Garlic Flank Steak

Difficulty:  Easy

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Cost per serving: $3.00 to $4.00

Useful leftovers: Yes

Flank steak is a great cut of meat! It has hardly any fat but a lot of flavor and a wonderful texture. It's not fork tender like a tenderloin but has a nicely chewy, beefy texture. It is one of my father's favorite meals. He liked the well done bits on the thin ends.
You can easily alter the recipe but be careful to use a meat that can stand up to strong flavors. The delicate qualities of a veal chop would be lost in this recipe. It would work with salmon but not halibut for the same reason.
Flank steak
A head of garlic
Olive oil
Fresh rosemary
Paprika
Red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper

Trim the steaks if needed. If there are bits of fat you can usually pull them off with your fingers.

Take the head of garlic and slice off the root end (the non-pointy end). Crush the head with your hand to separate the cloves. Take each clove and smash it and take the skin off. Most cooks do this by laying the flat blade of a chef's knife on the clove then hitting it with your fist, but you can use a meat pounder, small frying pan or if are like me - just your hand.

Put all the peeled garlic in a pile and chop like mad. Don't worry if the pieces aren't all the same size.

Put the garlic on the meat, sprinkle with paprika and rosemary. If you are going to let it marinate then cover it and marinate and add the red wine vinegar and seasonings right before you cook it. If you are going to use it right away add all the ingredients and smoosh it all over the meat.

In any case let the steak come to room temperature before you cook it.

Prepare a charcoal grill and when it is quite hot add a chunk of almond or oak wood if you have it to the side of the coals and replace the grill and cook the steak. You want high heat to cook it quickly and to burn off all the garlic. You can also use a heavy bottomed pan and grill it right on top of the stove or use a broiler.

If your grill is hot the steak will be done in about 7 minutes, more for a thick steak and less for a thin one.

Remove it from the grill and let it rest at least 5 minutes in a warm place before you cut into it. It's ok to let it cool a bit and it's fantastic even at room temperature.

Since this steak has some strong flavors it is best to serve with something that contrasts.  I like to serve it with my Super Sauce with some chopped cucunbers added.

You can make this recipe much easier by buying (the horror!) chopped garlic, cooking it in an indoor broiler or leaving out the almond wood.