These fajitas bring a touch of spice, balanced by grilled vegetables that add a fresh, sunny look to the dish. This approach is also one of the quickest ways to prepare rib meat, getting these fajitas to the table in record time.
Of course, meat is essential in fajitas, but grilled veggies are just as critical. Traditionally, fajitas include bell peppers and onions, but we tossed in some mushrooms we had on hand. The mushrooms quickly soak up the marinade, turning into little flavour bombs.
If you have other vegetables, like zucchini or eggplant, feel free to add those as well. Technically, it might not be a classic fajita, but hey, we’re not the food police.
For this recipe, we used Iberico rib fingers. Traditionally, fajitas were made with less desirable beef cuts left over after butchering, mainly skirt steak. Since pork ribs weren’t always highly sought after, rib fingers, the small strip of meat between pork ribs, fit the bill. These rib fingers are from Iberico pork, a premium Spanish breed.
We placed the rib fingers on fine-mesh cooling racks to prevent them from slipping through the smoker’s grates. We used a grill basket for the vegetables, which provides enough direct heat to add a nice char to them without risking them falling through.
The smoker’s fan blows more heat out of the fire chamber to the right, creating more direct heat on that side. This makes this setup perfect for grilling the vegetables.
After one hour of smoking, we coat the rib fingers with dark molasses. Molasses, a byproduct of sugar production, becomes darker and less sweet with each boiling stage. This dark molasses is commonly used in gingerbread and found in natural food stores or Asian markets. Besides its deep flavour, molasses is packed with iron, supporting digestion and hair growth. That’s something we wish we’d known sooner!
Here are our fajitas with smoked Iberico rib fingers, served with fresh lime juice, cilantro, and sour cream.
Are you planning to try this recipe? Let us know in the comments below. Better yet, take a photo and share it on Instagram. Tag @bbqhelden so we can see your creation.
Ingredients
- 500 grams pork rib fingers
- Dark molasses
For the dry Rub
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp paprika powder
- 2 tsp chipotle powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
Vegetables
- 3 bell peppers
- 2 sweet onions
- 10 mushrooms
For the marinade
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp smoked sea salt
- ¼ tsp coarsely ground black pepper
Instructions
- Mix the dry rub ingredients and evenly coat the rib fingers with it.
- Slice the bell peppers and onions into strips and quarter the mushrooms. Mix the marinade and pour it over the vegetables, ensuring they’re thoroughly coated.
- Preheat your smoker or grill for indirect cooking at 140°C (284°F) with some smoke wood. Place the rib fingers on the grill and smoke with the lid closed for one hour.
- Grill the marinated vegetables over direct heat until softened, with a few char marks here and there.
- After one hour of smoking, brush the smoked rib fingers with molasses and let them cook for another 10 minutes until the sauce becomes sticky.
- Slice the rib fingers into smaller pieces and serve them on a tortilla with the grilled vegetables.
