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Grilled Flank Steak

Jennifer Mathews

Flank steak is a great cut of meat if you want to get dinner on the table quickly. It is very lean which unfortunately means it can get tough easily, so marinating it helps. With warmer weather on the horizon, I like the acidity of a salad to accompany the thin slices of flank steak.

Tips:

  • How to keep flank steak from being tough? Cook it to medium-rare. If you over cook this lean cut of meat, it will be leather. Allow the meat to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving. This allows the muscles to relax and the juices to redistribute in the steak. If you cut into it immediately the juices will run out and it will be dry.

  • If your flank steak is very thick on one side and thin on the other, use that bumpy side of your tenderizer and pound it until it is thinner. You can also cut the steak into two pieces.

  • Cut the meat across the grain into thin slices. This will break up the muscle and make the meat more tender.

  • Use this cut for fajitas and tacos too.

  • We prepared two flank steaks. One we enjoyed with the salad pictured above. The other was diced and became the protein in our fried rice the next night. Two easy meals cooked in less than an hour, combined.

Grilled Flank Steak

Serves 4

PREP 2 hours of marinating

COOK 10 minutes plus 10 minutes of resting

INGREDIENTS

2-3 lb. grass-fed flank steak

MARINADE

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic, smashed with the back of your knife

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In a large glass or ceramic pan whisk your marinade.

  2. Using a large chef knife, score lines into your flank steak. This will allow the marinade to penetrate the steak.

  3. Marinate the steak for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

  4. When you are ready to cook, allow the steaks to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Heat the grill to medium-high.

  5. Remove the steaks from the marinade and dry off the steaks with paper towel. This will allow them to char on the grill. If they are too wet, they will steam more than char. Season with salt and pepper.

  6. Grill the steak for about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. They will continue to cook as they rest. Place the steak on a platter and cover tightly with tin foil. Allow the steaks to rest for 10 minutes.

  7. Slice the steak thin, cutting diagonally across the grain. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot.