Tough steaks are disappointing, to say the least, but what we’re talking about here is a type of steak that is easy to tenderize using marinades.
Flank steak is one piece of meat that, yes, has to be treated with care, and while it does take strong jaws to chew, if you cook it properly, it shouldn’t turn tough. Before we proceed with what to do with a flank steak so that it’s edible, let’s find out some more about this particular cut.
Where it comes from
Flank steak is a cut from the abdominal muscles of the cow and is easy to recognize by the long and stringy muscle fibers. Secret number one to cook tender flank steak is slicing against the grain, a procedure that prevents the muscle fibers from turning chewy. Cooks frequently do this because it naturally breaks down the meat.
Another way to break down the muscle fibers is through slow and moist cooking, but more about this method further along the article.
Flank steak is known as sobrebarriga in Colombia and matambre in South America, where it is commonly cooked into carne asada. For carne asada, the steak is marinated and grilled to perfection, so how about we learn some flank steak grilling tips here as provided by professional chefs?
How to grill a flank steak
Often times when people grill flank steak they are disappointed to see it turns out tough and almost inedible despite having marinated the cut for hours. And indeed, there are those who say that marinating the meat doesn’t help much with tenderizing but simply adds flavor to the steak.
Other people are known to marinate flank steak for days before cooking, so they increase the chance of enjoying a good steak. To produce one of the best flank steaks, all you really have to do is grill over extremely high heat for a very short time.
You can even grill flank steak directly over charcoal. And after you’ve grilled it once, set it aside for a few minutes, then again cut perpendicular against the grain. This further tenderizes because for a while after you’ve taken the meat off the grill, the temperature inside continues to rise, and the steak still cooks.
You know a flank steak is cooked properly when it’s medium rare, having a warm red center.
How to tenderize through slow cooking
The moist cooking technique known as braising tenderizes the cut also through a breaking down of the muscle fibers. In this case slicing against the grain is no longer necessary since the slow cooking does the job of tenderizing.
Braising requires covering the meat partially in liquid and allowing it to simmer slowly at low temperature. This technique is often used to make stews.
When braising, it’s important that the liquid used to cook the meat – which can even be the meat’s own juices, covers the meat barely. You’re not looking to boil the pieces of meat, but to simmer them until the muscle fibers begin to break down and tenderize the meat.