Monday, September 10, 2007

Garlic, Black Pepper, and Fennel-rubbed Flank Steak with Grilled Oranges - aka Party Steak!

You have to love the flank steak; so easy to cook, almost no trimming, relatively lean, and perfect for a party since it’s slight change in thickness from one end to the other allows for slices of medium rare and medium well off the same piece of meat. This very interesting recipe has something I always appreciate in a dish; it makes its own sauce. As you’ll see in the video recipe, we used the juice from some grilled oranges with the natural juices from the steak to create a fabulous looking, and tasting platter of beef.

While this dish may appear to be inspired by Italian or Spanish influences (which it is), it’s also a take on one of my favorite Chinese dishes; spicy orange beef. I love to grill flank steak with a highly flavored rub of garlic, fennel, salt and black pepper. I wondered what would happen if I added a little orange to the marinade, and then I got the idea to caramelize some orange halves on the grill, and squeeze the juice over the meat after it was cooked and sliced. It was an amazing combination, and one you must try. I did a recent video recipe with some orange and fennel grilled chicken thighs, that was very good, but this went to a whole new place. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 flank steak (about 2 pounds)
1 tbl fennel seeds
2 tbl black pepper
2 tsp salt
3 oranges
2 tbl olive oil
4 sprigs rosemary
4 cloves garlic
cayenne pepper to taste

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great idea!

dan said...

Could you use skirt steak in place of the flank?

Anonymous said...

wait a second...i didnt recognize you ! did george clooney take a sabbatical? who is this imposter!?!?

hkfreak said...

Over here in New England, I think it's a bit too late for that.

Chef John said...

Skirt steak would be great, just cooks faster.

Julian, too late for what?

Anonymous said...

lol yeah ziploc! looks wonderful! It seems that you like saying brand names. :)_

Blood Red Roses said...

do you eat the grilled oranges???

Chef John said...

Just squeezed the juice over the steak as a sauce.

Brilynn said...

I love the orange idea, I will definitely be using it!

Anonymous said...

Ah yes, grilled/barbecued citrus is a real treat. A very nice looking recipe Chef John.

Julie said...

I love the mix of flavors in this Chef John

hkfreak said...

Check out our weather. San Fran might be beautiful, but the tackling surprises of New England weather beats it to the ground!

Steak Enthusiast said...

This was so fantastic and tasty-looking, I shared with readers of my blog at www.steak-enthusiast.com. Thanks for the amazing recipe!

Steak Enthusiast

Umar said...

this blog is amazing

Ayur Times said...

Fennel Seeds also promote the production of red blood cells. It contains Zinc that helps in supporting the growth and development of the body.

Unknown said...

This is altogether a different recipe I am waiting to try. The best part of the blog s final touch of fennel as it's known to increase metabolism. You can even try adding fennel in your diet by making Fennel tea