Grilled Flank Steak

The hubby decided to celebrate his first Father's Day by cooking supper for everyone else, and he even went through a few cookbooks to choose a menu. He wouldn't let me in on the details, other than to ask me to help choose a flank steak at the supermarket. Needless to say, my curiosity was piqued.

We don't eat flank steak often, even though I love it. I often hear cooks refer to it as a very economical cut of meat, but I've never found it for less than $7 per pound around here. So I can count on one finger the number of times I've actually purchased and cooked my own.

This is a shame, because I have a years-old marinade recipe that I just love. In fact, I love it so much, that I kept encouraging the hubby to rethink his recipe idea and just go with my marinade. I subtly suggested it. About six times. And when we got home, I pulled my recipe card out and told the hubby to look at it, just in case it looked more tempting than his recipe. He refused. But he did finally tell me which cookbook he'd found his in -- it was one of those paperback-sized Taste of Home grilling cookbooks that he'd recently picked up while shopping.

And this is so awesome: the recipe that the hubby wanted to try and the recipe that I wanted him to use were the exact same. Talk about great minds.

The hubby cooked the steak to perfection, and it got me to wondering why we don't use flank steak more often. I think part of it is the whole "eat with your eyes" thing. When ribeyes are on sale for $7 a pound, we'll each dive into a 16-ounce ribeye. (Hi. I'm Alyssa. I like meat.) And yet, we felt very satisfied with a handful of slices of flank steak, and we had plenty left over. I should've done the math years ago.

Grilled Flank Steak
Serves 5-6

3 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. dry sherry (can substitute chicken broth)
3 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
3/4 tsp. seasoned salt
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 1/2 lb. flank steak

1. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar through the parsley flakes.

2. Pour 1/3 c. of the marinade into a large resealable bag, and add the steak. Seal bag and turn to coat, ensuring that the entire steak is coated in marinade.

Four hands are better than two.

3. Refrigerate 1-3 hours. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade to use for basting.

4. Grill steak over medium heat for 6-8 minutes on each side, or until cooked to desired doneness. Baste frequently with reserved marinade.

5. Let rest before slicing into thin slices against the grain. (And be sure to mix with any juices that run out. That's the good stuff.)