Juicy, tender steak, with a lovely sear and delicious flavor: This company-worthy dish is quick and easy, so you can spend more time with your guests and less time in the kitchen. It’s also perfect for a weeknight family dinner when you’re just too wiped out to want to spend much time cooking. You’ll get more flavor if you marinate overnight, but you can get away with thirty to sixty minutes. I like to whip up a double batch whenever I make this. It takes no more time or effort than making a single batch, and you’ll have an ace up your sleeve for someday when you just can’t get to the grocery store. Half goes in a zip-top freezer bag in the freezer, and the other half gets cooked for dinner. All that’s needed to prepare the frozen steak is to let it thaw overnight in the fridge; it marinates while it thaws.

The trick to tender flank steak is almost as much in the slicing as it is in the cooking. Of course, you have to refrain from overcooking it, or nothing you can do with your knife will help very much. But even a perfectly marinated, perfectly cooked flank steak can be as tough as an old shoe if you slice it wrong. There are three things to remember. First, always let the finished steak rest for at least five minutes before cutting it. You will lose a lot less of the juices that way. Many chefs wait even longer and have even less juice loss. If you’re interested in how this works (or are skeptical that it even does), have a peek at this article on Serious Eats. Second, figure out where the grain of the meat is and cut against it. I placed this steak on the grill so that the grill marks are mostly parallel to the grain to make it easier to show you. Because of how the muscle is built, you’ll usually find the grain goes a bit diagonally, and sometimes even seems to curve a bit. The third thing to keep in mind is thin slices. I like to cut them about a half-inch (1 cm) thick. If you do these three things, you will wow your guests and your tastebuds!

If you check out the Serious Eats article, you’ll see it’s possible to serve a steak with little discernable juice loss. Why does my photo have meat juice on the plate? Well, it’s because sometimes I’m willing to sacrifice a bit of steak juiciness because I want soppin’s. Soppies. Soppings. It’s a tradition in my family that goes back ages. We love to use a slice of bread to “sop” up the meat juice left on the plate after the meat is gone. It’s sooooo good! Watch out for family members’ elbows, though, as everyone tries to get there first. The name of this yummy, soaked bread started as “soppings,” then the “g” got dropped to “soppin’s,” then on my sister’s side of the family it morphed to “soppies.” Of all the weird things families do and eat, it is this tradition that those lucky enough to marry into my family find the most…unusual. If they’re being honest, you might hear a stronger word. It’s okay by me if they don’t care for soppin’s because that means more for me!

Ingredients:

1 pound (454 g) beef flank steak

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

1.) Mince the garlic and thyme. I did mine in my Mini-Mate, together with the oil and vinegar, but it’s just as easy to mince them separately with a chef’s knife.

2.) Mix together everything except the steak in a shallow baking dish or zip-top plastic bag. Add the steak, turning to coat. Cover, refrigerate, and allow to marinate for an hour or overnight. (No need to refrigerate first if you’re freezing for later, just pop the bag right in the freezer. Transfer to the fridge the night before you want to cook, and it will marinate while it thaws.)

3.) Preheat the grill on high. Brush lightly with olive oil. Remove the steak from the marinade, discarding the excess. Grill 3 to 4 minutes per side or until done to your liking. Remove from the grill and allow to rest for five minutes. Slice thinly against the grain to serve.