Chopped Grilled Steak Burritos

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A taqueria-style burrito built the way the good counters do it: skirt steak hard-seared over high heat, rested, then chopped into small pieces so meat lands in every single bite. The tortilla gets warmed on the dry griddle until it's soft and stretchy, which is the difference between a burrito that rolls tight and one that splits down the seam. Cilantro-lime rice, warm black beans, melty jack and a quick charred salsa round it out.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb skirt or flank steak
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 3 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice

• 1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 burrito-size flour tortillas (10 to 12 inch)
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 avocado, sliced

• 3 plum tomatoes, halved
• 1 jalapeño, stemmed
• 1/2 white onion, in thick rounds
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

1. Pat the steak very dry with paper towels and cut it crosswise into 4- to 5-inch lengths so the pieces fit your pan or grill. Whisk the oil, lime juice, garlic, 1 1/2 tsp salt, cumin, chili powder, oregano and pepper in a bowl, add the steak and turn to coat. Let it sit at room temperature 20 minutes, or refrigerate up to 8 hours (pull it out 30 minutes before cooking).
2. Start the rice: combine the rice, 1 3/4 cups water and 1 tsp salt in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, then cover and cook over low heat 15 minutes. Off the heat, rest covered 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork and fold in the butter, cilantro and 2 tbsp lime juice. Keep covered.
3. Make the salsa: heat a dry cast-iron skillet over high heat for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes cut-side down, the jalapeño, onion rounds and garlic clove. Cook without moving 4 to 5 minutes, until blackened in spots, then turn and char 3 to 4 minutes more. Transfer everything to a blender, pulse 4 or 5 times to a chunky salsa, then stir in the cilantro, 1 tbsp lime juice and 3/4 tsp salt.
4. Warm the beans in a small saucepan with 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 cup water and a pinch of salt over medium heat, 5 minutes, mashing about a quarter of them against the side of the pan so they hold together. Keep warm.
5. Cook the steak: heat a grill to high (or the same cast-iron skillet over high heat with 1 tsp oil) until it is genuinely smoking. Grill the steak 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare, about 130°F on an instant-read thermometer. Skirt steak is thin and moves fast, so check early.
6. Move the steak to a cutting board and rest it 8 minutes. Then slice it thinly against the grain and go back over the slices, chopping them into roughly 1/2-inch pieces. Toss the chopped meat with any board juices and a pinch of salt. This is the step that makes the burrito good: small pieces distribute so no bite is all rice.
7. Warm the tortillas one at a time in a dry skillet over medium heat, 20 to 30 seconds per side, until soft, steamy and flexible enough to fold without cracking. Stack them under a clean kitchen towel as you go so they steam and stay pliable.
8. Build each burrito on a sheet of foil or parchment: 1/2 cup rice slightly below center, then 1/3 cup beans, 1/2 cup chopped steak, 1/2 cup cheese, 2 tbsp salsa, 2 tbsp sour cream and a couple of avocado slices. Do not overfill past a 4-inch-wide log or it will not close.
9. Roll it: fold the bottom edge up over the filling and pull it back toward you to compress the log tight, fold both sides in, then roll forward, keeping tension the whole way. Seam side down.
10. Wipe the skillet clean, set it over medium heat and toast each burrito seam-side down 2 minutes, then turn and toast 2 minutes more, until the tortilla is golden and the cheese has melted. Cut in half on a sharp diagonal and serve with the remaining salsa.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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