Grilled Flank Steak with a marinade of apple juice, cider vinegar and rosemary makes this the best flank steak recipe we’ve found. And an incredibly easy grilled flank steak recipe for any weeknight dinner. With a tangy end flavor result, don’t forget the Horseradish Cream Sauce = killer.
Flank Steak 101
About 15 years ago I jumped on the flank steak bandwagon and this was the first recipe I tried. At that time, flank steak was a “new to me” cut of meat. It turned me into an instant fan. It’s become one of my favorite cuts of meat to cook with.
This long, flat steak comes from the belly-side of the steer, and is lean and muscular. This means lots of flavor without a lot of fat. That also means there’s some things to know about cooking it.
Grilled flank steak recipes usually come with a marinade. Marinating helps break down some of the connective tissue and helps to tenderize the meat. It’s usually a thin piece of steak, and that means a short cook time.
Usually about 6 – 8 minutes per side. And at a fairly high heat. I also braised flank steak, which is a great option, as it shreds like a charm.
But the most important thing to know about flank steak, is how to cut it after it’s cooked. Across or against the grain! Always! That creates shorter strings of meat instead of long chewy ones. Must easier to eat.
Flank Steak Marinade
Flank steak is so versatile and it seems to soak up every delicious flavor morsel of any marinade or seasoning you toss its way. And scoring the meat in a diamond pattern on one side helps that marinade soak in and do it’s job even better. The diamond scoring pattern on the steak allows more surface area for the marinade.
Place the flank steak and it’s marinade in a large heavy duty zip lock bag first thing in the morning and marinate all day. At dinner time, drain the marinade. pat dry and grill. Such an easy dinner.
This recipe has such striking flavors. The marinade of cider vinegar, apple juice and rosemary brings a tangy treat to each bite.
It’s remarkable how much flavor the steak takes on from this combination of flavors and the all day marinade. And when that flavor meets the cool creamy flavor of the creamy horseradish sauce, it’s a wonderful sensation to the palate.
To our taste, it’s the best flank steak marinade ever. And an amazing combination of flavors.
Even when the snow flies, if you own a grill pan, a flank steak is easily seared for about 5 – 7 minutes per side and dinner ready in a flash. And even a cast iron skillet will yield a beautifully browned pan seared steak. But of course you forfeit those sought-after grill marks.
Tips On How To Grill Flank Steak
- With a sharp knife, diamond score the meat to help the marinade penetrate and tenderize
- Marinade 8 – 12 hours
- Pre-heat that grill to 500 degrees. Then turn down to 350. Add flank steak and cook 6 – 8 minutes per side. You’ll get a good crispy sear and tender inside.
- Use can also use a good heavy duty good quality grill on the stove top. Heat the pan on high until hot. Reduce heat to medium high, add some vegetable oil and coat the pan well. Add flank steak and cook 6-8 minutes per side.
- When finished cooking, tent flank steak with foil and let rest about 7 minutes.
- Slice steak against the grain for easier bite sized eating.
- Flank steak can be braised resulting in a piece of steak that will shred beautifully.
Tangy Grilled Flank Steak with Horseradish Cream Sauce Recipe
To bring out the flavor even further don’t serve this without The Creamiest Horseradish Cream Sauce.
I hope you give this one a try and if you do, please come back and let me know how you liked it and give the recipe a star rating. Your feedback is valuable to me for developing future recipes.
More Flank Steak Recipes
- San Juan Grilled Flank Steak
- Grilled Flank Steak with Charred Caramelized Sweet Corn
- Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
- Pan Seared Flank Steak with Onion Marmalade
And if you’re looking to beef up your dinner plans, don’t miss my Beef
Category. You’ll find a ton of mouthwatering ideas. And you’ll find the most popular beef recipe on my site, Ina Garten’s Beef Sliders.
Tangy Grilled Flank Steak with Horseradish Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound flank steak
- ½ cup cider vinegar
- ½ cup frozen apple juice concentrate thawed, undiluted
- 1 Tablespoon rosemary fresh, or 1 teaspoon dried
- 3 Tablespoons prepared horseradish
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- Vegetable cooking spray
Instructions
- Trim fat from steak. Score a diamond pattern on both sides of steak. Combine steak and next 5 ingredients (steak through Worcestershire sauce) in a large heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag. Seal bag, and marinate in refrigerator 8-12 hours, turning bag occasionally. Remove steak from bag; discard marinade.
- Prepare grill or broiler. Place steak on grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray, and cook 7 minutes on each side or until steak is desired degree of doneness. Cut steak diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Serve steak with Horseradish Cream.
- Serve this with The Creamiest Horseradish Cream Sauce
Nutrition
Just an idea for a side dish for grilled flank steak.
A garden fresh Caprese salad is truly a magical and perfect combination of flavors, textures, and freshness: ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, basil, and with a simple drizzle of good quality olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. You can use balsamic for this salad, but I’d save that for the bread.
You want to savor every fresh bite of those sweet Summer tomatoes.
Grilled Flank Steak With Horseradish Cream …It’s Whats For Dinner.
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
Great meat recipe.
I also made the horseradish cream sauce
to use as a dressing on a salad with the flank steak,
tomato from the garden, cucumber, green and red onion.
Turned out great loved it.
This looks delicious – love red meat and horseradish! The risotto side looks delicious as well. I’ll have to look for that brand.
A side story: I have this mysterious plant in my yard that comes back every year . . . found out a few days ago it’s horseradish from an old garden spot.
YUM! Looks fantastic!! We are on a skirt steak kick right now. I’ll have to pick up a flank steak and give this a try.
I think flank steak is the best cut of beef for grilling and it absorbs the flavors of a marinade so well. Your recipe made with apple juice sounds delicious. I agree about Cathy’s salad dressing recipe…it’s great. This is one terrific dinner.
This looks delish, Lea Ann. I remember years ago coming across a flank steak recipe, braised in some kind of tomato sauce. Back then, they didn’t realize how tender it could be if you cut it on the bias. They thought you had to stew it to death.
Horseradish sauce is super with roast beef, so it would be perfect here!
The horseradish sauce reminds me of a dear friend, long departed. Gonna have to make this in her honor… thanks for a fun post!
You know I love flank steak so this is a winner. Seriously can’t wait to try the ‘horsey’ sauce; why have I never thought to blend horseradish with sour cream! I’m with Chris…did I miss the invite? YUM!
That lettuce wedge is very pretty… and yes, do 6 of those posts in 6 weeks and $100… I am a whore
I adore flank steak. It takes so well to all kinds of marinades, doesn’t it?
Oh that looks good! I love the flavor of flank steak and am a big horseradish fan (my folks still grow and bottle their own). I’ll have to give this recipe a try. Thanks for sharing!
I used to have horseradish growing in my yard at a previous house. I made it a few times. Loved it.
Can you believe I’ve never had flank steak?!?!? Crazy but true. It’s been looking really good to me lately…maybe I’m craving iron or something lol. That horseradish cream – awesome.
Parsnips…and now flank steak? 🙂
Absolutely gorgeous meal. Love the wedge, love the flank, love the horseradish cream, love Maytag blue cheese! An all around hit, howsacome you didn’t invite us to dinner this night? 😉
Flank Steak is my personal favorite cut. We make it all the time. I like the ingredients in your marinade.
I buy my flank steak from http://www.snowcreek-ranch.com. They sell their beef at our local farmers markets. You have to give them at try. It is the very best. They also sell out of their daughter’s house in Centennial on Thursdays. (Thought you would maybe be interested in this info since it is local)
I’ve tried their products and love them. Really should patronize them more. I like the Thursday out of the home thing. Thanks for the info.
In this area, prime rib comes with a little cup of horseradish sauce! Would work well with flank steak! Marinating and cooking quickly is how flank is done here…Tough as undercooked beef brisket if not done quickly….
I am totally with you on that one! I have never been disappointed by a flank steak and the marinade sounds so good with that apple sauce! A must try! I also like that risotto you are serving with it!
Thanks Joumana, as always thanks for the visit and the comment.
I’m stiing here reading this right before lunch time and I actually felt a real hunger pang from this. Grilled beef night is coming up in a couple of days and this will be tried. I have a bleu cheese recipe I like real well so I look forward to trying this one for comparison. Great meal, great pics, great post.
I’ll be anxious to hear how the dressing recipe compares. I’ve only tried two blue cheese recipes and really loved this one. If you like yours better, I want it. 🙂