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Monday, August 26, 2013

Favorite recipes: Grilled flank steak

For full blog post, including printable recipe, please visit
http://www.thingsthatinspire.net/2013/08/flank-steak-rub.html

I have some recipes that are such staples in my rotation that I have them printed and posted on my bulletin board. Occasionally, they will become victim to the ingredients and/or process of the recipe, so I will re-print them every so often and put them right back on the bulletin board.

However, I have found that I much prefer the convenience and experience of using my iPad as a portable recipe.  In order to facilitate the transition to getting my recipes online, I am going to occasionally post recipes both to share them (on my pinterest page,  the food board always gets a lot of activity, so I am hoping that some of you appreciate recommended recipes too) as well as provide an online library of my favorites.

Years ago, we went to dinner at a friend’s house and flank steak was on the menu. I am not a big red meat eater, and had never had flank steak, so I wasn’t too excited about the meal. But, as a polite guest, I tried it – and was I surprised. The flank steak was delicious and flavorful, with just the right combination of flavors.  I asked for the recipe, and it has been one of my family’s favorites ever since. In fact, my youngest daughter asks for this flank steak every year for her birthday dinner.

Here is the recipe for the rub:
Flank steak rub
1.5 lb flank steak (I trim the obvious fatty parts)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/4 tsp pepper
Mix the dry ingredients together, then rub into both sides of the flank steak. Steak is then ready to grill.
Serves 4 (usually with a small amount of leftovers).

Note: I always double the rub recipe. I think that this is not enough rub for a 1.5 lb flank steak, although doubling it is a bit too much. I double the recipe, put on enough rub to give both sides a good coating, then discard the remaining rub.


For special occasions, I make chimichurri sauce, which tastes great with the steak.


I mix the rub ingredients in a bowl (as noted above, I always double the original recipe). I use enough to generously rub on both sides, and discard the extra – you don’t want to over do it and make a thick crust, or it will be too salty.

We always grill our flank steak. Every grill is different, so refer to your grill manual for recommendations.  For our Weber gas grill, which gets very hot and heats up very fast, we turn on all of the burners on high and get the grill hot, to about 600 degrees.  We put the flank steak on, close the lid, sear it for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, open the lid and turn off the middle burner, turn the side burners to medium-low, and flip the steak.  We set the timer to 8 minutes, then we bleed the heat off to about 425 and close the lid.  After the 8 minutes, we flip the steak one more time and cook 6 minutes.  We like our steak more on the medium side, so adjust the time more or less to get to your liking.  After the steak is taken off the grill, let it rest for a few minutes, then cut it against the grain.

So basically our perfect formula for our grill is 16 minutes – 2 searing/8 cooking one side/6 cooking the other side. However, my husband notes that on our old grill, we did the 8/6 part on medium indirect heat, and our new grill is more on the low side indirect heat because it is a very hot grill, so use your own judgment.

Here is the dinner we had last Sunday. A butter lettuce salad with a simple dressing of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper mixed with one crushed garlic clove, tossed with a bit of feta cheese, an avocado, and grape tomatoes; fresh butter beans from Lucy’s Market (boiled for 12 minutes or so); and flank steak. A perfect summer dinner.



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10 comments:

  1. I love recipes, and am looking forward to learning some of yours. I have never had flank steak. Is it tough?

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's not tough...but it is a different cut of meat than filet! I tend to follow the Thomas Jefferson approach to meat - I eat a small portion, more as compliment to my vegetables - and I think flank steak is quite tasty served with lots of vegetables.

    ReplyDelete
  3. YUM!!! Have to try it this coming weekend! A nice Rhone wine feels like a good compliment to the steaks' flavors - a good early fall combination!

    Cheers,
    John

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your marble looks so pretty! What type did you select? How do you like it?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Holly, thank you for sharing. I am trying this soon.
    Teresa

    ReplyDelete
  6. Flank steak is a family favorite in our house too. I have an old cookbook recipe I've been using for years. It;s a good idea to print it - never thought of that! Yours sounds delicious! If you slice it against the grain when serving it will be even more tender.

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's so good. Flank steak (in Ursula's "Mongolian" beef recipe) is our most requested family recipe. Un-chewable if you don't cut thin across the grain. Wouldn't work in TTI's version but we get the butcher (at Kroger) to slice it for us, we stir fry it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I LOVE this. When can I come to dinner??? :-)

    Please share more?

    I have yet to master Pinterest but this could get me there. Thank you for the delicious post? Wishing you would adopt me...at least at mealtime!

    Sheila

    ReplyDelete
  9. How did you know that grilled flank steak is our favorite recipe?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Looks and sounds delicious, I'll have to give it a go...xv

    http://vickiarcher.com

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments! I strive to make my blog positive in tone, and appreciate the same courtesy when comments are made. Thank you!

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