grilled flank steak | Bewitching Kitchen

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If you’ve never used coffee in marinades or dry rubs for meat, you are missing a great opportunity to enjoy its mysterious flavor added to usual suspects such as herbs, peppers, and spices. I’ve blogged before on a take on pork tenderloin that I still think is one of the best recipes I have in the blog, and that uses coffee as one of the ingredients. But today I’ll switch gears and apply a coffee-based dry rub to beef. The recipe, published by The New York Times, was recommended by our very dear friend, Marijo, who happens to be a great cook, so when she raves about something, I am all ears. And taste buds. It did not take me too long to jump on it, although it is taking me a long time to share it here. What else is new? That’s the way Sally rolls…

ALL-PURPOSE CALIFORNIA BEEF RUB
(as published in The New York Times)

2 tablespoons finely ground coffee
1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt
1 ½ tablespoons granulated garlic
1 heaping teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container.

Rub on the meat you intend to grill and leave it for at least one hour, overnight works too.

Grill to medium-rare, or to the level of your choice (hopefully not well-done!)

Allow the meat to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe click here

Comments: I’ve made this recipe quite a few times, with flank steak, flatiron steak, tri-tip, and even bison rib eye steaks. For the bison rib eye, I adapted it to sous-vide and it turned out spectacular, but the photos not so much, so I won’t dedicate a special blog article for it.

SOUS-VIDE METHOD: Apply the rub, and seal the meat in a plastic bag (vacuum is fine, water replacement method will work too). Leave the meat in the fridge for one hour or more, whatever is convenient with your schedule. Place the bag in the water-bath set for 134 F (medium-rare) for a minimum of 3 hours. I left mine for almost 6 hours, as I started cooking it at lunch time and we enjoyed the meat at dinner time that evening. Once the meat is cooked, open the bag, discard the liquid accumulated inside, pat-dry the surface with the meat with paper towels. Sear on a blazing hot grill or cast iron pan.

To our taste, the sous-vide was by far the best method for bison steaks. Same applies to flatiron. For flank and skirt steak, we think there is not much improvement by going the sous-vide route, both cuts of meat cook perfectly fine on the grill. Whatever your method of cooking, this rub is money! Give it a try…

Marijo, thanks for sending this recipe our way,
looking forward to many more!

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This marinade rocks…and roll, hootchie koo! And it has all sorts of cool moves on the dance floor… In a single week, I made it twice, once for butterflied leg of lamb, and again a few days later for flank steak. Published in the June issue of Bon Appetit, it was just what the author promised: “this smoky grilled meat will be a delicious addition to your barbecue repertoire”.

GRILLED FLANK STEAK WITH ANCHO-CHILE MARINADE
(adapted from Bon Appetit, June 2010)

1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled
4 Tbs fresh oregano leaves
2 Tbs ancho chile powder
2 Tbs lemon juice
2 green onions
1 Tbs brown sugar
2 + 1/2 tsp salt
2 + 1/2 tsp black pepper
1 flank steak

Add the wine, oil, garlic, oregano, ancho chile powder, lemon juice, green onions, salt and pepper into a blender. Blend the mixture until smooth. Marvel at its color, and take a deep breath to indulge in the aroma…

Make very shallow diamond-shaped cuts on the surface of the flank steak. Transfer the marinade to a large dish that can hold the meat, place the meat inside and rub the marinade all over. Let it sit in the fridge from 2 to 12 hours.

Prepare a hot grill, cook the meat until medium-rare (5 minutes per side maximum). Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing it thinly.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Ancho chile powder might be my new found love in the kitchen. Smoky, funky and hot, but very pleasantly so. The brown sugar promotes a beautiful browning on the surface, and I’ve often been including it in my marinades these summer days. This ancho-chile version might go equally well on salmon, chicken, or even prawns. If you’re cooking a butterflied leg of lamb, allow the meat to marinade for a full 24 hours before grilling.

The flank steak? What a joy it is to eat! A succulent piece of tender, flavorful beef! We enjoyed ours with some simple zucchini sticks: this recipe without the yogurt sauce.

It was a tasty meal in less than 20 minutes, and my name isn’t even Ray! 😉

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