Flap meat

Ray

There is a cut called "Outside Skirt" which some restaraunts here in Houston use for fajitas. It's about twice as thick as typical skirt. I'm told it isn't available to the public which is a shame as it works well.
Whole Foods has begun carrying something called "Flap Meat" and it looks to be the same thing. It also works well for fajitas. Does anyone know for sure?

Rumrunner

Ray, somebody is blowing wind when they tell you that 'outside skirt' is
unavailable to the public. ALL beef is available to the public (more on that
further down), you just have to know how to order it. OK, there are two
types of 'skirt' steak 1) inner skirt from the flank/hindquarter and 2)
outer skirt from the plate/forequarter. Beef 'flap meat', altho looks
similar to skirt, is from the bottom sirloin. Flap meat is not bad as a
steak, IF, you marinate it and slice thin against the grain. Also makes
great fajitas, kabob, stew meat, cube steak, finger steaks, etc. The other
two muscles from the bottom sirloin are called Tri-Tp and Ball-Tip.

All beef in the US and Canada has a designated uniform system number for
identifying cuts. The shortened term is called IMPS/NAMP # and all
distributors, wholesalers, packers, etc, have the same set of numbers. Ask
the meat person at Whole Foods to take a look at the outside of the box of
flap meat and he will see the number "185A" listed some where. Now, ask if
they can get IMPS/NAMP #121D, which is Outer Skirt. The # for Inner Skirt is
121C. If they can't get it for you, try some independent meat shops in your
area. You may have to order a full case, but sometimes you can just get one
bag of them. There are usually 5 or 7 skirts to a bag and there are 6 bags
to a case..

Let me know how you make out.[p]
[ul][li]Meat & Poultry Questions?[/ul]

JSlot

Great info, RR. Thanks for posting it![p]Jim

BlueSmoke

Rumrunner,
Great information: thanks![p]I googled on IMPS/NAMP, and got to the web site of the CA BBQ Association, found a link there to the whole document.[p]It's .pdf, and big (long time for us dial-up users) but filled with fascinating info. A link to the California web site is below.[p]Thanks again,
Ken

Ray

Rumrunner,