Best Skirt Recipes: AKA Onglet, AKA Hanger Steak
Best Skirt Steak Recipes: I bet you’re all asking yourselves what is Onglet? Actually, so did I when Butcher Box popped this in a Jamboree box I bought recently. I did ask Shaun for a box of unusual and new cuts though, so it’s all on me. I also admit I did Google a bit for this. I remember Shaun mentioning that it comes with a gnarly bit of tendon/gristle right through the middle. And holy moly yes there was. BUT, on either side of the gnarly bit are these most amazing Onglet steaks, as they are known in French cooking.
It’s a very similar cut to Hanger Steak and Skirt Steak. So today my dear readers, I thought I’d make an intrduction for you to this beefiest of beef steaks, and give you three recipes to go play with.
In some locations, they are also called Butcher’s Cut, because the butcher will save the best pieces of meat for himself. It is known to be extremely beefy in flavour. I tell you, when I cut open the packet, gave the beef a rinse and popped it on the chopping board all you. could smell was beef. It was like a jerky smell. Quite incredible actually.
What is Skirt Steak? What is Hanger Steak? What is Onglet?
A picture paints a thousand words…
Onglet is also known as hanger steak or butcher’s steak. It is prized for its flavour. A surprise for me is that it actually comes from the diaphragm. I must get this added to my arm Tattoo. It is cut from the plate or upper belly. I love the butcher’s steak story because butchers would often keep it for themselves rather than offer it for sale. The rationale is because Joe Public believe this to be a throwaway piece of meat, but actually, as we found out today, it is one of the most tender and absolutely super-flavourful cuts of meat ever.
Get this. As I was thinking as I butchered it, the Onglet steak resembles Flank. It’s a weird V-shaped pair of muscles, AKA crura, with that horrible gnarly inedible membrane running down the middle. Called Hanger Steak as they literally ‘hang’ from the diaphragm. The Onglet is potentially the most tender cut, aside from the tenderloin. So my question is; “Why the don’t we eat more of this cut?”
It may be because it is known by so many different names. Occasionally seen on menus as Bistro Steak, Hanger Steak, Arrachera (Mexico), Fajitas Arracheras (Texas), Lombatello (Italy), Longhaas (Flanders), Świeca Wołowa (Poland), and Solomillo de Pulmón or Entraña or Entécula’ (Spain). It is sometimes named incorrectly as Flap Steak or Flap Meat.
How to cook Hanger Steak?
Give it a good seasoning with sea salt and cracked black Kampot pepper on both sides and in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 190. Make sure the steak is at room temperature before you pop it in the oven. This literally took 10-15 minutes, and then sear that bad boy on a super hot dry pan. Wow, if only you could smell this. Talk about intense beefiness. Slice a little off the end of a thick piece if you want to test your doneness, or use the knife on your top lip heat test.
Best Skirt Steak Recipes with Chimichurri Sauce
How to make Chimichurri Sauce?
One recipe I need to share is my homemade Chimichurri Sauce. This is a winner. You can make a load of this and store it in some Tupperware in your fridge for a couple of weeks at least. It’s an absolute stunner of a bed-fellow to any number of recipes I reckon. And it really is quite easy to make. It’s citrus, it’s herby, it’s garlic, it’s salty. It’s excellent. It’s a must-try. This will go with beef, pork, chicken, even fish I reckon. Make up a batch of this and you’ll see what I mean. You’ll even end up trying it on your cornflakes I bet.
Home-Made Chimichurri Sauce Ingredients:
- 3 supermarket packets of fresh herbs – 3 each of these;
- Mint
- Oregano
- Parsley
- Corriander
- Rosemary (if you can get it – use Rosemary infused Olive oil)
- 6 fresh limes;
- 8 peeled garlic cloves;
- A good quality bottle of Virgin Olive Oil;
- Sea salt & cracked black pepper.
It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3…
- Finely chop all the fresh herbs together and pop them in a mixing bowl;
- In a pestle & mortar add in a good sprinkle of sea salt and the garlic cloves;
- Bash the garlic cloves to a paste and add a sprinkle of cracked black pepper;
- Add this to herbs and give a good stir through;
- Squeeze in the juice of the 6 limes;
- Add a load of Olive oil – you are basically covering the herbs with the oil;
- Give a good sprinkle of sea salt & cracked back pepper and mix thoroughly.
Pop all that in your Tupperware.
First, though give it a taste test. Make sure the seasoning is to your taste. I like it sour and salty, so added a little lemon juice and a pinch or two more sea salt. That’s going to be perfect with this meat. The strong beefy taste will be a perfect bed-fellow for a herby citrus topping. Oooooh I can’t wait.
How to plate a Skirt Steak?
OK, this is so easy. Pick one of the nicely rested Onglet fillets and slice on the angle all the way down the fillet. Bite-sized piece thickness. Pop them on a serving platter and flatten them down a little so you can see that beautiful pink of the meat. Sprinkle a little sea salt onto the meat.
Then spoon over some of that lovely oily and herby Chimichurri sauce – just like the pic. Serve. Told you. Piece of piss this cooking lark. How gorgeous does that look? I’d be so happy if. that rocked up on my placemat in a restaurant. And believe me, this tasted incredible. The meat flavour is off the charts with Skirt | Onglet | Hanger, and then it gets balanced by flavour pops of the herbs and the citrus. This is without a doubt a winner of a dish!!! A stunner!!!
Best Skirt Steak Recipes: Conclusion
So there you go folks. A cut of steak that kept the boredom away for an hour or so in butchery practice. 10 minutes to cook and then an hour or so of fun creating Best Skirt Steak Recipes. My homemade Chimichurri Sauce really is to die for. Keep it in the fridge and keep on drizzling. It really does go with everything. Skirt | Onglet | Hanger | Flank is now potentially our favourite cuts of meat. If you like super-beefy flavour, super-tender with fatty marbling too, then this is your cut. Give it a go. It is really an underestimated but stunning piece of moo-cow. ENJOY!!!