Adobo Marinated Flank Steak

Hello. I purchased pre-packaged flank steak at my local grocery store. When I unrolled it, both pieces looked about 1/2 the thickness of the steak in your recipe. Is there a recommended thickness for this dish? (I made mine using your marinade -- quite good -- but stuffed it with roasted red peppers, basil and a chili sauce because I was having trouble projecting grill time with a thinner cut of meat). Thank you

No, it doesn't matter how thick or thin flank steak is. Once marinated, you will just need to adjust the grilling time based on how you like your steak cooked. The time that it takes to grill a cut to your liking just takes practice. It is best to grill thinner cuts of meat over high, direct heat. Cheers!

I will try this recipe on a high heat grill, but will be very careful about watching the time. We like our steaks medium rare, and I am sure that a thin cut will overcook very quickly. I look forward to trying this marinade on it's own. Thank you

Hi Rouxbe, I did not use this particular recipe, but have a question around technique for flank steaks and grill pans. I didn't see a specific course topic on this but know there's probably information in various courses that could help me out. I marinaded a 1.5 lb flank steak and patted it completely dry before cooking. I also allowed the steak to come to room temperature (so I thought) for about 30 minutes. I have an instant read thermapen thermometer to help make sure that I'm cooking my meats to the right temperature. I brought my (old) grill pan to high heat, brushed it with olive oil, and grilled the flank steak on close to 3 minutes per side. It seemed like a red flat to me that the meat was far over 140 degrees on the outside but only around 90 towards the middle. Non the less, since I am always worried about overcooking, I took the steak out and let it rest for 10 minutes. Of course, the outside of the steak was well done and the inside needed to be cooked quite a bit more to bring it to medium rare. It's not a huge deal to add the meat back to the pan, and i know most people prefer this level of caution, but I am hoping to perfect this method for better cooking in the long run. So my question is where did I go wrong? Is this an issue with my grill pan not heating evenly anymore, and is it time for a new one? Or do I need to bring my steak out of the refrigerator even earlier to help with this process? If I do need to purchase a new grill pan, do you prefer cast iron grill pans or a different type? Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Thank you! Brooke

I opted against using a mallett to flatten the steak since it was already so large. Would you have advised differently?

Hi Brooke- Great questions and you are clearly trying to get the hang of cooking on a grill pan. The best grill pans are heavy, cast iron or similar, and need to heat up for a few minutes before they have a hot core temperature. Once a heavy pan like this is at the right temperature, it will be pretty even in how it distributes heat. Lighter pans will not heat as evenly and are apt to bigger temperature fluctuations. I think you would have been well served to trust the internal temperature reading of the thermometer. For medium rare, look for 130°F or so, knowing that as the meat reaches equilibrium (while resting) it will continue to "carry-over" and cook a bit more. It sounds like the steak needed another 2 minutes or so per side. The exterior of the meat will always reflect a much higher temperature, as it has direct conductive contact with the metal pan. And the mallet? Probably not 100% necessary. It may help cook evenly, but your flank steak just needed more time- not more even cooking. I hope this helps!

Hi, can we cook it on the oven?

Hi there Sara, you can certainly cook this in the oven. Keeping your oven on a high broiler setting with the flank steak cooking about 6 minutes per side will give you a nice medium-rare. You can certainly adjust from there. Enjoy

I prepared this recipe using a chuck steak. It was about 1/2" to 3/4" thick, there was a bit of marbling and it looked like it would work. Otherwise, I followed the recipe as stated. It was fabulous! Not sure if I bent the rules too much but wanted to share my experience. Also, you list "hot sauce" as an option. Anything or brand you'd recommend? Thanks for another great meal, Rouxbe!

Thank you for sharing your experience, Beth. We love hearing of variations that work and we believe in bending the rules! I love cholula or tapatio but whatever hot sauce you like will be great here. Lauren