Garlic Grilled Flank Steak

There’s nothing like a grilled steak. One of my favorite cuts (which surprises my butcher) is the Flank Steak. It comes from the lower hindquarters for the beef and is boneless, long, thin and fibrous. It’s usually tenderized by a few hours in a marinade. Once grilled or broiled, it’s thinly sliced across the grain.

I have a handful of recipes for the flank steak, but for the cooking demonstration and tasting at Kimmel Orchard and Vineyard in July 2013, I choose this one and used one of their red wines; the De Chaunac, dry and full-bodied. And, this time of year, sage is growing like crazy in the garden!

I like to serve this warm off the grill with roasted or grilled sweet or red potatoes and a seasonal vegetable or as shown here over a salad sprinkled with scallions, feta, and tomatoes. Leftovers freeze well and can make a tasty wrap when sautéed with onions and peppers or used in a stir-fry.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups dry red wine
  • 6 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 12 medium fresh sage leaves, torn into small pieces
  • Freshly ground black pepper and kosher slat
  • 2 flank steaks (~1.25 lbs each), trimmed of excess fat
  • Sage Butter:
  • 6 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
  • 3 Tbs finely chopped fresh sage leaves
  • 1 1/2 Tbs minced garlic
  • 1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
  • Make 4-5 small slits in flank steak on each side to allow marinade to seep in.

Directions

  1. Whisk together the wine, garlic, sage, 1 Tbs pepper and 2 tsp salt in a nonreactive vessel. (I like to use a glass baking dish – just be careful when turning.) Add the meat to the vessel. Turn to coat.
  2. Cover with plastic wrap – not foil, refrigerate and marinate for at least 3 hours or up to overnight; the longer the better as the meat will tenderize. Turn occasional.
  3. To make Sage Butter, in a small nonreactive bowl mix together butter, sage, garlic, and vinegar with a fork until well blended. (Butter can be prepared 1 day in advance. Place in a baggie. Bring to room temperature 45 minutes or longer before using.) This is so good I like to make extra to serve or use on sandwiches.
  4. Bring to room temperature 30 mins before cooking.
  5. Preheat grill for a hot fire. Oil grill. Pat steaks dry with paper towel, salt and pepper them on both sides.
  6. Grill 4-6 minutes per side until medium rare. Let rest 5 mins.
  7. Cut meat on diagonal, across the grain, into 1/4 inch slices.
  8. Cut a small hole in corner of butter baggie and squeeze sage butter onto hot steak.
  9. Enjoy!!