The slicing steak — lean, broad, and built for marinades, high heat, and thin cuts across its unmistakable grain. Here, two-zone fire, real smoke, crosshatch optional.
1 whole
🥩 Flank Steak ›
600 g, 2 cm thick
1 tsp
⚫ Whole Black Peppercorns ›
coarsely cracked
1 pinch
🧂 Flaky Sea Salt ›
to finish
Mise en place
Before you start
Prep checklist
Flank Steak — 600 g, 2 cm thick
Whole Black Peppercorns — coarsely cracked
Flaky Sea Salt — to finish
Set up two zones: burners high on one side and off (or coals banked to one side) on the other. Clean and oil the grates. Salt the steak 30 minutes ahead and pat dry.
Start over the hot zone: 2 minutes per side — thin, loose-grained cuts want speed and fire, nothing else.
Check early — thin cuts hit 51°C fast. Pull, rest 5 minutes, and slice thin against the grain at a slight angle.
The single most important sentence for flank steak: slice thin, and slice against the grain. Try any of the marinades in this app — the loose grain drinks them in where tight-grained cuts only wear them.
Afterwards
Keep, reheat & pair
Storage
Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 3 days; reheat gently with a splash of water.
Freezing
Freezes well up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Reheating
Leftover steak hates reheating. Slice it cold over salad, or warm gently in a 120°C oven to 45°C and flash in a hot pan for 30 seconds.
Make ahead
Salt up to 24 hours ahead, uncovered in the fridge — it seasons deeper and dries the surface for a better crust.
Wine pairing
A juicy Syrah or a good Merlot; leaner cuts don't need a tannin hammer.
Beer pairing
A malty amber ale or porter echoes the crust; keep hop bombs away from beef.
On the plate
Serve it with
Sides
·
Steak frites or crispy roast potatoes
·
A sharp arugula salad to cut the richness
Garnish
A pat of compound butter melting on top
Gluten-free: Naturally gluten-free as written.
Dairy-free: Naturally dairy-free (skip any butter finish).
How do I hit the doneness I want?
Pull the steak 3°C below target — it climbs while resting. Rare: pull 47°C, serve 49–52°C (cool red center). Medium-rare: pull 51°C, serve 54–57°C (warm red — the steakhouse default). Medium: pull 57°C, serve 60–63°C (pink, firmer). Medium-well: pull 63°C, serve 65–68°C (a whisper of pink). Well-done: 71°C+ — cook it slower and gentler to keep any juice. An instant-read thermometer beats every finger trick ever invented.
Why rest the steak, and for how long?
Heat drives the juices toward the center; resting lets the muscle relax and reabsorb them. Cut too early and they flood the board instead of staying in the meat. Rest 5 minutes for a standard steak, 10+ for thick cuts and roasts — loosely covered, never wrapped tight (trapped steam softens your crust).
When it goes sideways
Troubleshooting
A thick grey band under the crust. The pan was too cool or the steak cooked too long over direct heat. Sear hotter and faster — or use the reverse sear, which nearly eliminates the band.
No crust, just grey. The surface was wet or the pan wasn't hot enough. Pat aggressively dry, salt ahead, and wait for the oil to shimmer before the steak touches metal.
Chewy even at medium-rare. Almost always a slicing error — cut thinner and strictly against the grain. On loose-grained cuts the grain direction is visible; follow it.
Smoke alarm going off. Normal for a hard sear. Open a window, use an oil with a high smoke point (avocado, grapeseed), and skip the butter until the final minutes.
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