Flank steak grills up very quickly, making it the perfect choice for a weeknight dinner or easy entertaining. It’s a favorite at my house for a quick dinner any day of the week.

This recipe is based on a dish from Paula Deen’s The Deen Family Cookbook. It’s much more my style than the typical Paula dishes, which tend to be too heavy on the cream and butter (making them not so friendly on my waist or cholesterol).

This isn’t a recipe truly from Paula Deen, it’s from her husband Michael. If this dish is any indication of his cooking, I am thinking maybe he should write a cookbook, because it is delicious.

I did significantly reduce the oil in this recipe, but other than that it was great as written. I served it with rice and it was a hit with the whole family.

I used bell peppers, onions, and zucchini as the vegetables, but you could exchange them for your family’s favorites. Anything that grills well could work here (eggplant, mushrooms, asparagus, etc).

Grilled Flank Steak and Vegetables

The meat and veggies take almost the same amount of time to grill. So by the time you are slicing the steak the veggies should be ready too, making this a really quick and easy dinner.

• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce (I use San-J’s gf one)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
• about 2 pounds flank steak or flat iron steak
• 1 small zucchini, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 large bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch strips
• 1 sweet onion, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

1. If using wooden skewers for the vegetables, soak in water for at least 30 minutes.
2. In a 9×13 pan, whisk together the soy sauce, mustard, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Slowly add the oil, and whisk to combine. Remove a few tablespoons of the marinade to a separate container (to use to brush the veggies). Add the steak to the dish and turn over to cover both sides with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour (it can be marinated over night).
3. Thread the vegetables onto skewers. Brush with the reserved marinade.
4. Preheat grill. Remove steak from marinade and grill for about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare (I typically cook mine about 7 minutes per side, as we like it more medium). Remove from heat and allow to rest 5 minutes on a platter or cutting board before slicing against the grain.
5. Place the vegetables on the grill and cook about 5 minutes per side, or until they are the desired tenderness. Remove from heat and carefully remove the vegetables from the skewers. Serve with the sliced steak.

BBQ, Main Dishes, quick and easy

There are just some foods that make winning combinations. Apples and cinnamon. Chocolate and peanut butter. Tomatoes and basil. Prosciutto and provolone.

So when I was flipping through the channels a few weeks ago and noticed a rerun of America’s Test Kitchen was featuring a flank steak filled with prosciutto and provolone rolled, sliced, skewered, and then grilled, I knew I had to watch.

The idea is so yummy sounding and I have made something quite similar in the past. You might have noticed a version of this in the butcher block. They do look and sound delicious, but in reality, the meat is difficult to cook evenly and the filling is usually dry and overcooked, if it didn’t all drip out into a gooey mess all over your oven or grill.

I really like how the people at America’s Test Kitchen tackle these big cooking dilemmas, they attempt the recipe hundreds of times so we don’t have to. Saves the rest of us a lot of money, time, and headaches.

So they had a couple great ideas. The first is to butterfly the flank steak, I actually used a flat iron because I like the flavor better and I happened to have one in my freezer. Okay, so this sounds scarier than it really is. I can assure you I have sharp knives, but not the best knife skills. And I was still able to pull this dish off. I would guess that nearly every butcher would butterfly this for you though when you make the meat purchase. I made a couple mistakes in mine (holes), but I just proceeded with the recipe and no one was the wiser.

I used a meat tenderized to pound the meat even, you then slather it with an herb/shallot blend and top with prosciutto and provolone. You roll it, tie and here is the great part or the recipe, you skewer it and then cut the into individual portions; think meat lollipops. This really helps the filling stay intact during cooking.

These looked good, smelled great and tasted even better. My husband took one bites and said “holy cannoli these are good.” My three year old was the only one that was not in agreement, I think the taste is a bit grown up for a preschooler.

Although these aren’t difficult, there are quite a few steps so I am including more photos than usual so you can see what is going on.

I think this would be a great choice for entertaining, not only is flank steak or flat iron steak inexpensive, but this feeds quite a few people. The meat could easily be prepared before hand and refrigerated until ready to skewer/slice. I would save that step because the skewers need soaked before grilling to prevent burning. It is fabulous to start with an inexpensive cut of beef and end up with something worthy of company.

I only had a one pound steak in the freezer, so I adjusted the meat and cheese accordingly and we still got 8 slices of meat. And both provolone and prosciutto can be purchased by the slice in the meat/deli section of nearly every grocery store, so you can simply buy a few slices for the recipe.

Also, prosciutto is thinly sliced, dry-cured pork. Of course read the label, but I have never seen any ingredients resembling gluten, just pork and salt.

A flat iron steak

After I attempted to butterfly it.

Slathered in the herb/shallot/garlic paste.

Add some proscuitto and provolone.

Rolled, tied and skewered through the twine.

Sliced and ready for the grill.

Ready to eat. As you can see most of the filling stayed intact.

Grilled Stuffed Steak

I actually used a much smaller cut of meat and just reduced the cheese and meat amounts accordingly.

*UPDATE: I made these without the skewers, just tied them, sliced them, and placed them carefully on the grill. They turned out the same, only with less effort!

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 2 TB fresh minced parsley leaves
• 1 tsp fresh minced sage leaves
• 2 TB olive oil
• 1 flank steak or flat iron steak 2-2 1/2 lbs (it is easiest to butterfly if it’s slightly frozen)
• 4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
• 4 ounces thinly sliced provolone cheese
• 8-12 skewers soaked in water for 30 minutes
• 8-12 pieces of butchers twine
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a small bowl, combine garlic, shallot, parsley, sage and olive oil.
2. Lay steak on a cutting board, with grain running parallel to the edge of the counter, butterfly the steak and pound to an even thickness.
3. Spread herb mixture evenly over surface of steak, leaving a 1-2 inch border along top edge. Cover with prosciutto and cheese, leaving the same size border along top edge.
4. Starting from the bottom edge, roll the meat away from you, placing the seam side down on the cutting board.
5. Starting on the outside edges, tie 8-12 pieces of butcher’s twine at 1-inch intervals around steak. Work from outermost ends first, so the filling doesn’t get pushed out the ends.
6. Skewer the beef through the string, and using a sharp knife cut into 1-inch thick pinwheels. Season with salt and pepper.,
7. Cook on preheated med-high grill for about 6 minutes per side of until desired doneness. I actually had difficulty using a meat thermometer on these, due to the filling, so I just sliced into one of them to check for doneness (not real scientific, but it worked).
8. Remove from grill and allow to rest five minutes before discarding skewers and twine. Serve.

BBQ, Main Dishes grilled flank steak, rolled flank steak

I am becoming a huge fan of the flank steak. Seriously, they cook up in virtually no time and when cut thinly against the grain they are very tender and juicy.

I typically do a lime juice and cumin type marinade for beef fajitas but I am a little bored with that version, so I adapted an allrecipes marinated flank steak recipe. It had great flavor and although we loved it with some onions and bell peppers, served fajita style, I think it would be equally good on a salad or with some rice and vegetables.

Since it is a marinade you do have to plan ahead. But the flank steak cooks so fast, you’ll have dinner on the table in no time. And it’s perfect this time of year when you don’t want to heat the oven. Enjoy!

Marinated Flank Steak in a fajita.

Marinated Flank Steak

Although I used lemon juice, I think lime juice would be a great alternative.

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup soy sauce (SanJ makes a gf one)
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• juice of 1 lemon (about 2 TB)
• 1 1/2 TB Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrin’s is gf)
• 1 TB Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• dash cumin, optional
• 1- 1 1/2 lbs flank steak

1. In a glass 9×13 pan mix all ingredients except steak. Place meat in the pan and turn to coat. Cover and allow to marinate at room temperature for about an hour or refrigerate 4-6 hours or overnight.
2. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
3. Remove steak from pan and discard marinade (or bring marinade to a boil and serve with meat if desired).
4. Grill steak for approximately 5 minutes per side, or until desired doneness. Allow steak to rest five minutes before slicing against the grain.

BBQ, Main Dishes, quick and easy gluten free beef fajita, marinated beef for fajitas

Nothing says summer quite like grilling. And what better to grill than corn on the cob?

And I don’t mean the soak it for an hour in the husk method, I mean shuck the corn, remove the silk and slather it in some herb butter and grill it.

It is so simple, quick, and tasty to cook corn on your grill. No baskets, skewers or special equipment required.

Personally, I don’t wrap my corn in foil because I like the flavor and the grill marks that you get with the direct heat method; not to mention it reduces the cooking time substantially.

We like the flavor butter imparts, but if you prefer not to use butter, you can simply spray or coat the corn in olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Grilling corn couldn’t get much simpler than this and it makes a great summer side dish. Enjoy.

Shucked corn on the cob slathered in herb butter

Corn on the cob hot off the grill

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Although we like this combination, almost any herb butter would work. I did a post on flavored butters if you need some additional ideas.

• 4 ears corn on the cob, husks and silk removed
• about 4 Tb butter, softened
• salt and pepper to taste
• dash of each: onion powder, garlic powder, dried parsley

1. Place the corn directly on the grill grate over medium-high to high heat and grill about 10 minutes, turning as necessary to evenly brown. You don’t want to overcook it or it will get mushy, I carefully touch it or pierce a kernel with a fork to test for doneness.

BBQ, Sides grilled corn on the cob

Although I have always referred to these as 4th of July Beans I have noticed that almost identical recipes can be found called Settlers Beans, Party Beans, BBQ Beans, etc. Whatever you call them, they are sure to be a hit.

The combination of beans, bacon, onions and BBQ sauce make this a great summertime side dish, perfect to take to potlucks and picnics.

Although the directions are for the oven, I have made this many times in my crock pot and that is a great way to make it if it will need transported. All the ingredients are cooked, so basically you just need to make sure it gets really hot before serving.

Hot 4th of July Beans, Yummy!

4th of July Beans

The perfect side to bring to a family get together or potluck.

• 1/2 pound bacon, diced (I prefer pepper bacon)
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 can (28 oz) pork and beans
• 2 cans (16 oz) drained and rinsed beans of your choice (I use kidney, black, or cannellini)
• 1/2 cup favorite BBQ sauce
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (light of dark is fine)
• 2 Tb yellow mustard
• 1 Tb molasses
• 1 tsp salt, optional
• 1/4-1/2 tsp chili powder

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large skillet, cook bacon and onion until onion is tender and bacon is cooked thoroughly.
3. Transfer to a large dish, I use a 9×13 glass pan, and stir in beans.
4. In a small bowl (I use a glass measuring cup for convenience), combine all remaining ingredients. Mix well and pour over bean mixture.
5. Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes; uncover and bake 15 minutes longer.

BBQ, Sides bbq beans, fourth of july beans, settlers beans