Rolled Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
We went exploring at a new Farmer’s Market last weekend and picked up chimichurri sauce from one of the vendors. Usually, I like to make my own pesto and sauces, but I made an exception with this one. The flavor was fresh and the garlic did not overwhelm the other ingredients. Also, this sauce was my concession to what I really wanted to buy.
The vendor was from an Argentinean restaurant, Gaucho Burger, and they were selling chimichurri sauce and Gaucho Burgers made with sliced roasted pork, lettuce, tomato and slathered in chimichurri sauce. I really wanted one of those burgers. The pork roast had a slight pink color, looked juicy and seasoned throughout with chimichurri. It looked perfectly cooked and delicious. Unfortunately, it was only an hour past my breakfast so I could not justify eating a big burger. I settled on buying their chimichurri sauce instead.
Settled on is not a fair statement because chimichurri sauce can stand on its own merit. It is an Argentinean sauce made with parsley, oregano, garlic, red pepper, olive oil, and vinegar. It is traditionally used as a condiment or marinade for beef. However, I am sure it will taste great on chicken, lamb, pork, fish and grilled vegetables. The sauce’s bright taste comes from fresh parsley and vinegar. Yet, the flavor is nicely balanced with minced garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes. That bit of acid brings all the flavors together and tones down the sharp bite of fresh garlic. I love it. You can make it hot, mild, thick or thin. It is easily adaptable for any type of food.
Once home, I knew exactly how I wanted to use the chimichurri. With not enough time for a pork roast, I decided on butterflied flank steak with a layer of chimichurri sauce. After spreading the chimichurri over the meat, I rolled-up the flank steak and secured with kitchen string. The result is a steak that looks like a roast with a spiral of chimichurri sauce throughout the middle. It is tender and full of flavor.
Rolled flank steak tastes great grilled, or you can sear the meat in a skillet on the stove then finish cooking in the oven. Serve the rolled flank steak with chimichurri sauce hot or at room temperature. This makes it a perfect choice for entertaining. It is also easy enough to make during the week. Just butterfly, layer, roll-up, and refrigerate during the day. When you come home, it is ready for cooking.
Enjoy with potato salad, sugar snap peas with mushrooms, and for dessert peaches and berries with bourbon sabayon.
Tips or Success for Rolled Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
Butterflying the flank steak is an easy thing to do, but if you do not want to butterfly the flank steak yourself, ask the butcher to do it. Make sure the butcher cuts through the meat beginning on the long side of the flank steak.
Compared to other steak cuts, flank steak is a tougher piece of meat. However, with extra preparation and proper carving, a tender slice of flank steak is possible. The muscle fibers, also known as the grain, are distinct. When carving flank steak, carving the meat thinly on a diagonal and across the grain, creates tender slices of steak.
The same technique applies to rolled flank steak. When rolling up the flank steak, make sure to roll it across the grain. You will see the muscle fibers running the length of the meat. This way, when you carve the rolled flank steak you will cut the meat across the grain at the ends.
For best results, serve flank steak medium-rare. Well done flank steak is tough to chew. An instant-read thermometer is great for determining the level of doneness for a thick piece of meat. The internal temperature for rare beef is 125˚F (52˚C) and medium-rare is around 130˚F (54˚C). I stopped cooking my rolled flank steak close to 125˚F (52˚C), then I let the steak rest and continue to cook with the residual heat for 10 minutes. This is an easy step to do and prevents overcooking the steak.
It is a little more difficult to gauge the temperature in a stuffed piece of meat, you need the thermometer to be in the center. Also, how red the juices are will tell you how far along the cooking process is. The redder the juice the rarer it is. If you pierce the meat and no juices appear it means one of two things: the meat is barely cooked, or it is well done and dry.
More flank steak recipe ideas:
Grilled Sherry Marinated Flank Steak
Included with my rolled flank steak recipe is a recipe for chimichurri sauce that I slightly adapted from Simply Recipes website.
Rolled Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
Ingredients
- For the Chimichurri Sauce
- 1 cup 250 ml firmly packed Italian parsley leaves
- 5 medium garlic cloves
- 2 TB fresh oregano leaves
- 1/3 cup 75 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 2 TB red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
For the Flank Steak
- 1- 1.5 - 2 lb 750 g - 1 k flank steak
- 3 oz - 4 oz 75 g- 125 g chimichurri sauce
- Kosher Salt about 1/4 teaspoon
- Fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
Chimichurri Sauce
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Add the parsley, oregano, garlic in a food processor and process until finely pureed. When necessary, scrape down the sides of the bowl to get everything processed evenly. (See Note)
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Add the herbs to a small bowl, then whisk together the herbs with the olive oil, vinegar, salt and red pepper flakes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
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Use right away or store, tightly sealed, in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
Prepare the flank steak
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Place the flank steak on a cutting board in front of you with the short end facing you, and the meat fibers running perpendicular to you.
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Butterfly the flank steak. Using a long, thin, and sharp knife, like a boning knife, cut the flank steak in half through the thickness of the meat. Beginning at the outer long side, either your right or left. Cut through the middle thickness of the steak, pulling back the top layer as you go. Keep the knife blade level to the countertop so you do not cut up or down, just straight across. Cut the flank steak open until you reach a half an inch from cutting all the way through at the opposite side. Open the steak like a book.
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Press on the seam with the heel of your hand to smooth out any uneven dumps.
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Sprinkle about a 1/4 teaspoon of Kosher salt over both sides of the flank steak.
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Spread the chimichurri sauce over the side of the flank steak you just cut open.
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Staring at the long side, either right or left depending on your dominant hand, roll up the steak with the meat grain running long and perpendicular to you.
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Once rolled up, tie up your flank steak roll with kitchen twine. I use 5 ties up the length of the rolled steak. Trim off the long ends of the string.
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Rub any escaped chimichurri sauce over the exterior of the steak. Cook right away or let marinate wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator. Marinate for no more than 8 hours.
Cook the steak.
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Rolled flank steak is great cooked on the grill, or seared in a grill pan or skillet, then baked in the oven. If you marinated it in the refrigerator, bring the flank steak up to room temperature before you start cooking it. I usually take the meat out about 30 minutes to an hour before I start cooking it.
For Grilling
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Prepare the grill for direct and indirect heat areas. Oil the grill before placing the meat down. When the grill is nice and hot place the rolled flank steak directly over the flames on the grill (direct heat). Sear the meat. Turn the meat every couple of minutes and sear all sides of the surface, about 8 to 10 minutes total. Once the meat is seared, move it over to the side of the grill prepared for indirect heat. Cook for about 10 minutes, covered. Check the internal temperature. If the temperature in the middle of the meat is around 120˚F - 125˚F (49˚C- 52˚C), the steak is done cooking.
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Remove the flank steak from the grill and let it rest covered with foil for 10 minutes. This resting period should produce medium-rare rolled flank steak, about 130˚F - 135˚F (54˚C- 57˚C).
Stovetop cooking
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Preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C / Gas Mark 5). Heat and lightly oil a skillet or grill pan large enough to hold your rolled flank steak. When your pan is almost smoking, sear your flank steak, turning it over every 2 minutes searing the steak all over. When the flank steak is seared, place the pan with the flank steak in the oven and cook. After 10 minutes, check the internal temperature. Stop cooking when the internal temperature in the middle of the rolled steak reaches between 120˚F - 125˚F (49˚C- 52˚C). Place the rolled flank steak on a cutting board and let it rest covered in foil for 10 minutes. Medium-rare meat has an internal temperature of, 130˚F - 135˚F (54˚C- 57˚C).
Slice and Serve
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Cut off the ties and slice the rolled flank in 1/2- inch slices across the grain. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Leftovers make great sandwiches with a chimichurri mayo, lettuce, tomato, and your favorite bread or roll.
Recipe Notes
If you do not own a food processor, you can make the sauce by finely mincing the herbs with a knife.
© 2017 – 2018, Ginger Smith- Lemon Thyme and Ginger. All rights reserved.
Grilled Sherry Marinated Flank Steak
“Why don’t we have this more often?” Taylor asked me one night. He did not waste any time to express himself as he was asking the question before he finished chewing on his first bite. He was referring to flank steak marinated in a sherry and soy sauce marinade. I did not really have an answer for him, and I had to reflect on the question myself. Why not? I used to make it every time I cooked flank steak. This marinade adds a lot of flavor to flank steak and is also great to marinate skirt steak and pork tenderloin.
This sherry marinade brings back a strong food memory for my family as well. Years ago we were visiting friends in Wellfleet, MA for the weekend and for a food contribution I brought skirt steak marinating in the sherry marinade. Due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control the skirt steak was left marinating in this sherry marinade for over 48 hours, (something that I do not recommend because it could turn your meat mushy.) We desperately grilled the steak at the last hours of our vacation and made sandwiches to bring to the beach.
I can see that afternoon so clearly: sitting on the beach at the National Seashore in Wellfleet, relaxing and soaking in the sun, wishing we did not have to leave, watching my kids and our friends body surfing the waves, taking one last dive to feel the crisp ocean waters. There is something about this place fills my soul and completely relaxes me.
The sandwiches were simply prepared with grilled steak on hamburger buns and devoured instantly. We could have had 1oo sandwiches and it would not have been enough. The skirt steak was tender not mushy, (phew) and the sandwiches had a lingering well-rounded sweet, salty and meaty taste that completely satisfied and made you crave more.
Maybe it was the fresh seaside air and the cool ocean water that contributed to our collective memory, but the flavor of the grilled skirt steak sandwiches defined umami. Taylor posed a good question to me: something so good needs to be served on a regular basis, with or without the National Seashore in Wellfleet as an excuse.
Grilled sherry marinated flank steak will hit your umami sense as well, and like Taylor you will begin to crave this steak for a regular meal. If you are lucky to have leftovers the grilled steak can be used in salad, sandwiches, tacos, fajitas, or in a stir-fry. For me, I look forward to the leftover steak sandwiches more than the flank steak dinner. It is a quick and easy dinner, and with a bit of advanced preparation can easily fit into a weeknight dinner menu. If you do not own a grill, flank steak can be prepared on the stove in a grill pan or under the broiler. Cooking times will vary due to how hot your grill, pan or broiler are, so watch the steak because it does not take long to cook.
I came across the recipe for this marinade watching BBQ with Bobby Flay on Food Network possibly 12 years ago. It caught my attention because I was on the prowl for ways to jazz up pork tenderloin. The original recipe from the episode that I watched is, Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Guava Glaze and Orange Habanero Mojo. However, the current recipe on the website no longer has the marinade part of the recipe. My own age and kids age do not make me feel old, but searching for an old recipe on Food Network does. It has been around for so long they do not even have it in their archives. I know it was there. I wrote it down on a scrap piece of paper and have kept it in my files ever since.
Tips for cooking steak:
Eliminate the cooking time by taking the meat out of the refrigerator one hour before cooking. This will bring the meat up to room temperature and will need less time on the heat.
Use recipes as a guideline for cooking time. There are too many variables that will affect how long it will take to cook your specific piece of meat using your specific equipment.
Dry the meat before putting on the pan or grill. The drier the exterior the better the meat will sear or brown.
Cook meats on the grill in two phases using direct and indirect heat. First cook the steak on direct heat to get a good sear on the outside. After a couple of minutes per side, move the steak to a place on your grill that is not directly over the coals, or flame, to finish cooking the interior of the steak using indirect heat.
Do not over cook the steak. It is best served on the rare to medium rare side. Internal temperature for meat that is rare is 125-130 degrees F, medium rare range is 130-140 degrees F. Steak cooked to 150 degrees F or higher, will be well done and dry.
Let the steak rest for 5 to 15 minutes after cooking and before carving and eating. The moisture in the steak will circulate through the meat and keep the steak moist.
Grilled Sherry Marinated Flank Steak
Ingredients
Grilled Sherry Marinated Flank Steak
- 1- 1 1/2 lbs flank steak
- 1 recipe Sherry Marinade
- Kosher Salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Olive Oil
Sherry Marinade
- 1/4 cup low salt soy sauce or low salt Tamari Sauce
- 1/4 cup dry sherry Fino
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 1/2 Tbls unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 TB fresh orange juice
- 1 TB fresh rosemary
- 1 TB minced shallots
- 1 tsp fresh minced ginger
Instructions
Make marinade
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Combine all liquid ingredients in a small bowl and whisk thoroughly until mixed together.
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Mince the rosemary then add to the bowl, save the stems. Add the minced ginger to the liquid ingredients in bowl. Whisk all the ingredients together.
Prepare the Flank Steak
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Place the flank steak in a gallon size zip-lock bag, or small Pyrex dish large enough for the steak to lay flat.
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Pour the marinade into the bag or pan and add the reserved rosemary stems. Seal the bag, carefully getting out as much air as reasonable, and place bag with the steak in a rimmed tray or pan large enough for the flank steak to lie flat. If not using a plastic bag, cover your dish with plastic wrap. Put the marinating meat in the refrigerator.
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Marinate the flank steak for at least 2-3 hours or up to 24 hours, turning the steak over from time to time so the whole piece gets marinated evenly.
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Take the steak out of the refrigerator one hour before cooking time. You want the meat to come up to room temperature, which will require less cooking time.
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Take the flank steak out of the marinade and place it on a rack fitted inside a baking sheet. Dry the flank steak with paper towels. Lightly salt both sides of the steak, less than a teaspoon in total.
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Prepare your grill for high heat.
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Rub both sides of the flank steak lightly with olive oil and rest the streak on the rack until the grill is hot.
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When your grill is hot set the flank steak on the grill directly over the coals, or heart source for gas grill. Cook he flank steak for 3 minutes on one side then turn it over and cook on the other side for two to three minutes. Check internal temperature, you want the middle of the flank steak to read 125° to 130°F (52° - 54°C) for medium rare. If the steak is not ready, move the flank steak over to the side of the grill, away from the coals, and continue to cook with indirect heat until internal temperature reads 130°F (54°C). Hopefully a just a couple minutes more.
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Take the flank steak off the grill and rest on a cutting board. Grind fresh pepper to taste on the steak and let the steak rest, loosely covered, for 10-15 minutes.
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Slice the flank steak across the grain of the meat in thin slices.
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Serve with your favorite sides, like buttered green beans with basil, sliced tomatoes, grilled corn, caramelized onions.
© 2016 – 2018, Ginger Smith- Lemon Thyme and Ginger. All rights reserved.
