This terrific grilled flank steak marinade made in the blender has bright Mexican-style flavors with lime juice, cumin, garlic and jalapeno. After a quick 10-12 minutes on the grill, fresh marinade doubles as a sauce for serving. Serve it alone with sides like grilled veggies or on top of fresh greens for a fantastic steak salad as flank steak tacos.
Flank steak is a long, flat shaped piece of meat with a big beefy flavor and a defined grain that runs the length of the piece. Because it comes from the well-exercised belly of the cow, flank is best grilled to medium rare. After grilling, allow steak to stand for about 10 minutes before slicing. For tips on how to cut flank steak, please see below.
For another flank steak recipe, try this Asian inspired flank steak recipe with ginger.
Recipe Ingredients
Flank steak marinade:
- Fresh cilantro is what I use but if you can't stand cilantro, use flat leaf parsley.
- Shallot are like mild onion, great to keep in the pantry.
- Fresh lime juice gives the marinade the acid component.
- Oil is the fat for the marinade, use either extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil.
- Spices like ground cumin and coriander lend a fresh Mexican flavor.
- Garlic is a must for a flank steak marinade! Buy fresh.
- Jalapeno gives this a kick of heat.
Steak
- Flank steak is a whole piece of meat, not a cut.
See the recipe card for measurements.
Recipe Instructions
Whip this tasty marinade up in a few seconds by throwing everything into a blender and whirling until smooth. Use part for the steak, marinating for a few hours or overnight, and reserve the rest (untouched by raw meat) for a fresh sauce to serve.
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How to Cut Flank Steak
After allowing the flank steak to stand for a few minutes to reabsorb juices, slice thinly across the grain to maximize tenderness. Slicing across the grain is critical. Use a sharp chef's knife or a sharp slicing knife.
Chef's tip: If your herbs and spices are more than 6-12 months old, buy fresh jars. Be sure to date them when opened. Store them in a cool dark place like a drawer, cabinet, or pantry, not next to the stove where light and heat degrade their flavor.
Serving Suggestions
With a Mexican flavor profile, this grilled steak is great served with a pile of soft corn tortillas and thinly sliced veggies. Go grain-free by skipping the corn tortillas and use cassava tortillas and serving with the veggies in the cole slaw recipe here, using the extra sauce to dress the slaw instead of the Asian almond butter sauce.
Leftovers will keep refrigerated for up to 4 days or freezes well.
For another terrific Mexican-inspired recipe, try this Mexican chicken tortilla soup. It's filled with big bold flavors and topped with wonderful garnishes.
Chef's Tip: how to get perfect grill marks? Use the 10:00 and 2:00 trick. When you lay the meat on the grill, point one end towards 10:00 on the clock. When first set of grill marks are set, move that point to 2:00. When grill marks are set, flip the steak and finish grilling.
📖 Recipe
Grilled Flank Steak Marinade
Ingredients
Marinade & Sauce
- ½ cup packed cilantro leaves
- ⅓ cup chopped shallot
- ⅓ cup lime juice about 4 limes
- ⅓ cup olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 3 large garlic cloves chopped fine and smeared or zested
- ½ large jalapeño seeded and chopped fine
Flank Steak
- 1 ¼ - 1 ½ pounds flank steak trimmed of any extra fat
- Sea salt and ground black pepper
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Instructions
- Make marinade by combining cilantro leaves through jalapeño in blender. Puree until smooth. You may need to scrape down sides and puree again for complete smoothness.
- Place steak in a heavy zip bag. Cover steak on both sides with approximately ⅓ cup of the marinade and squeeze out air. Reserve the rest of the clean marinade for your sauce. Marinate flank steak, refrigerated, for 2-3 hours or overnight for best flavor.
- When ready to grill, remove steak from the refrigerator and allow to stand approximately 45-60 minutes to get the chill off. Pre-heat grill over high heat. Clean grill grate with wire brush then brush with oil. When grill is hot, drain marinade off of steak. Sprinkle both side with salt and pepper. Grill flank steak approximately 5-7 minutes per side. Flank steak is best done medium rare, to about 125º.
- When done, allow steak to rest for a few minutes before slicing to insure moist meat. Slice cross-grain into thin strips. Serve with clean marinade as sauce on the side or drizzled over the top.
Sophia @ NY Foodgasm says
OMG this looks amazing, wanna get some flank steak soon to try this!