Skirt steak has to be the easiest cut of beef to grill.  It has such inherently beefy flavor, iIt needs nothing more than salt and freshly ground pepper.  No need to fuss with marinades or dry rubs or overwrought garnishes.  A few minutes on each side at 450, rested for a few more minutes, and sliced over a bed of mashed potatoes:  so easy a fifth-grader* can do it.

Don’t bother buying the pre-marinated or seasoned junk sold in plastic bags, often labelled as “fajita meat” at the supermarket (or worse, Wal-Mart!  but you don’t buy your meat at Wal-Mart, right?  if you do, please stop**); the au naturel version cooks best, to my taste.

If you can’t find it at your supermarket, perhaps you’re just missing it–it’s a popular cut, and it tends to sell quickly.  Make friends with the nice people behind the meat counter and maybe they’ll tip you off to the meat delivery schedule.  Or better yet, they’ll actually put some aside for you.

*All fifth-graders love to play with matches.  Why not channel this natural impulse into grilling?  A legal, productive solution, n’est-pas?

**Stop buying Wal-Mart meat.  Just stop.  Pay a little more somewhere else, and eat a bit less to make up for the price difference.  Anyway, you’re not coming out ahead, since WallyWorld is selling you flavored water at meat prices:  virtually all of their fresh meat and poultry is “enhanced” with 6% to 20% of a solution containing salt, natural and/or artificial flavorings.  How can you tell?  Look for an “ingredients” label.  FRESH MEAT AND POULTRY SHOULD NOT HAVE AN INGREDIENTS LABEL.  Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox now.