The local meat market recently had some lovely, very reasonable priced, skirt steaks for sale. I almost never buy this flavorful, juicy cut, but remembered seeing a recipe in a hundred-year-old magazine for skirt steak with a Raisin Sauce, so decided to give it a try, and was glad that I had. The skirt steak was lovely, and the sweet and sour Raisin Sauce was nicely balanced and enhanced the steak
Here’s the original recipe:
And, here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Raisin Sauce for Skirt Steak
1 skirt steak
1/2 cup raisins
2 cups water (use less if the raisins are very moist)
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine (I used butter.)
juice of 1/2 lemon r 2 tablespoons vinegar (I used the lemon juice.)
Grill, broil, or sear skirt steak. See Simply Recipes for more information about how to prepare a skirt steak.
In the meantime, make the Raisin Sauce (or prepare the sauce ahead of time, and reheat to serve.)
Put the raisins and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil using high heat; reduce heat and gently simmer for 15 minutes.
While the raisins and water are cooking, put the melted butter or margarine into a small bowl, and stir in the flour, salt and white pepper; continue stirring until smooth. Then after the raisins have simmered for 15 minutes, slowly add the flour and butter combination while stirring constantly. The mixture should return to a boil, and then simmer for an additional 3 minutes while continuing to stir constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice or vinegar.
A Hundred Years Ago 