Sheet Pan Dinners

Yield: 4 to 8 Servings

Adapted from: NY Times

Adapted from Kenji’s grilled skirt steak fajitas recipe—with its rich and flavorful lime, soy sauce, and cumin-spiced marinade—this version reworks the technique so that all you need is an oven and a single sheet pan. The best part about making these fajitas on a sheet pan, aside from the quick and easy prep and cleanup, is that it yields a large serving size to feed a crowd, or a very hungry few.

For the steak fajita marinade:

• ½cup soy sauce
• ½cup fresh lime juice, from 6 to 8 limes
• ½cup canola or other neutral oil
• ¼cup packed light brown sugar
• 2tsp ground cumin seed
• 2tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1TBS chili powder (see note)
• 3medium cloves garlic, finely minced (about 1 TBS)
• 2lb trimmed skirt steak (about 1 whole steak, see note), cut crosswise into 5- to 6-inch pieces (see our detailed trimming instructions here)

For the fajitas:

• 1large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ½-inch-wide strips
• 1large yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ½-inch-wide strips
• 1large green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ½-inch-wide strips
• 1white or yellow onion, cut into ½-inch slices
• 12–16fresh flour or corn tortillas, hot (see note)
• 1recipe guacamole, for serving, if desired
• 1recipe Pico de Gallo, for serving, if desired
• Sour cream, shredded cheese, and salsa, for serving, if desired

For the Fajita Marinade: Combine soy sauce, lime juice, oil, brown sugar, cumin, black pepper, chili powder, and garlic in medium bowl and whisk to combine. Transfer ½ cup marinade to a separate vessel and set aside.

For the Steak: Place steaks in a gallon-sized zipper-lock bag and add remaining marinade. Seal bag, squeezing out as much air as possible. Massage bag until meat is fully coated in marinade. Lay flat in refrigerator, turning every couple of hours, for at least 3 and up to 10 hours.

For the Fajitas: When ready to cook, preheat broiler and position over rack to highest position. If you have a baking steel or stone, set it on the top rack and allow to preheat. If using a baking steel/stone, set a half-sheet pan on it to preheat as well, otherwise leave the baking sheet at room temperature.

Broil Steaks: Remove steaks from marinade and blot dry with paper towels. Arrange steaks in an even layer on a half-sheet pan. Broil, without flipping, until steaks are well charred on top side, about 4 minutes. Broiler strength and oven designs vary greatly, so cooking times will vary as well, keep a close watch. If your broiler heats unevenly, you may need to move the sheet tray around for even browning.

If not using a baking steel or stone, flip steaks, and broil for 30 seconds longer (steaks cooked with the help of a baking steel/stone do not need to be flipped and cooked longer). Remove from oven and transfer steaks to a platter to rest.

Bake: Switch oven from broil mode to 450°F. Add red, yellow, and green bell peppers as well as onions to half-sheet pan. Pour reserved ½ cup of marinade all over and toss until evenly coated, using a wooden spoon, scrape up any browned bits on the baking sheet. Arrange peppers and onion in an even layer that covers the baking sheet from edge to edge, then cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and browned in spots, about 25 minutes (if your oven heats from the top, you will want to cook the vegetables on a middle rack to avoid excessive scorching and burning). If you’re using a baking steel/stone, you can cook the vegetables on it, but keep a closer eye since they run the risk of scorching on the bottom, if this begins to happen, move the sheet pan to another rack.

Finish: Slice steak into thin strips across the grain, then add back to sheet pan with any juices. Return to oven to warm through, if steaks need additional cooking, leave them an additional minute or two until they’ve reached the desired doneness.

Serve: immediately with hot tortillas, guacamole, Pico de Gallo, and other condiments, as desired.

Notes

If skirt steak is unavailable, substitute with hanger or sirloin flap (also sold as sirloin tip in New England—it’s different from sirloin steak). Flank steak can also be used. For best flavor, grind your own chili powder from a mix of equal parts ancho and guajillo chilies.

You can wrap the tortillas tightly in aluminum foil and pop them in the oven 10 minutes before serving to heat through, while the steak and vegetables are finishing up.