​The weather has been fickled lately, warm one day, cool and rainy the next. However, the weather last Friday was delightful. I purchased a skirt steak for supper. Skirt steak is cut from the diaphragm, it’s long and flat with a wonderful beefy flavor. It is not a tender cut of meat and must be sliced against the grain. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize this when I was serving. The meat was cooked medium rare, but tender. I found a video afterwards recommending that the skirt steak be cut it into 4” wide sections, then slice against the grain. 
​The recipe, Skirt Steak with Shallot-Thyme Butter, was found on The New York Times Cooking web page. The recipe takes a mere 30 minutes to prepare with the meat grilled for approximately 2-3 minutes per side. As you grill, season with salt and pepper. To enhance the flavor of the steak, a compounded butter is made using unsalted butter, fresh thyme, fresh chives, shallot, red wine vinegar or lemon juice. Fortunately, my herb garden is coming back nicely this spring.
 
Overall, a quick and delicious meal. The steak was succulent and the compound butter gave the meat a delicate herbaceous taste. The skirt steak which normally retails anywhere from $13.99 to 15.99/lb., is on sale at Whole Foods for $8.99/lb. through May 4th, Prime Members save an additional 10%.
 
Also, on special at Whole Foods are Bell & Evans boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $4.49/lb. I normally purchase bone-in breast and make my own filets, but if you’re short on time, this is a timesaver. For supper on Saturday, I again turned to The New York Times Cooking web page and found Chicken Katsu. This dish, very popular in Japan, was created in the late 1800’s in a Tokyo by a restaurant wanting to offer a European type meat cutlet.
 
To make the Tonkatsu Sauce that is drizzled on the fried chicken cutlet you’ll need, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, unsulphured molasses, low-sodium soy sauce, granulated sugar, freshly grated ginger and ground cloves. All these ingredients are whisked together to make a sauce.
 
In addition to boneless chicken, you’ll need vegetable oil for frying, all-purpose flour, eggs, panko bread crumbs, kosher salt and pepper, shredded green cabbage. Tip: I purchased a bag of shredded cole slaw in place of shredding it myself.
 
This is another 30-minute recipe. I followed the directions by pounding the cutlets approximately 1/4” thick. Standard breading procedure was next (flour, egg and bread). The cutlets were fried 1-1/2 to 2 minutes per side until golden, then removed and kept warm.
 
To serve, I placed a mound of both rice and shredded cabbage on the plate, cut the chicken into strips and drizzled with Tonkatsu sauce. The cutlets were golden and crispy with a slight crunch. The Konkatsu sauce is a Japanese version of barbecue sauce and had a nice tangy flavor from the ginger. A great, quick boneless chicken recipe that is wonderful any night of the week.
Skirt Steak with Shallot-Thyme Butter
By Steve Johnson, Chef at the Blue Room, Cambridge, MA
Featured in:
The Minimalist; You Better Believe It's Not Just Butter, by Mark Bittman

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 30 minutes
 
INGREDIENTS
¼ pound unsalted butter, softened slightly
¼ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
10 chives, minced
1 shallot, peeled and minced
 Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon red wine vinegar or lemon juice
 About 24 ounces skirt steak, cut into 4 portions
 
Directions
  1. Prepare a gas or charcoal grill; the fire should be so hot you can hold your hand over it for only a couple of seconds.
  2. Meanwhile, cream the butter with a fork, adding thyme, chives, shallot, 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper and the vinegar or juice.
  3. Grill the steak, 2 minutes a side for rare, about a minute longer per side for medium-rare. As it cooks, season with salt and pepper.
  4. Spread each steak with about a tablespoon of the flavored butter, and serve. Remaining butter can be wrapped and refrigerated or frozen.
Chicken Katsu
By Kay Chun
The New York Times/Cooking
 
Yield: 4 servings
Time: 30 minutes
 
INGREDIENTS
 
FOR THE TONKATSU SAUCE:
6 tablespoons ketchup
6 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 teaspoons unsulphured molasses
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
 
FOR THE CHICKEN KATSU:
Vegetable oil, as needed for frying
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, beaten
1 ½ cups panko bread crumbs (about 3 1/2 ounces)
2 (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved crosswise then pounded 1/4-inch-thick
 Kosher salt and black pepper
4 cups tightly packed finely shredded green cabbage (about 12 ounces)
 Tonkatsu sauce, steamed rice and lemon wedges, for serving
 
DIRECTIONS
  1. Prepare the tonkatsu sauce: In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix well. (Makes 2/3 cup.)
  2. Prepare the chicken: Fill a large cast-iron or heavy skillet with 1/3-inch oil. Heat over medium until an instant-read thermometer registers 350 degrees.
  3. Place flour, eggs and bread crumbs in 3 separate wide, shallow bowls or large plates.
  4. Season chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Working with one cutlet at a time, dredge in flour until fully coated, then shake off excess. Dip in egg, coating both sides, let excess drip off, then press into bread crumbs until well coated. Transfer to a clean plate and repeat with remaining 3 cutlets.
  5. Gently lower 2 cutlets into the oil and fry until golden underneath, about 2 minutes. Adjust heat to keep it as close to 350 degrees as possible. Turn over and fry until chicken is golden on the second side and cooked through, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, and season with salt. Repeat with remaining 2 cutlets.
  6. Slice cutlets into thick slices and transfer to plates. Divide the cabbage in mounds next to the katsu. Drizzle the katsu with some of the tonkatsu sauce. Serve with small bowls of rice, lemon wedges and extra tonkatsu sauce.