This grilled flank steak is amazingly tender and flavorful when marinated in a delicious sauce then grilled to med-rare, cut on the bias, and covered in fresh and fragrant chimichurri sauce. Great for feeding a crowd and for leftover steak sandwiches!
Flank steak is often overlooked and cast aside for fillet minion or rib-eyes, and mind you, those cuts are great, but for those of you who have had a properly prepared marinated and grilled flank steak, you know it won’t be your last.
Typically a tougher cut of beef, if its marinated and cooked to medium rare and then cut on the bias (against the grain), it becomes so flavorful, tender and versatile.
Why this Recipe Works
- Its got a ton of flavor! Both from the steak, the marinade, and the sauce!
- Its very easy to make, even for novice cooks.
- It makes an impressive and delicious dish to serve to guests with minimal work, and that’s what we like around here!
Ingredients You Need
For the Marinade
- soy sauce
- citrus juice (orange juice, pineapple juice or a mix works too)
- garlic
- grated ginger
- brown sugar or honey
For the Chimichuri Sauce
How to Make the Chimichuri Sauce
This sauce is so easy to make. You literally throw everything in a blender and your done! Or you can also use a food processor.
- Fill a blender or food processor with the cilantro and parsley.
- Then add the lime juice, garlic, cumin and cayenne, and salt.
- While the blender is on, add the olive oil slowly.
- Keep blending until it is well pureed and somewhat smooth.
Marinating the Steak
Marinating steak is super easy and it really upgrades the flavor of your flank steak. There are a few things to remember when marinating:
- You can use a sealable bag to marinate your steak, however we prefer to use a shallow dish as it reduces plastic waste and is just as effective. You just want to have a lid or a cover for the dish. You will also want to turn your steak over in the marinade so that you can make sure to coat all sides.
- Always marinate in the fridge. You don’t want to leave your steak out on the counter as it could grow some nasty bacteria.
- Marinate your steak for 2 to 24 hours. The longer it marinates, the more tender and juicy the steak will be after grilling.
- When you are done, discard the used marinade. It no longer good for consumption unless you were to boil it in a pot before using it for anything.
How to Cook Flank Steak
- Bring your steaks to room temperature or at least let it sit on the counter for about an hour. Having your steaks at room temperature when you cook them means that they will cook evenly.
- Turn the grill to medium-high heat. Add the steaks. Cook on each side for 3 minutes or until outside is browned. Reduce heat to medium-high. Cook the steaks to the desired doneness. Mine took about 10 minutes flipping 3 times to get a medium well.
- Top with butter and garnish with the chimichurri sauce.
- Make sure to let the steak rest for 5-10 minutes covered on a cutting board. This will let the meat relax and distribute the juices within the steak. And then cut across the grain in very thin strips.
Cooking Temperatures for Steak:
Learning how to cook steak the way you like it takes a little practice. It’s best to under cook your steak a touch and then it will continue to cook a bit as its resting. Using a meat thermometer is key to cooking your steak perfectly!
- Rare: Temperature: 115°F; Remove when it reaches 110°F
- Medium-Rare: Temperature: 125°F; Remove when it reaches 120°F
- Medium: Temperature: 135°F; Remove when it reaches 130°F
- Medium-Well: Temperature: 140°F; Remove when it reaches 135°F
- Well Done: Temperature: 150°F; Remove when it reaches 145°F
We prefer our flank steak medium-rare or medium.
Expert Tip
- When cutting your flank steak, remember to cut across the bias, or essentially, against the grain. The lines in the meat are the direction you want to find and cut opposite of those lines. This will enhance the flavor of the meat as well as keep it tender. To see the grain, look at the steak and you will see that it has parallel lines running in one direction – cut across the lines, in the opposite direction. It makes a huge difference in how tender your meat will be when you eat it and trust me, you can definitely tell the difference when you’re chewing juicy and super tender steak instead of chewy tough flank steak.
Ways to eat this grilled flank steak:
- as is with the chimichuri sauce
- the most amazing steak sandwiches
- steak tacos are amazing with grilled flank steak too
- make these cheesesteak stuffed portabellos with your leftovers!
If you’ve tried this grilled flank steak recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let us know how it turned out in the comments below. We love hearing from you!
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Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri sauce
Ingredients
FOR THE MARINADE
- 2 lbs flank steak
- 3/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup citrus juice (I have used orange juice, pineapple juice and a mixture of citrus juice)
- 4-5 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 3 tbsp brown sugar or honey
Instructions
MARINATE THE STEAK
- Place everything in a container with a lid or ziplock bag and marinate the flank steak at least 4-5 hour or overnight is best.
MAKE THE CHIMICHURI SAUCE
- Fill a blender or food processor with the cilantro and parsley. Then add the lime juice, garlic, cumin and cayenne, and salt. While the blender is on, add the olive oil slowly. Blend until it is well pureed and somewhat smooth.
COOK THE STEAK
- Heat your barbecue to medium-high heat. Wait for it to get nice and hot. So you can’t hold your hand over the grill for more than a second.
- Throw your steak on the grill and cook for 3 mins. Then turn slightly, a quarter turn, and cook for another 3 mins. This will get you beautiful criss-cross char marks on your steak. Then turn it over and do the same on the other side.
- Take the steak off the grill and tent (cover) it with foil for 10 mins to let it rest and the juices redistribute.
- With a sharp knife, slice the steak in thin slices against the grain. Serve with more chimichuri sauce on the side. Enjoy!
chantelle | naked cuisine says
Wow that beautiful vibrant green, and those grill marks, absolute perfection! I love having a jar of chimmichurri in the fridge at all times.
Julie and Debbie says
Hi Chantelle! Thanks for the comment 🙂 I agree, chimichuri is sure worth keeping on hand!
Lillian says
This recipe looks great! In your intro you mentioned marinating this in teriyaki but the recipe list calls for soy sauce.. which would you recommend? Can’t wait to make this tomorrow!
Julie and Debbie says
Hi Lillian, thanks for stopping by our site. I wish I was coming to your house for dinner! Now I have a craving for this 🙂
Sorry for any confusion, but to make teriyaki sauce (from scratch) you use the ingredients listed in our recipe. Including soy sauce. I have updated the recipe so that hopefully it is a little more clear. I have also updated the post to show links to some recipes we often use when we have left overs of this steak. If you have any left, you should definitely check out the steak sandwiches!
Meredith says
This looks divine! What else would you serve alongside for a complete meal? Can’t wait to try!
Julie & Debbie says
Hi Meredith, I would probably serve this with roasted or mashed potatoes. I love steak and potatoes 🙂 and that chimichuri sauce would be so good over roasted potatoes too! I would also maybe do corn on the cob and a green salad or some sauteed peppers, carrots and onions. Or even just a wack of steamed veggies. Hope that helps!
Meredith says
Thanks for the excellent ideas! I made this in September for my boyfriend’s family, and it was such a huge hit! I made roasted potatoes for the side????. Since then I have also made a creamy goat cheese polenta and let me tell you, steak with chimichurri, roasted tomatoes & cheesy polenta is a surreal experience!