From On the Menu: Las Manitas, by Helen Thompson
Las Manitas Fajitas
4 lbs fajita meat
1 to 2 onions, chopped
2 to 3 cloves fresh garlic
Black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice, enough to cover meat
Marinate the fajita meat in above ingredients for one day.
When you’re ready to cook, start a fire in the barbeque pit. Las Manitas Avenue Cafe uses mesquite wood because it imparts a better flavor and it burns cleaner than charcoal. The smoke from the mesquite sears the meat and allows all the juices to remain inside. The meat must be handled gently with tongs, never a knife or fork, so as not to puncture the meat.
Throw all the onions and the extra marinating ingredients on the fire to season the smoke.
Cook for 15 to 30 minutes depending on the intensity of the fire. Fajitas are ready to eat when the meat “sponges up”. To be perfectly sure it’s done, cut into one piece to see if it’s cooked completely. Wrap meat in a tortilla and serve with the traditional fajita garnishments.
Serves six to eight people.
