Flank is a beef steak cut from the muscles of the abdomen or buttocks of a cow. This method of cutting is common in Colombia, where it is known as sobrebarriga (literally means "above the stomach").
Steak flank - what is it?
It is a relatively long and flat cut of meat, and it is used in various dishes, including as an alternative to the traditional fajitas steak. The flank steak can be grilled and also be fried, baked or stewed. The meat fibers are very noticeable in such pieces of meat, and many cooks pierce them to make the dish more tender. The highest quality flank has a bright red color.
It is difficult to come up with a piece of meat that is more conducive to appetite than a steak flank. It has a pronounced taste and pleasant delicate texture with a slight hardness. In addition, pieces of meat are usually large and regular in shape, which makes slicing, processing and cooking very easy tasks. Such steaks are usually quite thin, so they are ready in a matter of minutes and at the same time dense enough to experiment with different degrees of readiness.
There are several cooking options for meat such as steak flank. Cooking methods are very diverse, but the best method is, of course, grilling. Since these pieces of meat have a large surface area, they look very appetizing when cooked and are saturated with an amazing aroma of smoke and fresh air.
Purchase
At one time, the flank steak was relatively difficult to cut, and so finding it on sale was not easy. Typically, these parts of the carcass were reserved for professional butchers or kept for industrial use. Nowadays, buying any piece of meat is not a problem, and the flank has become a standard steak.
When buying it, you need to watch that the piece is dark red with a fair amount of small fat passing along the muscles. A poorly cut flank steak will either have a thin membrane still attached to its part, or this membrane will be removed so inaccurately that the surface of the meat will be damaged. Look for smoothly textured chunks without nicks and potholes.
The standard weight of the flank steak is 1 to 2 kg. When cooking it, 0.5 kg of meat per person should be calculated, i.e. one steak will be approximately 3 servings.
Pickling
Contrary to popular belief, the marinade does not actually penetrate particularly deep into the meat, even within a few days, most of the aromatic compounds are absorbed by only a few millimeters (with the exception of salt and fine sugar molecules, as well as some acids). Any mixture mainly treats the surface of the product, so there is absolutely no use in pickling for a long time - more than half a day. If you want the meat to acquire the taste of marinade, it is better to leave some of it separately and pour it on the already cooked flank steak. The following are a few ingredients that you should use when preparing your marinade.
Salt is absolutely essential. This is one of the few ingredients that penetrates and changes the taste of meat deeper than on the surface. It is advisable to add it in the form of soy or fish sauce, which give a peculiar pleasant aftertaste.
Sugar, when used in moderation, will help the meat acquire a brown color, and also when cooking on the grill will enhance the smoky aroma.
Aromatic seasonings mostly remain on the surface, but they can be quite strong. Garlic, shallots, dried spices, herbs or chili peppers are all good things to experiment with.
Oil is often the main ingredient in marinades. Many aromatic compounds (e.g. garlic) are highly soluble in oil, not in water. Olive or sunflower oil will help to spread these aromas evenly over the entire surface of the meat, and also protect it from burning in the first seconds on the grill.
Acidic ingredients can balance flavors, but should be used with caution. Acid promotes protein denaturation in meat, softening it.
Steak flank: how to cook
The main secret of proper cooking is the use of a modified two-level grill, where all the coals are forced out on one side (in the gas grill one side should be left off). This gives you more control over the cooking process and allows you to start frying meat at a very high temperature and finish on the cool side.
Before placing the marinated steak on the grill, it is very important to wipe it with a paper towel. Wet meat can cause certain problems. If the marinade is based on oil, it will drip into the fire, causing sparks, and your steak may partially burn. If a piece of meat contains too much water, it will eventually be steamed instead of fried.
Cutting and feeding
Like any steak cooked on the grill, the flank must be put aside to “rest” before cutting and serving. Premature slicing always leads to loss of juice and flavor. A good rule is that the internal temperature of the meat drops several degrees below the maximum temperature for cooking. Usually for a flank steak this time takes from 5 to 10 minutes.
As for its slicing, the steak has pronounced fibers, which greatly facilitate the task. You should always cut the pieces perpendicularly to minimize the length of each muscle fiber - this will allow the meat to remain soft.