Skirt steak is very flavourful just as it is, and I like just the straight chest-pounding carnivorous meat-torn-from-cow taste. You can almost feel your canines growing. All that fancy marinade is for civilized men, snarl. The issue is that it can be tough, and is easily overcooked because it is so thin. That's easily handled. If the piece is nice and fatty, I would oil and salt it well on both sides, let it come to room temp. Heat up a cast iron skillet on highest heat, until the dry skillet starts to smoke. Squirt in some oil, get that smoking. Drop the steak in the skillet, leave heat on high, walk away - don't poke and prod at it. Two minutes later, pick up the steak, drop a big pat of butter in the skillet, heat to medium-high, turn the steak over and drop it on the butter, walk away. Two minutes later, burner off, move the steak to a cutting board. Slice the steak about 1/8'' thick, across the grain (very important) and arrange on plate, sprinkle with fresh-cracked pepper. The outside of the steak should be deeply browned, the inside should be red and fairly rare. If you want more medium-done, then 3 minutes a side. If there is yummy juice and melted butter left in the skillet, you can pour that on the steak. Or, top with garlic aioli, rich pesto, or another robustly-flavoured sauce. Nice time to use the fancy finishing salts. If the piece is lean, like flank steak, then I'd do the same but with more butter (since the meat doesn't have that much fat of its own). Or do a marinade as suggested. The main thing is, don't overcook it.

linnea56 - use caution when cleaning anything with an enamel finish. It is basically a polyurethane plastic held in resin or something, and will scratch or melt with abrasion and/or chemicals. Here's what I would do for your stove: First, wipe it with a wet paper towel for any loose stuff. Then, use a grease cutting solution (like Dawn dish washing detergent/water 50/50, or Simple Green) on a cloth laid over the gunky spots. Wait 15 minutes to an hour. Use a wet nylon sponge or "no-scratch" sponge to work as much gunk off as you can. Wipe well with a wet paper towel and dry. You can also lay a paper towel down moistened with 50/50 vinegar before you attack the burned on stuff more but DO NOT mix it with anything else and rinse with water before and after you do. For the hardest to remove spots, I suggest using Bon-Ami (it's like Comet, Zud, or Bar Keepers Friend cleanser but will not scratch like that stuff does) with a damp paper towel, second choice would be the cleansers made for glass stove tops - a mild abrasive that may scratch a little. Always rinse and wipe dry. A slow gentle touch and some elbow grease is preferable to an attack. Last choice for stubborn stuff: My husband is a cabinet maker and occasionally uses a tool like a fat razor blade, called a (wood) cabinet scraper, honed to razor sharpness, to take the top layer of burned on gunk off my glass stove top. I have used it for a thick layer of gunk on my black enameled stove top, but you have to be very careful to not get it directly on the enamel. A single edged razor blade also works, and easier to find, to be used only if it is brand new and used on just a few places, then use a new one used for more scraping on the next bunch of gunk. It will scratch and could cut you so a light touch, a little layer at a time, never down to the surface itself, and patience is necessary. Follow up with the Bon-Ami for the last layer of gunk. You might consider not cooking on high heat on gas stoves. For one thing it is not good for your pans and for another it will not get your food cooked quicker, but just burned quicker. If you use cast iron pans, it can take the high heat, but down a notch for cooking is better for flavor retention and less spatter. If you get a lot of spatters while cooking, use a splatter screen and then wipe up with a dry paper towel then with a Dawn solution while it is still liquid on the stove top. If it dries on the hot stove top, it makes gunk. Your husband's fear of self-cleaning is baseless, but a consideration is the cost of the energy/gas used to clean it at up to 700 degrees F. I use the no-fume spray ("Easy-Off" brand) all the time and in 10 years have only used the self-cleaning function once (mine is electric though so gas may be different) and it does not harm electrical connections, otherwise the manufacturers would not be able to sell so many ovens over the last umpty-ump years with this feature and still be able to offer a guarantee. The no-fume spray has a light clean scent, takes only a couple of hours in a completely cold oven, and works like a charm (I do it before I go to bed and clean up later). You just remove the residual softened gunk with lots of wads of damp paper towels (I wear latex gloves). A second application sometimes is necessary. I put a note on my calendar to remind me to do it once a month, whether or not I've been baking/roasting/broiling a little or a lot. Takes 2 minutes to spray and 5 minutes to wipe out. BTW Bon-Ami is the only cleanser that will not remove the porcelain/ceramic/granite/enamel/stainless steel/plastic shiny finish on your sinks, tubs, toilets, and faucets, and also refrigerators/freezers, dishwashers, microwave, toaster, painted walls, vinyl floors, plastic light switches, etc., etc., etc. And, BTW, "Magic Eraser" is so abrasive that it will take the "no-fingerprint" pattern off your refrigerator. For whitening stains and sanitizing (not for faucets), I use Clorox Clean Up. I don't have any affiliations with any manufacturer of anything, I just learned what works for me. Nancy

I like lean meat so round is a favorite. Makes good bbq sandwich meat. Boil it in tomato juice until it falls apart. After boiling the excess tomato juice makes excellent soup. The meat I work down with a potato masher then add bbq sauce. Just about as easy as it gets. I like mixing catsup, open pit, a-1, a dash of cayenne pepper, and a shot of jim beam for my bbq sauce. I had some people on the forum here that figured I'd get a rubber ball if I boiled a round roast. I got one and took pictures! Sorry about the huge size of the pics... my photo editor was not on my computer at the time... hmmm still ain't. As you can see it falls apart with a fork. This was a bottom round so I had a bit of tough fat to pick out... dog treat. I don't buy it as a steak but as 5lb roasts. To me it makes a decent roast... in a pan with veggies and a spoon of crushed garlic on top. Bake under tinfoil until the veggies are done. Alternate is to put the meat in a baking pan with tight tinfoil and bake overnight @180... which leaves it fully cooked but still pink in color!. Wrap a chunk in loose tinfoil with seasonings and grill it on a Weber with indirect heat. Lots of hickory chips on the coals! If you are brave a small handful of cracked pepper on the coals then get the lid back down quick... don't let that smoke get in your eye. A couple slices as roast, a couple sandwiches, and the rest drops in the chili pot. One of my cook on Sunday and eat 'till Thursday plans. I love a fresh slice buttered with a dab of a-1. Careful getting off the grill as the tinfoil often has a cup of hot juice. I have good arm strenth so I stab it with a big bbq fork and get into a baking pan for transport back to the kitchen. About the same dilema as beer can chicken. I was supposed to buy a short loin this week but now you have me thinking round. : ) lyra

Ribeye Filet Mignon I like mine medium, on the grill, with a little worchestershire sauce, garlic and onion seasoning, and course ground black pepper. My favorite sides are sliced onions, green peppers, and fresh mushrooms, (onions pre-cooked halfway in the microwave) all grilled over foil with some meat drippings on the grill. Add corn on the cob and a slice of deep red ripe fresh tomato and you have a meal fit for a king! Yummmmm!!!