In general, one doesn’t need to invite me or the fam over for food. Just tell us when to show up and what to bring. So I didn’t need much convincing when some friends invited us over for dinner on a Saturday night.
Saturday, Saturday, Saturday
Saturday, Saturday, Saturday
Saturday, Saturday
Saturday night’s alright, whoo
Elton John / Bernie Taupin
Saturday Night’s Alright for Surf and Turf
I’ve known these folks for about 12 years a we met when I used to live nextdoor to them in Berkeley. ‘Twas a simpler time back then. A time when we didn’t need an excuse to drink champagne and have snacks. We still don’t need an excuse but we have kids so we really need more of a babysitter. We used come up with fun names for things like laying out and sunning yourself was called “lizarding.” Or, “things to think about while you’re livin,” instead of words of wisdom.
They are intelligent, wonderful, well rounded people who love champagne and happen to have a Dungeness crab “Guy”. Always make friends with the people who have a crab “Guy”.
Our friends were providing the Surf but Belgian Husband doesn’t like fresh Dungeness crab, Snow crab, King Crab, any of the crabs, other shellfish, basically anything from the sea. He is a chicken breast and steak man. So we provided the Turf in the form of some marinated flank steak!
I don’t have a dungeness crab “Guy,” but I do make a pretty mean marinated flank steak.
Since Belgian Husband doesn’t like crab, I decided to bring flank steak as our contribution. Marinated flank steak (or just red meat in general) is usually my go-to when we have folks over and it also worked well to take on the go in this instance because we didn’t have to drive too far. The flank steak can continue to marinade on the car ride over AND these particular friends don’t mind cooking if we bring the ingredients. We have really great friends.
In addition to the marinated flank steak, I brought homemade rice pilaf and deviled eggs because I use cooking and food as a way to get people to like me.
Anywho, flank steak is a lean and fibrous cut of meat that lends REALLY well to marinating. This marinade does wonders at tenderizing said meat. Salt from the tamari and acid from the ACV break those fibers down so it practically melts in your mouth and I use a ginger-garlic mix that really kicks it up a notch (props to Emeril)!
Let’s get this bad boy going…
Ingredients
Flank Steak – About 2 – 2.5 lbs – Or flat iron or skirt steak. Any thin, lean fibrous meat
Reduced Sodium Tamari – I love salt but my blood pressure doesn’t. I get the most reduced sodium I can find but any Tamari or Soy Sauce works
Vegetable Oil – I have no thoughts on this ingredient
Dark Brown Sugar – I always use DBS and I always use heaping tablespoons
Worcestershire Sauce – I love WC
Christopher Ranch Crushed Garlic/Ginger – I had this one hand once and felt it was too much work to peel and mince four garlic cloves for the recipe so I used a HEAPING tablespoon of this and haven’t looked back. Use whatever garlic you want.
Apple Cider Vinegar – You can go wild and try a different vinegar. Champagne vinegar might be fun.
Dijon Mustard – A little smidge more than the recipe call for, tangs up the acid from the AVC
Cracked Black Pepper – The recipe says 1 1/2 teaspoons but I turn the grinder 2 turns too many
Cookin that meat and keepin it tender
Say it with me…Marinate! Marinate, marinate, marinate. Try to marinate the flank steak for at least two hours. It can go up to overnight but I cap mine at about 8 hours. Workin 9-5 to break it all down.
Take the flank steak out of the fridge about 20 minutes before you plan on cooking it so that it can come to room temp.
I do my flank steak in the broiler on HIGH but it also loves a HOT grill. You do you, just make sure you’re high or hot when you’re doing it. About 7-10 minutes on one side and 5 on the other. The flank steak will continue to cook as is rests. Which you should let it do for at least 5 minutes. This locks in the juices keeping it juicy and tender.
Finally…slice it against the grain and put it in your mouth.
Finished Product
So, this is my first recipe post and I forgot to take all the pictures I was supposed to take for a recipe blog, like what the flank steak looked like after it was cooked! It looked really perfect, like someone should have taken a picture of it. And it paired spectacularly with fresh Dungeness Crab and rice pilaf and Chandon Brut.
It should take about 10 minutes to get the marinade ingredients together and mixed but I always give myself an extra 15 minutes to get a beverage and some tunes going. On this particular day I was sipping on some room temp coffee and listening to an episode of Last Podcast on the Left.
Well, thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed the post. Have you tried the marinated flank steak recipe? Let me know your thoughts!
Leslie
My Favorite Flank Steak Marinade
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Flank Steak
- ½ cup Reduced Sodium Tamari
- ⅓ cup Vegetable Oil
- 2 tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
- ¼ cup Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 tbsp Christopher Ranch Crushed Garlic Ginger
- ½ tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients, sans flank steak, in a small mixing bowl and pour into a large ziplock bag. You can mix the ingredients directly in the bag but I prefer to use every utensil in the kitchen.
- Add flank steak to the plastic bag. Seal it up and mash it around so the flank steak is nicely coated in the marinade and lay it flat on a sheet tray.
- Place the sheet tray in the fridge and let that bad boy marinate. At least two hours and up to overnight.
- Take the sheet tray out of the fridge about 20 minutes before you plan on cooking so it can come up to temp.
- Turn the broiler to HIGH. Remove the flank steak from the marinade and put directly onto the sheet tray and pop under the broiler for 7-10 minutes, until the top glistens and starts to get little crunchy peaks. Flip over to the other side and cook for about 5 more minutes.
- Remove from broiler and let rest for at least 5 minutes.
- Slice flank steak against the grain. Enjoy!