The Easiest and Best Fajita Marinade EVER!

My husband and I lived in England for two glorious years. I love almost everything about England. The weather, the tea, the food, the culture, the history, the scenery…Everything! Well, except the “Mexican” food.

It always tasted vaguely of curry and just didn’t have the right combination of flavor and texture. We went to a “Mexican” restaurant in London once and it did not go well.

The menu listed 3 different kinds of fajitas: Turkey (what?), Shrimp (ok, that’s fine) and Salmon (weird). Ugh! Get it together!

The hubs and I both grew up in Oklahoma and ate proper Tex-Mex all our lives. We missed it, we craved it, we mourned the spicy cheesy deliciousness that was most Mexican dishes.

Don’t think for one minute that I am knocking British food. Proper British fare is some of my absolute favorite in the world and I crave it daily. British Tex-Mex though? No.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. We learned to make our own!

This fajita marinade is the greatest thing! It smelled like a Mexican restaurant and made every piece of meat we put in it taste wonderful.

It wasn’t Uncle Julio’s or Ted’s Café Escondido but for our Tex-Mex deprived tummies it was perfect.

Here are the players:

¼ cup Olive Oil
1 tsp Lime Zest (save the lime and make some guacamole!)
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 ½ tsp Cumin
1 tsp Salt
1 small handful of fresh Cilantro (Coriander in England), loosely chopped
½ tsp Dried Oregano
½ tsp Pepper
2 cloves of Garlic
1 can of Beef Broth (I use two bouillon cubes and boil 16 oz water)

Combine all the ingredients and throw in your meat of choice. We have done chicken, beef, pork, and shrimp. All have been delicious!

You can let this marinate overnight, no problem. We usually would make it at lunch, let it marinate all afternoon, and cook it at dinner.

One thing we learned was to grill or pan fry the meat whole, let it rest for about 5 minutes, and then cut it up in fajita strips. It made the meat more tender and was a lot easier to cook.

This recipe, my friends, is the difference between good fajitas and great fajitas. Why be mediocre? Now Go! Cook! Feast!

And if you need a great dessert idea, this is the perfect finish to your meal!

Originally published September 30, 2015