Marinated Grilled Flank Steak

April 27 - Marinated Grilled Flank Steak with oven roasted cherry tomatoes, avocado salsa and a baby spinach & arugula salad with cranberries & hazelnuts
April 28 - Dinner with former co-workers in LA at Beechwood in Venice
April 29 - Camp Blogaway!

Well folks, I'm off for a 2 1/2 week adventure beginning with a quick stop in LA before heading to the San Bernadino mountains for Camp Blogaway.  After af ew days with some of the most fab food bloggers there are, up in the mountains at a proper camp with plenty of wine, food and all kinds of awesome speakers I head back to LA for a few days of eating and drinking with friends.  Then, my sis and I jet off to Colorado to see our baby bro graduate from college and since he's the last of four to reach this milestone and since my dad likes to say he's now rich with no more school to pay for, he's taking us all on our first family vacation in year to Costa Rica.  


Sadly the Boy won't be joining me on this journey, so as the last home cooked meal for 2 1/2 weeks I went all out, taking advantage of the break in the rain I grilled probably the best flank steak I've ever made.  And I grille dit myself.  Very often the grill is the Boy's domain, I prep the food he grills it, but last summer I started doing some more grilling and really hope to become a master this year.  This flank is a testament that I might be able to do it, too.  I know it's not that hard, I just feel more comfortable in the confines of the kitchen.  That's gonna change this year!

The key to getting the steak uber tender is to really let it marinate and let the acid from the lime juice and vinegar start to break down those tough fibers.  I had initially planned for a 6 hour marinade, but plans got sidetracked with a super late lunch, like 5:30pm while the Boy and I were out shopping on Tuesday, so I left the steak to marinate until Wed night.  Boy, am I glad I did!  It was so tender, juicy and flavorful and Wednesday night was ideal for grilling.  It all worked out.  I do have to say I'm a bit jealous I left the rest of the steak for the boy to enjoy in sammies.

Marinated Grilled Flank Steak
serves 4-6

1 2lb piece of flank steak
approx 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 limes - juiced
splash of red wine vinegar
2 tsps honey
1 jalapeno - seeded and diced
3 large cloves of garlic - minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp crack black pepper plus more to sprinkle on before grilling
sea salt

1.  Using a small knife make tiny cuts against the grain about 1" apart on each side of the steak.
2.  In a shallow bowl whisk the oil, lime juice, vinegar, honey jalapeno, garlic, cumin, coriander & black pepper.  Place the steak into the marinade.  Cover with plastic and place into the fridge to marinate for at least two hours, though overnight is best.  Turn it occasionally to ensure it marinades evenly.
3.  Preheat the grill over medium high (about 450F), remove the steak from the fridge to start to bring it up to room temperature.
4.  Sprinkle both sides of the steak liberally with salt & pepper.  Place on the heated grill.  Depending on the thickness 4-6 minutes per side will give you perfect medium rare (the best internal temperature for flank).  My steak was definitely on the thick side so it took 6+ minutes.
5.  Remove from the grill to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes before cutting.  Slice thinly against the grain of the meat (hopefully you'll do a neater job that I did).

Oh and don't worry I'll still be posting some treats for you while I'm gone.  Though the Boy is an excellent cook in his own right he rarely cooks for himself.  To plan ahead I made a few things and froze them so I knew he'd be eating at least a few dinners that didn't include wings & beer.  We'll see how much of it is gone when I get back! I also may cook in fabulous former kitchen in the condo I used to share with my sis. Not only is the kitchen gorgeous, but it gets AH-MAZING light.