Herb-Marinated Skirt Steak 

Flank Steak (with Horseradish Sauce)

By Cat, June 2010 (photo, right, from naturallygrassfed.com (3))

See also: 1. Salsa Verde; 2. Beef, Venison, Buffalo Menu (scroll down to ‘Flank, Skirt, or Hangar Steak)

This recipe is a different take on Margarita-Marinated Grilled Skirt Steak, with Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa, and adapted from Fine Cooking (1). If you can’t find skirt steak, flank steak is very similar and a good substitute. The original recipe serves 6 – 8; I’ve cut this down to serve 2 – 4. Steaks can also be grilled or sear-roasted in a cast iron skillet or grill pan. 

Herb-Marinated Skirt Steak 

For sear-roasting, the original recipe has you transfer the seared steaks to a prepared baking pan, then roasting in 400°F oven. But I prefer to pan-roast, using a lid, mainly because it doesn’t heat up my kitchen like my old gas oven does. I learned to do this from a Cooks Illustrated (2) recipe for Pan-Roasted Chicken (link goes to my adaptation). If you choose to roast in the oven, use a broiler pan with rack, or place a rack in a roasting pan or jelly-roll pan.

Ingredients & Equipment:

• 1.5 – 2 lb skirt or flank steak
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary (about 5″ long)
• 6 – 8 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• olive oil
• Unrefined sea salt
• 1 recipe salsa verde (traditional, with tomatillos, or pesto-style with basil & almonds)

Equipment

• bowl
• grill with rack, or cast iron skillet with lid and splatter screen

Method:

1. Trim steaks of excess fat, and cut into pieces of relatively even thickness and about 2″ wide strips.
2. Smash unpeeled garlic with side of flat-bladed knife, then peel.
3. Crush and tear rosemary with your fingers and/or mortar to release perfume.
4. Combine rosemary in bowl with thyme, garlic, pepper and 3  Tbsp olive oil. Add steaks and turn to coat with marinade. Cover and refrigerate to marinate 1 – 2 days.

Cooking Options

To Grill:

1. Remove steaks from fridge 30 minutes before grilling. Brush off herb sprigs and garlic. Season with salt.
2. Prepare grill fire to medium-hot.
3. Oil grill and grill steaks  2 -3 minutes on each side for medium rare (recommended). Thicker steaks may need a minute or two longer.
4. Let rest 10 minutes on clean cutting board before slicing thinly across the grain.

To Sear-roast:

1. Remove steaks from fridge 30 minutes before searing. Brush off herb sprigs and garlic. Season with salt.
2. Heat skillet over high heat until very hot. Add small amount of olive oil, then add as many pieces of steak as will fit without crowding. Sear, using a splatter screen, 2 – 3 minutes on each side, so each is well browned. Reduce heat to medium-high if pan is too hot and smoky. Then cover skillet with lid and roast over medium heat until steaks reach desired state of doneness (medium rare is recommended), about 5 minutes.
3. Let rest 10 minutes on clean cutting board before slicing thinly across the grain.

To Serve

• Before removing steaks from fridge, prepare salsa. Then drizzle over sliced steaks.

References

1. Fine Cooking recipe (finecooking.com/recipes/herb-marinated-skirt-steaks.aspx)
2. Cooks Illustrated magazine, March 2003 issue recipe (cooksillustrated.com/recipes/39-pan-roasted-chicken-breasts-with-sage-vermouth-sauce); Also available on Epicurious (epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/PAN-ROASTED-CHICKEN-BREASTS-WITH-SAGE-VERMOUTH-SAUCE-50047843)
3. Naturally Grassfed (naturallygrassfed.com)