Instant Pot Flank Steak recipes - Main course (2023)

FAQs

What is the best cooking method for flank steak? ›

Grilling is perhaps the best way to cook Flank steak, but you can also pan-sear it in a skillet, broil it in your oven, or even use a specialty cooking method like an instant pot. The real trick is to keep your Flank steak grill time to a minimum.

These steaks do best when cooking over high heat for a short period of time to give them the perfect texture and taste. Spray the pan with some cooking spray or add olive oil and cook on each side for about four minutes each. The optimal temperature is, again, a medium rare so your meat doesn't end up too chewy.

1. Pounding. Using a meat mallet (or kitchen mallet) to pound steaks helps soften and tenderize the meat. Simply place the meat in between pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper and pound it prior to cooking.

Don't rinse meat before cooking.

Many people believe you should wash or rinse raw poultry, beef, pork, lamb or veal before cooking, but it's actually not necessary. Any bacteria that might be on it will be killed during the cooking process. In fact, rinsing meat before cooking it can actually do more harm than good.

Without a marinade, however, flank steak can be a little tough. With a tenderizing marinade, it not only becomes buttery tender but drinks up notes of the marinade whether that's lime juice, lemon juice, orange juice, soy sauce, Worcestershire, or vinegar.

Can Flank Steak Be Marinated Too Long? Just like chicken and salmon can be marinated too long, flank steak can be marinated for too long. In short, leaving the flank steak in the marinade for too long will ruin the steak. Instead of a tender, juicy steak, you will end up with a tough, chewy steak.

Step 1: Bring Your Flank Steak to Room Temp

For the best results, let it sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes before cooking so that the meat can absorb the salt.

Make sure to give yourself at least 2 hours for the flank steak marinade to work its magic to tenderize the meat. The best timing would be to mix the ingredients together before lunch so it's ready to go by dinner.

Place your flank steak over the hottest part of the grill (approximately 450–500°F). Sear, uncovered, on each side for 1-2 minutes depending on how thick is the meat. Continue to grill the steak, uncovered, for 6-8 minutes total, flipping the meat once halfway through. Use a meat thermometer to take the internal temp.

How many people will 2 pounds of flank steak feed? ›

This results in a leaner cut of meat than the skirt steak. How many people does a flank steak serve? A flank steak can weigh about 1.5 – 2 lbs and will vary in weight depending on the size of the hind quarter. At the recommended ½ pound per person, a 2 lb flank steak can feed 4 people.

Flank steak is made from the cow's abdominal muscles. It's one of the healthiest beef cuts—ounce for ounce, a flank steak has fewer calories and more protein than a ribeye or porterhouse. It's one of the great cuts—very lean and with a lot of flavor if you don't overcook it and know how to slice it (across the grain).

Whenever you get stir-fries in any Chinese restaurant, you'll notice how incredibly soft the beef is. That's because they use baking soda as a tenderizer.

Most fine restaurants age their beef to intensify the flavor and improve the tenderness of the cut. Aging is done by letting the meat sit (in very controlled conditions) for several days or weeks.

How do I enhance the flavor of a flank steak? Dry rubs and marinades work the best to flavor a flank steak. Dry rubs impart a bold flavor without the need for marinading the meat overnight. Think of dry rubs as a quick solution for flavorful beef flank steak on a time crunch.

Score Meat Before Marinating: To help the marinade penetrate as deeply as possible (especially thicker cuts like flank steak), prick the surface of the meat with a fork or score it with a knife.

Baking soda acts as a meat tenderizer by changing the physical composition of meat fibers. It raises the pH levels on the surface and makes it tougher (pun intended) for the proteins in the meat to bond.

They suggest scoring flank or hanger steak, which have long fibers, by making shallow cuts against the grain in one direction, then another set of cuts the other way. These cuts sever some of the long fibers, so even if you cut your steak the wrong way, you still have tender pieces with every bite.

Balsamic vinegar is a good marinade for red meats because it helps to tenderize them. The acid in the vinegar helps to break down some of the protein and fat in the beef, which makes it softer. The balsamic vinegar also adds a sweet flavor while tenderizing, without having to add any sugar.

The critical reason for this is because flank steak, although lean and flavorful, is tougher than other cuts of beef due to the many long thin fibers running through it. To help tenderize flank steak, it is often marinated and cooked by grilling, stir-frying, broiling, or smoking.

Does baking soda tenderize flank steak? ›

Less than a teaspoon of baking soda ensures that your steak remains juicy and tender—even after a speedy marinade. While other recipes demand hours of marinating, this baking soda hack makes a flank steak or any other fibrous cut of beef ready to sear after just an hour.

Maximum marinating time: If you're wondering about the maximum safe time you can leave marinated steaks in the fridge, according to the government's food safety tips, you can marinate beef in the fridge for up to 5 days (I never do more than 2-3 though, because I'm a hygiene stickler).

The downside to flank steak is that it can become overcooked and chewy quickly because it's so lean and muscled. Cooking using a quick cooking method like pan searing is one of the best ways to bring out its flavor without overdoing the cook.

Flank Steak (aka London Broil, Plank Steak, Jiffy Steak, Bavette in French and Arrachera in Spanish) Flank steak is a cut taken from the underbelly, or the flank, of the cow. It is sometimes used interchangeably with skirt steak but they are different cuts (though the textures are similar).

What Are the Differences Between Skirt Steak and Flank Steak? Skirt steak has more fat, making it taste even richer and juicier than flank steak. It also has more connective tissue. Flank steak is thicker and wider than skirt steak and a little easier to find in stores.

Do the surf-and-turf math: If you're having 10 guests, you would need five x eight = 40 ounces, or two-and-a-half pounds.

Flank steak usually costs about half the price of a strip steak or rib eye and a typical one-and-a-half pound steak will feed four to six persons.

To feed four to six adults, get 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of flank steak — you can stretch this amount to feed eight if you're serving appetizers or other side dishes.

Is flank steak the cheapest meat? ›

So, flank steak is lean, tasty, and inexpensive (compared to other steak cuts).

It's simple: both types of meat are taken from tough beef cuts. However, London broil actually means a preparation method for flank steak or top round. Flank steak, on the other hand, is a raw steak taken from the abdominal muscles of the cow. London broil is not a type of steak, per se.

Why It Works. Salt and soy sauce tenderize meat, help it retain moisture, and increase its savoriness.

Use an acidic marinade.

For tough, thinner cuts of steak like skirt, hanger, and flank, and London broil, consider an acidic marinade for more tender results (and more surface flavor!).

Velveting is a Chinese method of marinating which keeps delicate meat and seafood moist and tender during cooking. The velveting technique is very easy and gives amazing results.

What does Texas Roadhouse do to make their steaks so tender? The key to making the steak tender is to let it rest after seasoning the steak. This lets the seasoning penetrate into the steak which helps to break down the muscle fibers. Let is rest for at least 30 minutes.

Why do people put butter on steak? Adding butter to steak adds extra richness and can also soften the charred exterior, making a steak more tender.

Does Worcestershire Tenderize Meat? Yes, Worcestershire sauce is a great meat tenderizer. It has vinegar in it, which breaks down the meat fibers. It's highly concentrated, so it penetrates deep into the steak for more flavor.

Add the olive oil to a 6-quart slow cooker, rubbing it around until the inside is coated. Place the flank steak in the slow cooker and cover. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low on 4-5 hours, or until very tender. Do not uncover during this time.

Is flank steak or skirt steak better for stir fry? ›

Flank steak is arguably the most popular when it comes to choosing a cut for your stir fry. This long and thin cut comes from the belly muscles of the cow and is full of intense beef flavour. It is best when sliced thin and takes to marinade well. A great all-rounder.

Place steak on a sheet pan and cook, turning once halfway through, until cooked to your liking, about 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. (Cooking time will vary due to thickness of your steak.) Let rest before slicing and serving.

Flank Steak (aka London Broil, Plank Steak, Jiffy Steak, Bavette in French and Arrachera in Spanish) Flank steak is a cut taken from the underbelly, or the flank, of the cow. It is sometimes used interchangeably with skirt steak but they are different cuts (though the textures are similar).

What is the difference between a flat iron and a flank steak? A flat iron steak is cut from the shoulder area of the cow and a flank steak is cut from the belly muscle. Both steaks are flavorful and tender (when seasoned and not cooked beyond medium), but the flank steak is leaner than the flat iron.

Conclusion. The flat iron steak is a slice of extremely tender meat with rich flavor, while the flank steak has a strong beefy flavor. However, it is as tough as a plank, which is more ironic. The shoulder blade steak is supposed to be tough, while the belly meat is tender.