Fajita Experiment Results Are In!!

After a failed fajita attempt that was marinated for 24 hours & SV for 48 hours, I decided to try 5 different methods based on my own hunches as well as board recommendations. All cooks were done with 9-12 ounce cuts of flank that were all the same ½" thickness. 

1- 48 hour SV @ 128° with dry rub of s&p, chile powder, garlic, cumin, onion

2- 24 hour marinade (non citrus) and 24 hour SV @ 128°  Marinade was olive oil, soy, chipotle or Santa Fe peppers, cilantro, dry rub from other prep, & lime zest

3- 24 hour marinade with same marinade as above

4- overnight marinate with same marinade (roughly 8-12 hours) and SV & 128° for 4-5 hours

5- 4-5 hour marinade with above marinade substituting lime juice for the zest 


Pictured here l to r are 1-3



And 4-5



All 5 were then seared at 550°-600° for about 90 seconds per side


Here are the sliced results, 1-5 as you'd read a book


Interesting results as none were in danger of getting kicked out of bed. It was actually a pretty challenging comparison. 1 (48 hour Dry rub SV) & 5 (5 hour citrus marinade) were eliminated first. 1 was a bit soft but by no means too soft. 5 was a bit tough but still fairly tender. Both had nice flavor but there can only be one winner. 

Next to be dismissed was debate for awhile and over several bites. I thought #2 (24 hour marinade/24 hour SV) was better than #3 (24 hour marinade) but my wife thought the opposite. It really was a toss up. #2 was more tender and flavorful but #3 was a better looking med rare (while still being really good). 

For argument's sake I caved and gave #3 the runner up award


Making the winner and method I'll be using from here on out #4- overnight 8-12 hour (noncitrus) marinade follows by 5 hour SV at 128°, then seared. Absolutely perfect in all facets


Fajitas done!