What Is Steak And What Part Of The Cow Do They Come From
Steak is not just any piece of meat. Steak is generally defined as a cut of meat that is sliced across the muscle fibers.
There are many different kinds of steak, each coming from different areas of the cow. Each type of steak has different characteristics. Ribeyes come from the rib area. T-bones, porterhouse, filet mignon, and strip steaks come from the loin.
Some steaks, like skirt steak and flank steak, are cut with the muscle fibers. They come from the short plate and the flank. They also tend to be tougher than other steaks.
But which cuts have the most connective tissue?
. This is the defining factor in a chewy steak vs a tender steak. So youll definitely want to know which ones to avoid!
Arguably, one of the hardest things about cooking steak at home is picking and purchasing steak at the supermarket. Its not surprising, either. There are a ton of choices!
Best Flank Steak Dishes
As I mentioned, flank is an extremely versatile cut.
You can cook it in various ways:
- Grilled with a bit of salt and pepper
- Whipping up a marinade and letting it sit for a couple of hours on your grill
- Getting your marinated meat grilled and cooked quickly
When youre creating a braised dish, you could try fajitas, Asian curries, roulades – let your imagination run wild.
However you decide to grill and eat this lean cut, we can all agree its delicious – marinated or not.
How To Cook Flank Steak In The Oven
My preferred method for cooking flank steak is on the grill. Grilling delivers the characteristic smokey flavor but you can use the other methods such as cooking on the stove or in the oven if you dont have a grill or when its not grilling season.
OVEN BROILED: Broiling the flank steak mimics the high directional heat of the grill. Place steak on a baking sheet. Broil 8 inches away from the broiler for 6-8 minutes on each side or until it reaches desired temperature.
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Where Is The Best Place To Buy Flank Steak
When it comes to buying flank steak, there are a few things you need to take into account. The first is the quality of the meat. You want to make sure you buy flank steak that is high quality and has a good amount of marbling. The second is the price. Flank steak can be a bit pricey, so you want to make sure you find a good deal. Lastly, you want to make sure the steak is fresh. This means it hasnt been sitting in the fridge for too long or frozen. With all of this in mind, the best place to buy flank steak is at a local butcher shop or online from a reputable source.
When it comes to quality, you cant go wrong with buying flank steak from a local butcher shop. The butchers there have a great deal of knowledge about meat and can help you select a high quality piece of flank steak. They will also be able to tell you how fresh the meat is. The downside to buying from a local butcher shop is that it can be a bit more expensive than buying from the grocery store. However, you are guaranteed to get a good quality piece of meat.
If you are looking for a good deal on flank steak, your best bet is to buy it online. There are a number of reputable online sources that sell high quality meat at a fraction of the cost of buying it from a local butcher shop. The downside to buying online is that you cant inspect the meat before you purchase it. However, you can read reviews from other customers to get an idea of the quality of the meat.
How To Marinate Flank Steak
Flank steaks love a good marinade. Just a couple hours in the marinade is all it takes to tenderize them and infuse them with plenty of flavor. Check out our Soy-Marinated Flank Steaks to learn about the ingredients that go into a fantastic flank steak marinade. This marinade includes soy sauce, which seasons and flavors the steak, balsamic vinegar, which tenderizes it, vegetable oil, which maintains its juiciness and sugar, which helps it brown and caramelize.
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Oven Cooked Flank Steak
If youre wondering whats the best way to cook flank steak in the oven, youll be happy to know that theres one tried and true method that literally takes only a few minutes of your time to churn out great-tasting meat. Before you place the steaks in the oven, coat them with a mixture of olive oil and your desired spices to keep them from drying out in the oven. Then, its as simple as placing the steaks on a pan, cooking them on high heat on one side for about five minutes, and then on the other side for three to four minutes or until medium rare. Allow resting for about 10 minutes before serving.
PRO TIP: If you forgot to thaw your steak in advance, check out our guide for ways to properly cook frozen steak.
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Should: Top Blade Steak
The top blade steak is one of the most tender steaks available and is still incredibly affordable. Its cut when butchers slice across the top blade muscle in the cows shoulder. This relatively new cut delivers rich flavor and a smooth texture. The price of top blade steak can be as low as $5 per pound, but in some areas, it costs closer to $11.
The only downside to the top blade steak is the seam of sinew that runs down its center. Its this that keeps the price down and has prevented it from becoming popular in the past. However, the top blade can still provide excellent value and tastes great.
If you place it in a pan and braise it with good beef stock, youll retain the fantastic taste while the meat and connective tissue soften up. If you prefer to take less time cooking, you can also cut the sinew out and pan fry or grill the meat on high heat.
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Flank Steak Or Skirt Steak
If you cant get your hands on some tasty flank steak, you can always go with some skirt steak to fill the void. Skirt steak is cut from nearby diaphragm muscles and has a very similar texture.
Skirt steaks have a larger fat content compared to flank, therefore the taste will be slightly richer. Similar to flank, it should be cooked on high heat and served medium rare.
Flank steak stands up well against tangy sauces and dressings, so it works great in salad, for example. Ali Rosen, Todays Writer
Recipes wise, its great for fajitas, tacos, stir fries, and any other similar recipes you can conjure up this grilling season.
After youve grilled up a storm, slice your skirt against the grain to ensure it stays nice and tender.
For more information, feel free to check out our skirt steak vs flank steak blog post.
How Long To Marinate Steak
4-12 hour is the optimal time to marinate this flank steak recipe. After 4 hours, the flank steak has absorbed a lot of the flavor but by 12 hours it will have become even more tender. I recommend marinating the steak for the maximum 12 hours. This will infuse the steak with TONS of flavor and optimal juiciness.
Dont over-marinate. This flank steak marinade is highly acidic which means you dont want to marinate the steak much longer than 12 hours because the acid in the marinade will begin to change the structure of the meat and the muscle fibers can break down and become mushy.
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What Is The Best Way To Cook Skirt Steak
Skirt steak is best seared in a hot pan. A cast iron skillet or a sizzling grill are my top picks. Here are some more tips for cooking the best skirt steak!
- Dry the surface for better crust: I always dry the surface of my steak before seasoning or searing. Any excess moisture will create steam and reduce the likelihood of creating a nice crust on the steak.
- Do not overcook: A quick hot sear will create a flavorful browned crust, and undercooking by just a minute will reduce the fear of going too far. The best texture comes with just a few minutes of contact on the heated surface, to medium-rare doneness. Skirt steak is thin and lean, so going past medium-rare or medium doneness will yield an extremely dry and chewy steak.
- Cook it hot! Cook it fast with high heat, instead of low heat for slow cooking. There is not much connective tissue in skirt steak. Fattier cuts of meat with lots of connective tissue fare better when cooked over low heat for long periods of time, because the low-and-slow method helps to break down connective tissue. Thats not an issue with skirt steak.
Hot and fast is the best way to cook skirt steak to end up with a tender piece of meat. The brief flash time, just a few minutes on each side, ensures a juicy finish.
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Is Flank Steak Good For Family Dinners And Get
You can use the Angus beef steak for a wide variety of dinners and occasions. Make a platter of Philly cheesesteak sandwiches to take to the next tailgating party or backyard barbecue. Set up a sub sandwich station at your child’s birthday party with cooked beef flank steak, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, pickles, mustard, mayonnaise and other toppings, so your guests can make their food the way they like it. Whip up a teriyaki flank steak and place it on a bed of rice and side of snow peas or green beans. For an extra fun touch at your next family game night, serve grilled steak tacos and let everyone put theirs together the way they prefer.
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How To Serve Marinated Flank Steak
The most common way to serve marinated flank steak is as the main entree with sides. Just pick any of the aforementioned sides and call it dinner! That being said, flank steak is also a chameleon and delicious in salads, pastas, fajitas, etc. Here are some fun ideas to mix up how you serve grilled flank steak:
Natural Angus Beef From Family Farms
Quite simply: We buy the best product from the best cattle raising region in the United States.
Quality cattle are essential for an outstanding finished product. That’s why only the finest grain fed, natural Angus cattle from Midwest American family farms supply the Porter & York beef. Our meat comes from pasture-raised cattle that are fed a 100% vegetarian diet of grass, corn, and whole grains.
Our cattle are humanely processed in state of the art facilities. We emphasize sustainability and ecologically friendly processes. We do not add ingredients, colors, or chemicals.
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How Do I Know When Flank Steak Is Done
Flank steak is a lean cut of beef, so it is best not cooked above medium or else it can be tough and chewy instead of juicy. I would aim for medium, meaning it will be pink in the middle. That being said, the marinade gives you a little wiggle room, but I wouldnt push it.
Most steaks will take 5-6 minutes per side but this can vary depending on thickness of your steak and desired level of doneness. The best way to see if your flank steak is cooked properly without overcooking is to use an instant read thermometer.
Insert the instant read thermometer into thickest part of the steak to check the temperature. You want the temperature to register 5°F lower than the desired doneness temperature because the steaks will continue to cook while resting.
- Rare steak: 125 degrees F
- Medium rare: 135 degrees F
- Medium: 145 degrees F *RECOMMENDED*
- Medium well: 155 degrees F
- Well done: 165 degrees F
NOTE: The USDA recommends steaks and roasts be cooked to 145°F and then rested for at least 3 minutes for safety.
If you like rare or medium-rare steak, then grill steak on high heat so its hot enough to get some color on the outside in a short amount of time
Helpful Tools For This Flank Steak Recipe:
- Instant-read thermometer: you need an instant-read thermometer for the juiciest steak, chicken and pork AND for perfectly fried everything! It allows you to cook any protein to the exact temperature every time and allows you to heat oil to the correct temperature for frying.
- Grill brush: is essential for keeping your grill clean! This grill brush with scrapers cleans stubborn stains deeply and efficiently.
- Quality Knives: a chefs knife will be your most used kitchen tool by far! Quality knives make prep time much quicker, are important for safety and essential for finely slicing flank steak. If youre concerned about moola, please remember that your best chef knives, depending on how hard you use them and how well you take care of them, can easily last 25 years or more. I love my Wusthof but there are hundreds of less expensive knives with great reviews such as this one.
- Cutting Board: I use my big solid cutting board daily so its worth the investment. This extra-large cutting board allows you to prep all your veggies on one surface and the bamboo is easier on knives than plastic
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How Long Should You Marinate Flank Steak
Flank steak should be marinated for at least two hours in order to reap the benefits of the tenderizing properties. For the maximum benefit, however, marinate for 12 hours. If your marinade contains citrus or a lot of vinegar like this flank steak marinade or marinades common for steak fajitas, dont marinate longer than 12 hours or the steak can become mushy otherwise, you can marinate the steak for up to 24 hours.
Know Your Cuts Of Beef
But first, lets clear up something. Apparently, my store is unaware that there is no cut of beef called London Broil. That refers to a preparation method. London Broil is a beef dish made by broiling marinated beef, then cutting it across the grain into thin strips. What I am buying is flank steak. It comes with no seasonings or marinade. Just plain, super-tough beef. And thats a problem I know how to fix.
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What To Serve With This Dish
Like any good steak, the skirt variety pairs with almost any side dish you can think of. We like any kind of potato salad, including German or Japanese potato salad.
Try some green vegetables, including Brussels sprouts, asparagus, or green beans, for something a little lighter.
Leftovers can be chopped up over a rice salad, orzo salad, or stuffed in a sandwich or quesadilla.
Delivered To Your Door Fresh
Freezing and thawing compromises the flavor and tenderness of meat. So, unlike the other steak delivery guys, we made it our mission to deliver all our beef fresh, so it is never frozen at any point in the process. Your order is cut fresh the day it ships, individually vacuum sealed, and meticulously packed in a double-insulated box with gel packs, keeping your meat at refrigerator temperatures throughout its journey.
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Where To Buy Flank Steak
You can buy flank steak in grocery stores with a well-stocked refrigerated meat section, and at butcher counters across the country. Since this cut is not always available at all butchers, you may want to call ahead to check. Flank steak is sold by the pound, and servings vary: One flank steak can weigh between one and four pounds. Choose a steak thats uniform in thickness to avoid overcooked ends. Flank steak can be bought in bulk, vacuum-packaged, and frozen for six to 12 months.
Top Prime Beef Cuts At The Fresh Market
Our stores have some of the most robust selections of USDA Prime beef you can find. While you cant go wrong with any of our Prime cuts, some are more popular than othersincluding NY Strip Steak, Rib-Eye Steak, Filet Mignon and Whole Beef Tenderloin. These guest favorites are tender, juicy, flavorful and always a cut above.
- USDA Prime NY Strip Steak This iconic steak is cut from the loin and beloved by meat-eaters. You might know it as Kansas City steak. We recommend enhancing this cut with simple ingredients, like the oil used in our recipe for Grilled New York Strip Steak with Garlic Herb Oil.
- USDA Prime Rib-Eye Steak Rib-Eye steaks are known for both tenderness and rich flavor. When you choose Prime Rib-Eye steaks, the naturally high intramuscular fat makes it ideal for grilling , and the result is tender and incredibly juicy.
- USDA Prime Filet Mignon The most tender of all beef cuts, Filet Mignon is highly desirable for its versatility and rich flavor. Excellent pan-fried, grilled or broiled, especially when served with a complementary sauce. Our Rosemary Crusted Filet Mignon is a real show-stopper!
- USDA Prime Flank Steak Cut from the underside of beef, this area yields especially flavorful meat thats best served medium-rare. This cut is very lean so we recommend marinating it for extra moisture.
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