Vietnamese Flank Steak

Theophan

I don't know if this really is very Vietnamese or not, but it sure was tasty, a recipe of Melissa Clark's on the NY Times Cooking section. Flank steak marinated in fish sauce, lime juice, lime zest, dark brown sugar, garlic and jalapeño. Some of the marinade also saved separately from the meat as a dressing for a salad of cucumbers, radishes and scallions. It was really good!

In the sliced photos, the meat looks more rare in the photo than it was. It was all cooked, not raw in the middle like some of it looks in the picture, but a perfect medium rare, just the way I like it. I don't always get it right, but this time it all worked out.

CornfedMA

Nailed the temp. Love a good flank steak!

lkapigian

Nice plate right there

NorthPilot06

Perfect cook on that flank. Delicious!

caliking

These are my kinda flavors! Love it.

nolaegghead

looks effin fantastic!!

Ozzie_Isaac

Nice!! I know what I'm cooking in the near future. Thank you for sharing.

Photo Egg

Very well could be the best looking Flank Steak I have ever seen!

The Crust/Char is fantastic!

bgebrent

That looks wonderful! I love the marinade components. Great job.

northGAcock

Who cares about the vietnamese, (recipe not the fine folks), that looks and sounds outstanding. Great work right there.

HendersonTRKing

Can't go wrong with a Melissa Clark recipe -- she knows her stuff and does a good job grilling, too.

Thx for the great post and tip! And here's a link to her recipe if anyone is so inclined!

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015080-vietnamese-steak-with-cucumber-salad

Theophan

MANY thanks for all of the kind comments!

I wonder, do any of you do a reverse sear with flank steak? When I put it on the grill, it never seems quite thick enough to be worth it, but I bet I cooked this at least 4 minutes a side at around 500°, and somehow when flank steaks cook, they seem to bunch up and get thicker, and unfortunately, not evenly. I'm suddenly wondering whether maybe a reverse sear would be worth a try, after all. Any thoughts?

bgebrent

Hot and fast like you did is best in my opinion. The other technique that might achieve what your after is SV, then sear. Your results look great to me.

KiterTodd

Looks great. I love a good flank steak marinade!

How tender was it? I know to slice it thin against the grain, but sometimes flank is still too chewy to be enjoyable. I'm left thinking, "the flavor of this is great, if it just wasn't meat gum!" 🤣

My mom's flank is always good. She just opens a bottle of Gravy Master and let's that sit on it with some garlic powder and pepper. Probably has some kind of tenderizer in it, but it comes out great.

Stormbringer

That looks amazing.

Photo Egg

https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/comment/2429637#Comment_2429637

I agree about chewy flank steak. If I cook more towards rare it's chewy. Just a little over medium rare seems like the sweet spot to get rid of the chew.

Theophan

I agree that flank steak usually is a little chewy, but I'm not sure I find it a lot chewier than strip steak, for example. Ribeye tends to be more tender, but I really love the flavor of strip steak even though it tends to be chewier. I thought the texture of this steak was fine, but I usually do.

If it's been heavily marinated, like overnight, I don't mind it medium, I guess, but I always prefer medium-rare.

And I don't know whether this makes it worse or not, but I usually slice against the grain but at a bit of an angle. It makes the slices more attractive in not being so long and narrow, but at the risk of making the blade a little bit more parallel to the grain. This particular steak, though, I cut almost vertically. Here's a cook where I cut it more at an angle. I don't know whether it makes it even chewier or not, but I guess it must not be a lot chewier, or I'd be sure.

smbishop

@Theophan Thank you for sharing, Flank Steak is a long time favorite. Your photos are outstanding and show a perfect meal! I will be making this soon.

@HendersonTRKing Thank you for the link to the recipe, saved!

StillH2OEgger

Boy, does that look good. Perfect, actually.

bucky925

Fantastic ! Another Egghead forum recipe stolen.

Theophan

Thanks for the kind words!

And for those who plan to follow Melissa Clark's recipe, be aware that many reader comments on it said they thought it was too salty. It called for 1/2 cup of fish sauce, and I only used 1/3 cup, and it was still plenty salty. I'm not sure I'd like the original 1/2 cup as well. YMMV...