Flank steak is a new cut of beef for me. It comes from the hard-working abdominal muscles of the cow. It’s pretty lean and has a lot of tough fibers running through it, so it needs to be prepped, cooked, and cut just so to keep it tender.
1 1/2 pounds flank steak
1/4 cup soy sauce (San-J makes a gluten-free one)
1 tablespoon Sriracha Rooster sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon Black Bean Chili Sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon raw or brown sugar
Make the marinade by combining the soy sauce, chilli sauce, oil, vinegar, garlic, ginger, bean sauce, lime juice, and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
Put the steak in a zip-top bag and pour the marinade over it. Turn to coat, then squeeze the air out of the bag, seal it up, and stash in the fridge for at least 4 hours (overnight is even better). Turn the bag every so often to make sure it all gets coated in the marinade.
Set your grill set up a direct cook at a sub-nuclear temp of 700°F. You want to sear the outside but keep the inside nice and pink.
Sear steak for 60 seconds. Flip and give it another minute on the other side. Keeping flipping every minute or so while checking for doneness. This steak only took another 2 minutes of flipping to hit a nice medium-rare 135°F internal.
Remove the steak from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice against the grain. Cutting across the fibers makes them shorter so the meat is easier to chew.
I served this over Trader Joe’s Mango Jicama Slaw, although it would also be good over cold sesame noodles.
The Verdict:
Wow – I see more flank steak in my future. It had a good chew and a great blend of meaty, spicy, and sweet.