjoy!

David B. May 6th, 2013

Posted In: BBQ Maintenance