What is flank steak

It's underrated!! We are so used to sirloin, rump and filet that we forget about the other cuts of beef like flank steak. It is lean and flavoursome, but it is also a thin cut and is easily overcooked, which makes it tough.

Because of where this cut of beef comes from the flank of the cow, while it is lean, it is a well-used muscle, and if you don’t prepare it right, it can be tough and chewy.

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Cooking tips

Cook hot and fast or slowly for a long, long time…

There can be no in between. In this recipe, we’re going hot and fast, and you’ve got to make sure that you have preheated the grill before you start the cooking.  

Marinate

This helps tenderise the meat by breaking down fibres, and in this recipe, you’ll let the steak marinate for 2-24 hours. Not only is that going to tenderise the meat but is going to give you bucket loads of flavour.

Rest it once cooked

We’re all tempted to eat meats the second that they come out of the pan, resting isn’t just something chefs have invented for fun, under the heat of cooking the fibres firm up which pushes water to the outer layer. When you rest the meat, it allows these juices to redistribute back through the meat – keeping it juicer.

Slicing across the grain

To do this look at the steak and you’ll notice that it’s a bit like wood, the muscle fibres will align and run in the same direction, it’ll look like fine lines running the length of the steak. Cut across the lines and at an angle of about 45°.

What is Miso?

Miso paste is a staple of Japanese cooking, and it’s becoming ever more popular in the rest of the world. Miso is typically made from fermented soybeans, the longer the fermentation process, the darker the colour and flavour of the paste.

Miso is great for adding depth of flavour to dishes like soups or salad dressings, but it has got more to add than just flavour. Fermented foods like miso, sauerkraut, kombucha, tempeh contain probiotic which help to keep your gut healthy.

What are probiotics

Even though we are only just starting to understand the influence of our guts in our overall health the evidence is pointing to a healthy gut being crucial to overall good health. Within the gut, there are ‘good’ bacteria and ‘bad’ bacteria, and we’re all aiming to have the balance in favour of the good and that’s where probiotics come in, they help to restore/keep the natural balance within the gut.

Which Miso

There are different kinds of miso paste available from light, sweet to dark. Ideally then, when you are out miso shopping you want to find unpasteurised miso, pasteurisation is designed to kill microbes which reduces probiotic activity.

In this recipe we are using white miso, you may also find it called “mellow miso” the lighter miso pastes have a lower salt content than the darker miso pastes.  Because of the high salt content of miso, you won’t need to add any additional salt to this dish, and like all good things moderation is important, miso has some great health benefits, but its high salt content means you don’t want to be adding it to every meal.

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Let's get into the recipe...

Serves: 5
Time: 17minutes (+marinating  time)

Ingredients

1 flank steak, trimmed
80ml sake
60ml mirin
2 tablespoons of white miso
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of fresh ginger, minced
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of peanut oil

Instructions

1. To make the marinade for the flank steak, begin by heating the sake, soy sauce, ginger and sugar in a small saucepan over a medium-high heat.  Once the mixture starts to boil, remove from the heat and whisk in the miso until it has fully dissolved.

2. Place the steak into a ‘non-reactive’ container (like a glass bowl) and pour over the marinade – make sure the steak is submerged in the marinade. Cover the container and keep marinating the steak for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

3. After the steak has marinated, remove it from the bag and allow to rest a room temperature for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven grill to a medium- high heat. The preheating is essential to make sure that the steak cooks properly.

4. Wipe the marinade off the steak using a paper kitchen towel and then brush with oil before placing on the grill rack and cooking each side for 6 minutes. This will give you a perfect medium-rare steak, but cook for less time if you prefer rare.

5. Once cooked put the steak on a chopping board and allow to rest for 5 minutes. To serve the steak, cut it diagonally across the grain into 1cm slices.

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Macronutrients

Calories: 239
Protein: 28g
Carbohydrates: 1g
Fibre: 0g
Fats: 12g