Dr. Pepper Flank Steak

If you live in a cold area of the country, I bet you're as ready as we are for grilling season. Today I am sharing Dr. Pepper Flank Steak, a recipe I blogged about in my early days of blogging. No one was reading my blog in those days, so I am reposting some of my favorites! If you're looking for a delicious and easy grilling recipe, give this one a try!!!

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesday's at the Table and Tuesday Night Supper Club.

Grilled Flank Steak with Coffee Sauce

As long as our grill isn't burried in snow, we grill in the winter. Flank steak is one of our favorite cuts of beef to grill. There's a couple of keys to tender, delicious flank steak. Don't overcook it and marinate it prior to grilling. I'm always in search of marinade recipes. Mary of One Perfect Bite has the most amazing recipes. This is just one of the many I've bookmarked to try.

The tangy dijon mustard and strong coffee give this steak a unique and tasty flavor. If grilling is on your menu sometime soon give this one a try, you won't be sorry!!!




Grilled Flank Steak with Coffee Sauce
Recipe Courtesy of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons grainy Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped shallots
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided use
2 cups espresso or strong brewed coffee
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon Black pepper
1 (20-oz.) flank steak
Salt to taste
1 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons butter

Directions:
1) Combine mustard, garlic, shallots, balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons oil, espresso, brown sugar and black pepper in a large pan. Reserve 1 cup of marinade to make sauce. Add flank steak and marinate for 2 hours, turning meat every 30 minutes.
2) Pat steak dry and season each side with salt and pepper. Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat. Add vegetable oil and heat until smoking hot. Add flank steak and cook for 3 minutes per side, brushing each side with marinade. Remove pan from heat, but tent with foil and let rest for 10 minutes.
3) While beef is resting, combine reserved marinade and the beef broth. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to medium. Reduce sauce by 1/2. Add 2 tablespoons of butter. Whisk to incorporate. Correct the seasoning. Transfer steak to a cutting board and slice crosswise on the diagonal into 2-inch slices. Spoon sauce over meat and serve immediately. Yield: 3 to 4 servings.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak.

After our long cold winter, we've begun getting some beautiful Spring weather. Temperatures were in the low 80's for the first time since the end of September. Spring brings so many great things; flowers, Spring vegetables, Robin's singing and grilling out.

Flank steak is a great inexpensive cut of meat to grill. There's a couple of keys to tender flank steak. Don't overcook it and marinate it overnight before cooking. I am always looking for new marinades for flank steak. I found this one on Simply Recipes. It's easy and uses ingredients you may have on hand.

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak

1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Other ingredients
2 pounds flank steak
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

1 Score the surface of the steak with 1/4 inch deep knife cuts, about an inch apart, across the grain of the meat. Combine the marinade ingredients. Place steak and marinade ingredients in a large freezer bag. Coat the steak well with the marinade. Seal the bag and place in a bowl. Chill and marinate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

2 Using olive oil soaked onto a paper towel, coat the grill rack of your grill with olive oil. Preheat the grill with high, direct heat. The grill is hot enough when you hold your hand about an inch over it and you can only hold it there for about a second.

3 Take the steak out of the marinade bag and sprinkle generously on all sides with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. The salt and pepper will help form a savory crust on the steak. Place steak on the hot grill. If you are using a gas grill, cover the grill. Grill for 4-6 minutes on each side. Half way through grilling on each side, turn the steak 90° so that you get more grill marks.

4 Flank steak is best eaten medium rare; well done will make it too tough. When the steak has cooked to your preferred level of doneness, remove from the grill and place on a cutting board. Cover with aluminum foil to hold in the heat and to keep the steak from drying out, and let rest for 10 minutes.

5 Make very thin slices, against the grain, and at a slight diagonal so that the slices are wide.

I am linking today's post to Tasty Tuesday's at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday's at Blessed With Grace. Thanks to these ladies for hosting such fun events.

Christmas Eve Tapas

This year we decided to depart from all of the traditional Christmas Eve menus and have a tapas night. The menu was created by my son Justin.

Menu
White Sangria
Bruschetta
Cooked Jumbo Shrimp with Tomato and Pepper Dip
Roasted Aspargus
Chicken Wings
Stuffed Baby Portabellas*
Beer Marinated Grilled Flank Steak

*This was a substitution for Broiled Figs. No fresh figs available in Omaha in December!

White Sangria

1 750 ml bottle of Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc
1/4 cup superfine sugar
1/4 cup brandy
4 -5 slices of lemon
4 -5 slices of lime
1 peach sliced
12 - 18 seedless grapes
Club Soda

1.In a large pitcher or other container, combine the wine and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the remaining ingredients, excluding the club soda, and mix well.
2.Place the pitcher in the refrigerator and let the sangria sit for at least 1 hour (and up to 4 hours). The sangria will sweeten with time, so the longer it sits, the better.
3.Just before serving, stir in the club soda and ice cubes.


Cooked Jumbo Shrimp With Tomato and Pepper Dip

1 pound cooked jumbo shrimp, shelled
1 clove garlic, pressed
2 Tbsp. chopped onions
1/2 can crushed tomatoes
3 Tbsp. chopped red bell pepper
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. tabasco sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor combine all the ingredients except the olive oil and shrimp. Blend until smooth. Add the olive oil in a thin stream and blend further until smooth. Put mixture in large bowl. Chill for at least one hour. Chill the shrimp on a platter.

Serve the dip and shrimp cold.

Beer Marinated Grilled Flank Steak

2 pounds flank steak
1 (12-ounce) bottle Guinness draught
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
3 jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine Guinness, onion, garlic, and peppers in a zipper-locking plastic bag with beef. Marinate 6 to 8 hours in refrigerator.
Remove steak; discard marinade and season with salt and pepper. Grill over medium-high heat to desired doneness.
Let steak rest 4 to 5 minutes; slice across grain and serve.

Slow Cooker Flank Steak

If you follow my blog, you know my husband love his red meat but me, not so much. Normally we grill flank steak but now that the weather has cooled off, I need some indoor recipes. Since flank steak is a tougher cut of meat, I wondered if I cooked it in the slow cooker how tender it would be.

This steak was so tender and the flavor was melt in your mouth delicious. Yes, the not so much red meat eater loved this steak. And the mushroom gravy was to die for. This recipe is a keeper that I will make again, SOON.



Slowcooker Flank Steak

Adapted from Risa's Flank Steak Recipe

1 pound flank steak
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon beef base
1 cup water
1 tbsp Ketchup
1 tbsp whole grain mustard
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup water
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 lb fresh baby portabella mushrooms, sliced

Preheat a grill pan . When hot, place steak on and cook until you sear it well and you have nice grill marks. Remove and place in crockpot.

In a measuring cup, place beef base and water, add. Mix well. Add wine, soy sauce, garlic, ketchup, mustard and onion. Pour over steak. Cook on low heat for 8 hours or until meat is tender.

Turn to high. Place cornstarch and water in small bowl and whisk well to combine. Add cornstarch mixture to crockpot along with the mushrooms. Cook for 20-30 minutes or until mushrooms are tender.

To serve: slice meat in thin strips (against the grain) and serve with sauce over noodles or rice.

Dr. Pepper Flank Steak

I am not much of a red meat eater. My husband, on the other hand, could eat it at every meal. He doesn't feel that a meal is complete without some sort of meat.

I do, however, like flank steak. Flank steak is a cut of meat that is best when marinated, cooked until rare or medium rare and thinly sliced against the grain. I've found several marinades that make this a flavorful cut of meat. One of our favorites is the Dr. Pepper Flank Steak marinade.



Dr. Pepper Flank Steak
Adapted from Grady Spears recipe

1 (16-ounce) bottle of Dr. Pepper
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tablespoons of your favorite steak grilling seasoning
1-1/2 pounds of flank steak

1. In a large bowl, combine the Dr. Pepper, garlic cloves, and cinnamon sticks.
2. Add the flank steak, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 hours.
3. Prepare and light the grill, and heat to medium-high. Remove the flank steak from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels.
4. Season both sides with the steak seasoning.
5. Grill the steaks from 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until done (never cook flank steak past the medium-rare stage or it will be very tough.)
6. Remove the steak from the grill, and let rest for 4 or 5 minutes, loosely covered with foil. Cut the steak across the grain into 1-inch-wide slices.