Flank steak


 
If you're intent on smoking it, consider butterflying it, stuffing it, rolling it, and smoke roasting to a medium doneness.

Rolling it into a log (similar to eye of round) might help prevent the edges from getting over done.

If you have a probe therm, time and temp become irrelevant.
 
I smoked two large flank steaks on Saturday, roughly 2.5-3lb each. Results were excellent. I have all of my notes at home and can post them later, but here's a rough run through.

Applied a wet rub liberally to steaks late Friday night.

Got charcoal (K) good and hot. Added center section and water pan. Pan filled with H2O @ ~50F. Put on top grate and lid, waited till temp read ~300F. Placed steaks into aluminum drip pans and set on top grate. Added 3 chunks oak and one chuck hickory. Closed bottom vents completely. Temperature settled in at about 210 at about 10 AM.

Smoked at 210-215 until internal temp reached 165, about 2.5 hours. Removed pans from grill. Placed steaks in aluminum foil, basting with the juices from the pans and wrapped each steak tightly. Placed the foil packs back on the WSM until internal temp hit 195. Removed the packets and let them sit, still wrapped, on cutting board for another hour. Carefully removed steaks from foil and then poured juices into a bowl. Sliced the steaks on an angle, slices about 1/4" thick. When I plated them, I drizzled a small amount of the pan juices over the meat. Served with a spicy BBQ sauce on the side.

All in all, it came out excellent. Very moist, not quite as "fall apart" as brisket but very tender and similar in taste. It was a hit with my wife and daughter, and I brought some to my parents yesterday afternoon and we all hand BBQ beef sandwiched, which were excellent.
 
Jason, I'v astounded that you can successfully smoke flank. I guess the key is the foiled braising. Nice work. Any pics?
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I should add that smoking them in the drip pans was essential to getting that slow-cooked flavor and texture without over cooking them. Maintaining a low temp was key as well. I really wasn't sure how it was going to go, but over all I was very pleased with the results.
 
Originally posted by Gary H. NJ:
Jason, I'v astounded that you can successfully smoke flank. I guess the key is the foiled braising. Nice work. Any pics?
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Thanks, I was rather surprised as well!
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I have before pics of the meat in the pans that I can post later or tomorrow. Sadly, I was too hungry to remember to take pics of the finished product. D'OH!
 
No offence meant to anyone, but those were WELL past "done". As long as it's what you like, then by all means do it. But with that method I would have likely used a much cheaper cut of beef.

Around here flank is going to run you $5-7/lb so typically I only cook to medium rare and usually at high heat. The other option would be to do a sort of reverse sear (which I love on tri-tip). My last Tri's I smoked at ~250 for about 45 min over lump and some oak. Once they are just under rare temp I pull them off and toss them directly over coals (which i stoke first).

Sadly most flanks aren't thick enough to last very long before you push past med rare.
 
We do Flank Steak a lot. Start the Smokey Joe silver with 3/4 chimney. When it's going hot as possible, put on the flank steak. Turn after 4 minutes exactly and take it off after another 4 minutes. Perfect medium rare. Slice thin across the grain.
 
Originally posted by Scooter B:
No offence meant to anyone, but those were WELL past "done". As long as it's what you like, then by all means do it. But with that method I would have likely used a much cheaper cut of beef.
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No offense taken. I wouldn't normally do flanks this way either, but I was itching to use the WSM and figured I'd give it a shot. Like I said upstream, I was pleasantly surprised with the results.

And FWIW, I frequently shop at a wholesale butcher. I got ~5 lbs of flank steak for $13.
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Action photos:
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Originally posted by Gunar:
Hmm, interesting. I think I may marinate in mojo croilla and see what happens
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Marinate in the Mojo. When you take it out of the marinade, give it a very light dusting of chili powder and cumin. Thin slice for fajitas. Good stuff.
 
Worcestershire is thin enough that it gets fully absorbed into the meat overnight. In fact, when your done smoking the flank steaks, it will be so moist that when you cut it the worcestershire will run out of the meat.
 
it will be so moist that when you cut it the worcestershire will run out of the meat.
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Sounds like you should allow the meat to rest before slicing to prevent this from happening.
 
You know, I've tried letting them rest but because their so thin anything more than 10 minutes and they cool off too much. Next time I do them I'll keep a log for everyone.

I'm pretty new to the site (as a poster but not as a lurker). Bought my WSM in January and have done a number of flanks steaks, a couple butts, a couple brisket flats, a turkey breast, some rib, and a pork loin. Made a lot of mistakes, but my flank steaks I've never screwed up.
 
I smoked 1/2 flank last night on my converted Weber kettle. Ave temp 250-270. Cooked for 1.25 hrs. Steak had marinated in italian dressing for 3-4 hrs and then simple dry rub. Took off at about 165 meat temp. Very tasty, moist and good color. I sliced thin against the grain, wife says" that's really good brisket". Ha Ha.

Mark
 
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