Flank steak, chimichurri

A lean, grainy steak that only eats right if you grill it hot and slice it across. The sauce is parsley, garlic, and oil — not a marinade bath.

Made it?

40 min · 20 min hands-on · pull 130°F · rest 8 min

Ingredients

1.5 lb on the fire · ~1.2 lb to the table · 2 plates at 8 oz

1
Salt the steak 30–45 minutes ahead. Chop parsley, garlic, and chili; stir with oil and vinegar. Do not puree it into pesto.
2
Get a grate honestly hot. Grill 4–5 minutes per side until 128–130°F. Flank is thin — stay present.
3
Rest 8 minutes. Find the long grain and slice across it, thin. Spoon chimichurri at the table, not in the pan.

Flank → Skirt, hanger, or sirloin flap. Skirt is thinner — less time. Hanger is the closest chew. All of them must be sliced against the grain.
Chimichurri → Salt, pepper, and lemon. The slice is the technique. Sauce is optional.

Fajita strips
Tacos. Same grill, rest, slice, then a hot pan with onions and peppers for 2 minutes. Do not stew the steak.
Cast-iron only
No grill. Smoking-hot skillet, 4 minutes a side. Vent.
Dry-rub only
You want pure beef. Skip the parsley sauce. Coarse salt and a squeeze of lemon at the board.

On the plate

With this dish, try making grilled onions.
Alongside a tri-tip or skirt. Thick rounds, oil, salt, the cool then hot zone until soft and marked.
25 min
With this dish, try making steak fries.
Par-cook while the steak dry-brines. Finish when the steak rests. Russets, ½-inch sticks, soak, dry. 325°F then 375°F, or a hot sheet with oil if you refuse a pot of fat. Salt the second they leave the heat.
45 min
With this dish, try making grilled asparagus.
When the meat comes off to rest. Thick spears, oil, salt. Hot grate 2–3 minutes, roll, another minute. Lemon. Pencil spears go in a hot skillet, not on the bars.
10 min