flank steak seared with garlic & soy

Don’t you just love it when something comes along that makes you look like you might actually share DNA with Julia or Jacques! Like all passionate cooks, they’ve had their struggles, and like most of us, more than once – which might help explain why us folks crazy for cooking, can actually lose our minds on occasion! Meet flank steak – done to perfection. Frankly, (aren’t you glad I didn’t say flankly?!) you’d be hard-pressed to come up with a more delectable way to prepare it. Assuming you’re after gorgeous, juicy, flavourful slices of melt-in-your-mouth ambrosia! Get ready for the easiest prep you’ll ever do – all you need (besides the flank steak) is a resealable bag, soy sauce, garlic (cloves or powder) and olive oil – that’s it.

The game plan is 3-fold, as all great game plans should be. Just ask any coach – it’s what you do before, during and after the game – that determines the outcome of the game – and flank steak is no different. So what’s the flank steak game plan? Marinate before, searing high heat during, and cool down time after. So assuming you stick to the plan – you’ll have flank steak reeling off into the stratosphere before you realize you won the game before it even started.

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1. Get your flank steak.

2. Get your ammo.

3. Get it all in the bag.

4. Seal the bag, lay on a plate or bowl and refrigerate anywhere from an hour to several.

5. Get your pan screamin’ hot – that’s water goin’ down – and the pan’s ready when the water runs for its life! Lay the flank steak right in the hot pan, no oil, no nothin’.

6. After about 5 minutes in the pan, flip your flank and this is what you’ll find – I know, I know …

7. Another 5, and it’ll be ready to come off the heat. And how do you tell if it’s ready? Do the palm test.

8. Get it off the heat and immediately lay it on a piece of aluminum foil.

9. Wrap it up, like, yesterday and leave it to rest at least 15 minutes. It will continue to cook from the residual heat.

10. After 15-20 minutes – slice against the grain – and thin slices are what you’re after. Oh boy!

11. Nice and thin – these slices are ready for anything – fajitas, burritos, salad, tacos, sandwiches, as is –

INGREDIENTS & METHOD

1. Put the following in a large resealable bag and marinate anywhere from an hour to several:

1 flank steak
a glug, glug, glug (3 tbsps.) soy sauce
a glug, glug (2 tbsps.) olive oil
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced or 1 tsp. garlic powder

2. Heat up a large skillet – cast iron works great. When smokin’ hot, lay the steak in the pan and sear for 5-7 minutes. Simply flip the flank and do the same on the other side. Move to a piece of aluminum foil, seal and let rest for at least 15 minutes. When ready to serve, thinly slice against the grain, pile on a platter, drizzle with any juices from the foil and enjoy as is or move on to the next chapter.

get creative with flank steak slices

lay a few slices over your favourite salad – caesar, mixed greens, coleslaw
finish a broth-based soup or stir-fry with a few slices
make fajitas or burritos
instead of ground beef, tuck it into your next taco
toss several slices with your favourite vinaigrette before serving
pile several slices atop a crusty kaiser and add your favourite burger fixings
pile a few slices in the middle of a plate and serve an egg over easy for a hearty brunch idea
use in salad rolls, lettuce wraps or sushi
chop up a couple of slices and serve over a souped-up baked potato

flank steak suggestions

I kept it simple, but feel free to go down any road you like in the marinade department:

indian – garam masala, turmeric, garlic, ginger, olive oil
mexican – chili powder, garlic, hot sauce, onion powder
italian – garlic, oregano, basil, chopped parsley, olive oil
asian – soy sauce, ginger, garlic, hoisin sauce, sesame oil
thai – fish sauce, ginger, hot sauce, lime juice