Marinade for Flank Steak: Garlic, Soy and Lime

A good marinade for flank steak does four jobs at once. Soy sauce salts the meat, lime juice brightens it, oil carries the garlic and pepper into the surface, and a little brown sugar helps it brown on a hot grill. Give the steak two to twelve hours in the fridge, cook it hot and fast, and slice it thin across the grain.

Flank is a long, flat, lean steak from the belly with a grain you can see from across the kitchen. It has plenty of beef flavor and very little fat to hide behind, which is exactly why it takes so well to a marinade and why the way you slice it matters as much as the way you cook it.

At a glance: serves 4. Prep 10 minutes, marinate 2 to 12 hours, cook about 12 minutes, rest 10 minutes.

Gray Shipley, who runs the farm, keeps most steaks very simple. Asked how he seasons a steak, he said:

“a lot of steaks can do fine with just a little salt and pepper.”

Gray Shipley

Flank is the steak where a marinade earns its place. It is lean, so there is no fat to baste it from the inside, and its long grain rewards a few hours of salt and acid before it meets the fire. This marinade is still short and plain on purpose: it seasons the beef rather than covering it up.

Ingredients

• 1 flank steak, 1 to 1 3/4 pounds
• 1/3 cup soy sauce or tamari
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro or sliced scallions, to serve

Instructions

1. Whisk the soy sauce, olive oil, lime juice, brown sugar, garlic, Worcestershire, pepper and red pepper flakes in a bowl until the sugar dissolves.
2. Lay the flank steak in a zip-top bag or a shallow dish, pour the marinade over it, and turn to coat. Press the air out of the bag, seal it, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and no more than 12, turning it once.
3. Take the steak out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Heat a grill to high, or set an oven rack about 4 inches below the broiler and heat the broiler.
4. Lift the steak out of the marinade and let the excess drip off. Throw away the used marinade. Pat both sides dry with paper towels so the surface browns instead of steaming.
5. Grill or broil for 4 to 6 minutes per side, turning once, until a thermometer in the thickest part reads your target. USDA FSIS sets 145 degrees F with a 3-minute rest as the safe minimum for beef steaks.
6. Move the steak to a cutting board and rest it for 5 to 10 minutes.
7. Find the direction of the grain, then slice the steak thinly across it, holding the knife at a slight angle. Scatter with cilantro or scallions and serve.

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How long to marinate flank steak

Two hours is enough for the salt to season the outside of the steak. Overnight, up to about 12 hours, gives a deeper flavor. Past that, the lime juice starts to turn the surface soft and mealy, so do not leave it in for days. If you need to prepare it further ahead, mix the marinade, keep it in a jar in the fridge, and add the steak the morning you plan to cook.

Always marinate in the refrigerator, never on the counter. If you want some marinade to spoon over the sliced steak, set a few tablespoons aside before the raw meat goes in, or bring the used marinade to a full boil for a minute before serving it.

Grill or broiler?

Either works, and both work for the same reason: flank is thin, so it needs high heat that browns the outside before the middle overcooks. On a gas grill, run every burner on high with the lid down for 10 minutes first. On charcoal, cook over a full, hot bed of coals. Under the broiler, use a rimmed sheet pan lined with foil and leave the oven door closed between turns.

Because flank is lean, it goes from juicy to dry quickly. Start checking the temperature after about 4 minutes on the second side. Many cooks take flank off at 130 to 135 degrees F for medium rare. That is below the FSIS figure, and the choice is yours.

Slicing flank steak across the grain

This is the step that makes flank tender. The muscle fibers run in long parallel lines down the length of the steak. Slice along them and every bite is a long, chewy strand. Slice across them, thinly and on a slight angle, and you cut each fiber short. Look for the lines on the cooked steak before you start, and turn the board so your knife crosses them.

More flank steak recipes

The same marinade and the same thin slice work for flank steak tacos, rice bowls, and steak salads. For a stir-fry, slice the raw steak thinly across the grain first and cook it in batches in a very hot pan. Flank is often confused with skirt and bavette, its neighbors on the animal; the guides below explain the differences and when to choose each.

Food safety

USDA FSIS lists 145 degrees F, followed by a rest of at least 3 minutes, as the safe minimum internal temperature for beef steaks. Check it with an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the steak. Keep raw meat and its marinade apart from food that will not be cooked, and refrigerate leftovers promptly. See the FSIS Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart.