the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Greek Marinated Grilled Flank Steak

As I shared on Monday when chatting about our favorite tzatziki recipe here, my lovely wife and I came a bit late to enjoy Greek cuisine as much as we do today.

We both come from families who, from a home cooking and menu perspective, ate fairly routine American fare during our years at home decades ago; we both grew up in Texas so adventurous dining back in the day was typically either barbecue or Tex-Mex. Heck, I’m not even sure there was a Greek diner or restaurant in my panhandle home growing up…

Later my wife and I lived in Salt Lake City for years, which happens to host a surprisingly robust Greek community, and one of my former business partners and mentors introduced us to the wonders of cooking (reasonably) authentic Greek cuisine at home – and this wonderful Greek salad we’ve served for years (including again this past week!).

A couple of weeks ago we had occasion to eat at one of our favorite Greek eateries here in the DFW metro to celebrate a small but meaningful life victory, we enjoyed a dish we’d not savored in a while – a simple but incredibly delicious marinated and grilled flank steak.

I of course pestered the restaurant team for their recipe, and while they didn’t provide all the details, it was enough to guide my research, which included time on the phone with friend and Chef Libby in Austin.

After a bit of experimenting and tweaking, this is the recipe we’ve dialed in for this Greek Marinated Grilled Flank Steak.

Living in Texas as we do, I often reach for skirt or hanger steaks when preparing fajitas (which granted we enjoy often); it’s been a pleasure to cook with flank again as well – flank shares the same deep, beefy flavor as skirt (and hangers), the same robust tooth when cooked just so, and yet is delightfully tender when thinly sliced across the grain. And compared to some of the other cuts we’ve posted recipes for over the years, grass-fed flank can feel like a true bargain too.

Plan ahead for this one as you’ll really want to let the flank marinate for 24-hours, though 8 works in a pinch. And you can argue if you must, but this one begs to cooked to just medium, rested for 8 to 10 minutes, and thinly sliced across the grain.

2 to 3 lb flank steak
1 cup EVOO or avocado oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup coconut aminos or tamari
2 tbsp fresh chopped mint
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dill weed (dried)
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt

This one couldn’t be easier.

Whisk the marinade ingredients in a medium bowl, pour over the flank (I prefer to cut our flank into 3 to 4-inch wide pieces prior or marinating) and place in a resealable bag or your favorite non-plastic marinating container.

Marinate for preferably 24 hours, but at least 8, turning the flank occasionally to make sure all sides are well coated and exposed to the marinade.

Fire the grill, drain the flank while the grill is preheating, then grill to your desired finish – though flank begs to be cooked just medium rare, rested for 10 minutes, and then sliced thinly across the grain.

Great hot or cold, make sure you have tzatziki on hand for your Greek feast.

Enjoy.