Flank steak isn’t something I remember having growing up. I rarely see it in restaurants, though I suspect my local Mexican place uses it for my favorite dish there: Tacos al Carbon. I’ve not cooked with flank steak more than a couple of times; I have a phobia about buying beef and having it turn out really tough. (Is there a name for that? The phobia, I mean?) Anyway, I’d heard so many great things about flank steak over the years, I was determined to experiment and learn how to do it right.
I started by hunting for flank steak recipes that sounded interesting. There were lots of Mexican and TexMex recipes out there–and some Asian recipes, too–but I wanted something more steak-like. Coincidentally, over the last few months, and with high hopes, I’d tried a couple of garlic butter steak bites recipes calling for sirloin, but they didn’t impress me. That “garlic butter steak” part sounds good, though, doesn’t it?
Anyway, last week I bought a flank steak on sale. The whole thing was a little less than 1 3/4 pounds. I cut it in half and froze one of the halves. It’s usually only Princess Persnickety and me after all. I started hunting for recipes again. While hunting I accidentally stumbled on a recipe for Garlic Butter Steak on a magazine’s website. I glanced at it to see if it was different from the ones I’d tried, and it was a LOT different. It called for flank steak! And it had a slew of 5-star reviews! And I already had everything it called for in my kitchen!
I did fiddle with the recipe a bit. (I can’t help myself.) I messed with the marinade ingredients and I rearranged the instructions a tad. Further, the original recipe called for tiny potatoes, but it wanted you to cook them for something like 4 minutes. Never in my life have I cooked a potato of any size that I wanted to eat after 4 minutes. But, hey! I know how to fix that. I also used a slightly different herb combo.
I wanted a version of flank steak whose leftovers would work well for sandwiches or salads, etc. Y’all know how much I love to turn leftovers into other happy, tasty lunches or dinners. I counted myself lucky that Princess Persnickety was headed to Georgia to see the Princess OG for the weekend. It was just my dog Finn and me, and we would still have the other half of the flank steak if this first recipe bombed. Plus, who would know? Finn is nothing if not discreet.
Please keep in mind that the photos actually represent a half recipe. However, I’ve written the recipe for 4 dinner servings, because that’s standard. Just know that you can halve this recipe if needed.
How did Garlic Butter Flank Steak with Skillet Potatoes turn out? I confess I made it on Sunday morning while reading the paper and chilling with the dog. He’s the best helper a cook could have: so attentive, so underfoot. Anyway, Finn and I started cooking before I’d finished my first cup of coffee. Even then the method I’d chosen was easy and spot-on, the flavorings I’d ultimately decided on were really good, and the result was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. The potatoes were awesome: crispy but still coated in herby garlic butter. Finn enjoyed it, too. The house smelled like buttery garlic (in a good way) until well after lunch.
Yes, I’ll most definitely be making Garlic Butter Flank Steak with Skillet Potatoes again! My sweet boy Finn agrees. I’m willing to bet the leftovers would have made a dandy sandwich or salad, but I can’t say for sure. We ate it all.
Garlic Butter Flank Steak with Skillet Potatoes
Ingredients
Marinade:
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 1½ T. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 T. olive oil
- 1 T. hot sauce
- ½ t. black pepper
Steak and potaotes:
- 1½ lbs. flank steak
- 1½ lbs. baby yellow potatoes, cut in quarters
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 T. olive oil
- 4 T. butter, divided
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 T. chopped fresh parsley
- 1 T. freeze-dried chives
- ½ t. dried thyme
- big pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- Mix the marinade ingredients and marinate the steak in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Boil the potatoes briefly in salted water until a fork will pierce them easily. Drain.
- Drain the steak, reserving the marinade. Slice against the grain into strips ⅓-½" thick.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the olive oil and 2 T. butter. Add the potatoes to the skillet, arranging in one layer. Cook undisturbed for 3 or 4 minutes. Flip the potatoes and cook undisturbed for another 3 or 4 minutes until nicely browned. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
- Add the last 2 T. of butter to the skillet. Add the herbs and garlic and cook one minute, stirring. Working in batches, add the steak strips in a single layer. Cook 1 minute, turn over and cook another minute. Remove to a plate and continue until all of the steak is browned and set aside.
- When all the steak strips are browned and you've set them aside, add the reserved marinade to the hot pan. Bring to a boil and boil, stirring, for a minute or so. Add the steak back to the pan and toss with the sauce, then move all of the steak to one side of the pan. Add the potatoes to the other side and stir to coat the potatoes with the sauce. Let the potatoes heat through and serve.
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