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You’ve heard my raves about Lupe Tortilla’s beef fajita meat.
I was drooling.
I know it’s not polite, but I just couldn’t help it!
The meat was fan-tab-u-lous.
Technical term… Don’t let it scare you.
Okay. I dare ya – look “fantabulous” up in Webster’s dictionary.
Good ole Webster will look at you, laugh and say, “You’ve been reading that ‘Smiles’ girl again, haven’t you?”
Yup.
I’ve been working on tweaking my version of Lupe’s beef fajita meat… And I think I’m getting close…
Think tender, small bite-sized pieces of meat, with a taste of lime and a hint of mesquite flavor…
YUM.
Ideally, I’d like to grill the meat (using my grill basket so that meat won’t fall through the grate on the grill), but it was faaaareeeeeeeeeeezing last night, and I wasn’t about to go out in teen-degree weather with my flippy-floppies.
So, I improvised. And it worked out purdy darn good… 
Enjoy, my Friends.
Serves 2-4.
* 4 small beef tenderloin steaks, trimmed of fat and cut into 1X1/2 inch strips; (you can also use skirt steak)
* Juice from 5 limes (that’s not a type-o – you need a lot of lime juice!)
* 2 tsp garlic powder
* 1 Tbsp mesquite seasoning (I like Goode Company’s)
* 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
* 1 tsp black pepper
* 2 tsp taco seasoning
* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 5 garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press
* 1/2 cup water
* Colby-Jack cheese (as much as you want), shredded
* 6-10 medium-sized tortillas (2 per quesadilla)
Your 'gredients! (Ok - I used a bit more meat and limes!!)
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic. Infuse the garlic into the olive oil, cooking it on very low heat for 10-15 minutes.
Infuse the olive oil with garlic!
Add the water and taco seasoning. Stir to combine and heat for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, add the meat, salt, pepper, mesquite seasoning, lime juice, and garlic powder. Add the cooled olive oil/taco seasoning mixture. Mix thoroughly.
Getting the marinade and the meat ready!
Cover, and allow the meat to marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight, stirring occasionally.
Pour the meat and marinade in a large skillet. Heat over medium. Turning the meat once, cook until the marinade begins to bubble and froth a bit. Strain the marinade from the meat (using a fine mesh strainer). Discard the marinade return the meat to the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cooking, stirring occasionally until the meat is slightly dark in color on the outside, but still tender on the inside (you may have to strain a bit more of the marinade out, one more time). Remove from heat.
Spray another skillet with non-stick spray. Heat over medium. Lay down 1 tortilla, topping it with cheese and meat, then another tortilla. Cook each side of the quesadilla until it’s golden and the cheese is melted.
Serve with your favorite salsa, pico de gallo, or RoxStar’s homemade Chopotle Salsa.
Enjoy!
Hey Lara,
I’ve been workin on Lupe’s recipe for a couple of weeks now, and i’ve been carving away at a few of the manager’s secrets for little bits and pieces, but I still cant get it perfectly.
Taco seasoning? i know that covers the cumin, but arent there a bunch of spices in that lupe doeasnt use?
what I have so far is for 2 lbs skirt:
cumin -1 tsp
salt (table)- 1 tsp
garlic powder -3/8 tsp (1/8 is a clove approx.)
black, white, red pepper- pinch each
lime juice- 4 tbs
vege/olive oil
according to you I’m missing Kosher salt, mesquite, and whatever other flavors are in that taco seasoning you can buy at a gas station.
Im just wondering how close yours are to the real thing? Because it doesnt get any better than lupe.
cheers
-Kevin
Kevin,
You are ABSOLUTELY right that Lupe is the BEST!!!
Carving away at some of the manager’s secrets is a great way to go! I think that’s where their uniqueness in taste lies, truthfully. I love their use of fresh lime juice to tenderize the meat – it makes the meat almost melt in your mouth.
I’d say my recipe is in the “realm,” but it definitely needs perfecting… Yours sounds absolutely delicious.
And, Lupe? Well, theirs is just plain amazing; like you said “it doesn’t get any better than Lupe.”
Nothin’ like it nowhere.
Happy cooking, and let me know how yours turns out!
Sincerely,
Lora
Why is this such a difficult recipe to obtain? We need to find a disgruntled worker or get a job there, get the recipe and quit?! It’s guarded like the KFC secret recipe?
Seriously!!! They hide it under lock-and-key, it seems!! You’re making me crave Lupe Tortilla!!!
))
HI Lora,
Why wife and I ate ate at Lupe Tortillas in Austin and their fajitas were amazing. So we thought we would look up a copycat recipe. Your recipe is fastastic. We love it. AS close as we’ve come so far. Thanks
Chris ~ that is AWESOME!!! I love it!! And I’m so glad that you felt the recipe was close ~ that truly makes my day! It’s sad to say – but my husband and I moved to Austin a few months ago, and we haven’t had the opportunity to visit Lupe yet (we went to the one in Houston while visiting family). Now I’ve got Lupe Tortilla on the brain!!
Hope you and your wife have an amazing holiday weekend! Thank you for visiting, and I’d love your feedback on other recipes, if you get the chance! Sincerely, Lora