A few tips for grilling a great flank steak...

Grilled Flank Steak with Mushroom Sauce and Caesar Salad

It seems steak is something basic that should be easy to cook. For me it has taken many tries to get the right sear, flavor and temperature. I like my meat on the rare side and if it is overcooked I will not be a happy camper. I don't claim to be an expert, or a chef, but through reading many recipes and cooking many steaks I have found a few techniques that will help deliver that juicy steak.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when trying to grill that delicious slab of beef:

• Lightly oil and season your steak for flavor. If you have time, let the steak sit in a marinade to soak up more flavor. 

• BRUSH OIL ON THE GRILL! This helps tremendously when you try to turn the steak (read next tip). When I say brush I really mean take a dishcloth, put oil on it and rub it across the grates, use tongs. 

• Break up the cooking time in 4 increments. So if you are cooking the steak for 4 minutes per side (if its about 1 inch thick this should give you med- med rare) put the steak on for 2 min and turn it 90 degrees so you will have nice sear marks. Then once time is up on that side flip and repeat with the 90 degree turn. You get the idea :)

• When deciding if it is time to take the steak off I say pull sooner than later.When you rest (next step) it will cook a bit more.

• REST your steak. I like to leave it 5-10 minutes so the juices stay in the meat and it stays tender.  

She is ready to come off!

I served the steak with a Caesar salad and topped it with a mushroom sauce that I made up. Below is my make shift recipe for this tasty sauce.

Garlicky Mushroom and Onion Sauce
8 oz mushrooms sliced
1/2 an onion diced
1-3 cloves of garlic minced (decide how much garlic you like!)
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
1/2-1 cup chicken stock (gauge how much you need as you stir in)
1 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp Mustard

Prep your mushrooms, onion and garlic.

Melt the butter and evoo in pan on med-high heat.

Add onion and garlic to pan and cook for about 5 min...don't let the garlic burn.

Add mushrooms to the pan and cook for 5-8 minutes or until tender.

Stir in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add chicken stock and mustard, stir and reduce until thick. If after a few minutes you think you added too much stock you can always stir in a bit more flour and keep reducing.

Always taste and season the sauce with salt and pepper as needed. Be careful with the salt since the chicken stock will already have salt added.

Spoon over a hot steak and savor the goodness!

Garlicky Mushroom and Onion Sauce

XOXO Happy Eating!