- 5 months ago
We challenged chefs of three different skill levels–amateur Desi, home cook Lorenzo, and professional chef Saúl Montiel–to make us their take on fajitas. We then asked expert food scientist Rose to explain each chef's choices along the way. Which fajitas do you want to tuck into first?
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hey, what's up? It's Desi, level one chef.
00:07Hi, I'm Lorenzo, and I'm a level two chef.
00:10Hi, I'm Saul. I've been a professional chef for the past 24 years.
00:16The best time I have fajita is when you've got about $30 left in your bank account,
00:19because it's a cheap meal to make.
00:21Whenever I think of fajita, I think of a sizzling platter coming towards me.
00:25It's smoking.
00:27I think this is when American food and Mexican food got married.
00:30In Korea, Tex-Mex.
00:39I mean, some people use shrimp. Some people like beef.
00:41To me, I think chicken's number one.
00:43Chicken's like the New York Yankees for the fajitas.
00:45For my steak fajita, I use skirt steak.
00:48Chicken's all cut up. Now it's time to decorate the chicken.
00:51A little salt. Got a lick of snow a little bit.
00:54A little red pepper. Two taps.
00:56Ah, ah.
00:58I'm gonna be making chipotes and adobo from scratch.
01:01Dried chilies. We're soaking on hot water for like 20 minutes.
01:04We're gonna hydrate them again, and that's gonna increase the volume.
01:07They're gonna taste better because they will be more meaty.
01:10Let's start with chopping some garlic.
01:13Chipote peppers, by the way.
01:15Now I'm gonna do the tomatoes.
01:17Taco seasoning. I like to add my own flavor to it.
01:22Make it seem, uh, swag-oo.
01:24That's what makes mine a little different.
01:26The reason why I'm using brown sugar is that's just to kill some of the
01:29spiciness from the peppers and also to caramelize this sauce so it can be nice and rich.
01:34I'm gonna do bay leaf.
01:36Oregano.
01:37Cinnamon.
01:38Ooh.
01:39Cumin.
01:40And my secret ingredient.
01:43Pineapple juice.
01:44As my acid in my marinade.
01:46The reason why I use apple cider vinegar, two things.
01:49It will save you for spoiling past.
01:51And also, it will kill some of the spiciness from the chipotle.
01:55Because chipotle is really spicy.
01:56For you guys, for me, it's nothing.
01:57We're gonna cook low and slow for at least 30 minutes.
02:00So, here we go.
02:07One last taste.
02:11Delicious.
02:12My shrimp are gonna be super happy with this.
02:14I'm going to butterfly them.
02:16Now, the reason why I butterfly them, number one, they will cook faster.
02:19Number two, the adobo, it will be all over their body.
02:23This is what I meant.
02:24Butterfly.
02:25It's like...
02:27When you cook something with the bones or the shells, they taste even better.
02:31I feel like the juices are still inside.
02:33We are ready to marinate my skirt steak for a few hours.
02:38Here I have my adobo.
02:39Ah, yeah, yeah.
02:40We just put a little bit because it's not really spicy, but it can be too spicy.
02:43I love colorful, vibrant, delicious vegetables.
02:48And, of course, an onion.
02:49Gotta have my onion in the fajita.
02:51It's like a party.
02:52Jalapeño.
02:53Poblano peppers.
02:55Yeah.
02:56It's the real deal right here.
02:58A little more pepper.
02:59Two taps.
03:00Ah.
03:01Ah.
03:02Do the salt from high.
03:04So like that, when you spread the salt, it's evenly.
03:06It's not just one spot.
03:07Look.
03:08See?
03:09This is the marinade I use for the skirt steak.
03:12I'm going to use it to coat my vegetables before I cook it.
03:15Now it's time for everybody to meet.
03:17Everybody got to get to know each other now.
03:19All right.
03:21I'm going to throw this in the oven.
03:23Going Hulu with Bizuai Sopranos.
03:26See you in a second.
03:28You cannot have a fajita without a tortilla.
03:35I personally like the flour tortillas.
03:37They soft.
03:38You don't got to put that much time into when you warm them up.
03:41Today I'm going to be making flour tortillas.
03:43Very simple.
03:44I'm going to make like a little volcano.
03:46Who doesn't like volcanoes?
03:48Baking powder.
03:49I'm going to do a little bit of salt.
03:50Just like making pasta, but without egg.
03:52And I'm going to let this sit in the fridge for 10, 15 minutes.
03:55Dampen it a bit.
03:56Put it on a plate and wrap my tortilla.
04:00And right before I serve it, I'm going to microwave it just to warm it up.
04:04How do we know the tortillas are ready to flip?
04:06As soon as we start seeing little bubbles,
04:08I don't think I'm going to be making tortillas for the next three weeks.
04:11Two more.
04:12Two more tortillas.
04:13I'm only going to do two for today because I'm trying to wash my finger
04:16and trying to get right.
04:17Doctors do all this.
04:18Warm these out.
04:19See you later.
04:21Let's start off with my makeshift pico de gallo.
04:25It's going to bring that fresh element that we need.
04:29I use red onion because I feel like when you pick it, it tastes delicious.
04:33A little bit of salt.
04:34Now I'm going to let this sit here.
04:36I'm going to cut my tomatoes.
04:38Look how beautiful.
04:39Herlon tomatoes.
04:40The senor avocado.
04:42Cilantro.
04:43Mix it, mix it, mix it.
04:46Delicious also.
04:47Sour cream.
04:48I love sour cream.
04:49And one of my favorite hot sauces.
04:52I love it, love it, love it.
04:53Oh, that's so good.
04:55Salsa.
04:56Salsa.
04:57Salsa.
04:58Salsa.
04:59Salsa.
05:00That adds swag and flavor to the fajita.
05:03We don't want to over mix this because if you break the avocado, it will be very messy.
05:08We're going to do a little bit of salt, pepper, olive oil.
05:13Don't need that much cheese.
05:14Just a, I want to say a half a fist amount.
05:17Uh.
05:18Make it snow.
05:19Cut it off in four pieces.
05:21Some keep the skin on, some let the skin off.
05:24I like to do half for half.
05:25So you do your thing at the end.
05:26Now I'm ready to go.
05:27First things first, I must turn on the grill.
05:30And I want it smoking hot.
05:32You can tell that it's, the skirt steak's been marinated a bit because it actually changed
05:37color.
05:38So it's in a sense been cooking.
05:40That's what marinade does.
05:41It kind of tenderizes and cooks it a bit.
05:44That is exactly what you want to hear.
05:47Sizzle.
05:48Sizzle.
05:49Sizzle.
05:50I'm going to cover this with this.
05:53So it cooks evenly.
05:55Like a little trick.
06:00I have beautiful grill marks on there.
06:03You can see.
06:04My frame.
06:05Look.
06:06Pretty sexy.
06:08Uno.
06:11Dos.
06:18Hear that?
06:23Oh.
06:24It's talking to me.
06:26Now the fun part.
06:27Grilling vegetables.
06:29I'm starting with the onions because these are the ones that take the most time.
06:33If you don't hear the noise, that means you're not doing it right.
06:35I still like that crunch.
06:37It's okay if it's not fully, fully soft and cooked.
06:42You're just sauteing it.
06:44And sauteing doesn't necessarily mean making it like completely mush.
06:49Keep it al dente.
06:50Low and slow.
06:51Looks good.
06:54Just ready to go now.
06:55Look at the peppers.
06:56And the jalapeno just.
06:58I don't even want to touch it.
06:59You have a museum around here?
07:01Look at that.
07:02My lemon.
07:03It's ready.
07:04All right.
07:05Now it's time to pair everything together.
07:06Let's start making a fajita.
07:08The star of the show.
07:11I'm going to do a bed of fried cheese so my vegetables can take a nap and be happy.
07:16I put a little chicken and vegetables together because one band, one sound.
07:20We come together, we lead together.
07:22So they came in a pan together and they're leaving my stomach together.
07:25I believe in teamwork.
07:26And my shrimp.
07:27Beautiful.
07:28Head on prawn shrimp.
07:30So as I'm building it, you know, I'm adding different levels of flavor.
07:33Avocado, pico de gallo, it's a little bit sour but so yummy because of the onion.
07:38Now, here's my chicken fajita dinner.
07:42And here's my steak fajita dinner.
07:45Full of colorful, full of flavors.
07:48This is how I make my fajita.
07:51I ain't gonna lie to you.
07:53I can't wait to go to work on this.
07:56I do have a technique for my tortillas.
08:00I like to slather some sour cream and I do like a lot of it.
08:06The foundation of the creation makes everything stick together.
08:08That's enough meat right there.
08:09Add some salsa.
08:11Do a little dance as you add it.
08:14I like putting my cheese on so my cheese doesn't move.
08:18And it's also gonna be warmed through by the hot steak that I'll be putting on.
08:25I like to add mezcal every time I eat just to digest better.
08:30It's a digestif.
08:31A Mexican digestif.
08:32Last but not least, a little lemon love.
08:35I'm just gonna put some mezcal there and then just set it on fire.
08:41And this is how I make fajitas.
08:43Play no games.
08:44Now it's time to eat it.
08:45Vamos!
08:46Now this thing is ready to disappear.
08:53Have a good day.
08:54Mmm.
08:55Mmm.
08:56Mmm.
08:57Oh my god.
08:58Mmm.
08:59Mmm.
09:00Mmm.
09:01My mom would be so proud.
09:04This is a fajito.
09:07Who am I missing some iced tea?
09:09Finishing it off with a crispy, delicious alpeño.
09:14I love it.
09:15It's delicious.
09:16I can taste the shrimp.
09:17It's not that spicy.
09:19The adobo, smokiness, little mild.
09:22Man, these are how you're supposed to make fajitas.
09:25Cheers, guys.
09:27This is delicious.
09:28I, listen, I don't know.
09:30I think I have a talent.
09:32Fajitas are tortillas filled with meat and vegetables served sizzling hot.
09:36Let's see how each of our three chefs made theirs.
09:38Desi made chicken with a packet of seasoned fajita flavoring.
09:45The main ingredients are cornstarch and salt.
09:48They also contain oil, ground chili peppers and garlic, along with silicon dioxide, which is an anti-caking ingredient so the powder doesn't form clumps.
09:57The steak that I chose to use for my fajitas is skirt steak.
10:02Lorenzo marinated his skirt steak, a cut traditionally used for fajitas, in a combination of sweet, spicy, and savory ingredients with pineapple as a base.
10:12My secret ingredient.
10:15Pineapple contains bromelain, a proteolytic enzyme that'll tenderize his skirt steak by breaking up collagen and connective tissue that can make his skirt steak a little tough.
10:26Saul grilled shrimp that was marinated and intensely seasoned by his adobo.
10:31It included a variety of spicy chilies, tomatoes, vinegar, and brown sugar.
10:36He included cinnamon, considered a warming spice because one of its main components.
10:41Cinnamon.
10:43Ooh.
10:44Cinnamaldehyde imparts a spiciness that gives some people the perception of heat or warmth.
10:49Lorenzo included a variety of peppers.
10:55I love colorful, vibrant, delicious vegetables.
10:59All bell peppers start out green.
11:01As they ripen, the chlorophyll decomposes and a variety of carotenoids like lutein and beta-carotene are expressed as yellow, orange, and red.
11:10Both Desi and Lorenzo used commercial flour tortillas.
11:17They're soft.
11:18You don't have to put that much time in until you're warming them up.
11:21In addition to stabilizers, anti-molding compounds, and other food additives, they contain small amounts of chemical leavening agents that create small bubbles to make a porous and tender tortilla.
11:32Saul made his own flour tortillas.
11:34I don't think I'm going to be making tortillas for the next three weeks.
11:37Two more.
11:38Two more tortillas.
11:39That included a small amount of sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda, which gives a lightness to his tortillas without all of the other food additives.
11:48Desi added a drizzle of lime prior to baking.
11:54Yeah.
11:55That's the real deal right here.
11:58While this adds a nice, bright, acidic note from the citric and ascorbic acids in the lime, it also added water, which dampened any sizzle that he might have had without it.
12:08Lorenzo quickly sauteed his fajitas in a super hot cast iron grill pan.
12:14This allowed for a nice sizzle as well as a lot of brown and crispy parts.
12:19Saul doused his shrimp and vegetables with mezcal, a distilled alcoholic beverage from agave.
12:25It has between 40 and 55% alcohol by volume, which is pretty high.
12:30And then you set it on fire.
12:32When heat energy is added, some flavor compounds are alcohol soluble.
12:37So you get an extra layer of flavor this way.
12:40And of course, the flame and heat combo caused that fantastic sizzle.
12:44Listen, I don't know.
12:46I think I have a talent.
12:47Cheers to you.
12:49Adios.
12:50Fajitas are one of the few foods that announce themselves.
12:54There are so many possibilities when it comes to fajitas.
12:57Next time you're in the mood for this sizzling dish, we hope you'll get some tips from our three amazing chefs.
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