Anyone Know A Good Corey-Sitter?

It is Memorial Day Weekend, so there is no excuse to not grill, right?  As I headed down to Findlay Market I knew I wanted to pick up something that would require a long marinade time, because I wanted to take advantage of the fact that I actually had a long weekend.  Flank steak is always a good way to go as it tends to be a tough cut.  So I picked one out and headed home to see what I could do with it.  I am getting low on flank steak recipes, but I still had the Mexican Flank Steak With Jicima-Orange Salad on page 119 to go!

I did nothing surprising here.  I made the rub and used my favorite means of distribution.

Where I was concerned was that usually flank steaks use some sort of acid-based marinade.  Being a well-used muscle, the flank steak is rather tough, and the acid in a marinade will begin to denature some of the proteins, thus making them more tender.  This recipe only uses a rub, so I was apprehensive to see how chewy the end product would be. 

The only thing not pictured earlier when I gathered the necessary supplies was the cilantro.  I wanted to wait until I actually needed it to pick some from my garden.

This is a jicima.  I don't have much experience with them, but they remind me (taste-wise) of a cross between an apple and raw potato.  What they excel at, however, are soaking up sauces/vinaigrettes.   The recipe instructed me to make "matchsticks" out of them for the salad.  Okay....this will require some equipment!  First up, a peeler!

Then a mandolin!

And finally, a chef's knife to complete the cross-cut!

With the matchsticks taken care of, I needed to make the citrus sections.  To begin, you need to peel the citrus.  I am TERRIBLE at this.

Note the God-awful butcher job on the orange

Search out the mini membranes that separate the sections, and then use your paring knife to cut down either side.

Mine are awful-looking, and require some more practice, but then you remove the section.  I guess this makes them less chewy in the salad.  What it DOES make, however, is a mess in your kitchen.  Juice runs everywhere!

The last ingredient in the salad is the grilled onion.  This I have plenty of experience at now, and felt comfortable accomplishing.

Much prettier and professional-looking than the oranges

Put everything in the bowl (dressing is made and at the bottom).

And then toss!

The steak came off the grill, but not before I had left it on for an additional two minutes beyond the recommended cooking time.  I'm pretty sure I remember that from the last time I cooked flank steak, but I used an instant-read thermometer just in case.  I pulled it off when it hit 145 degrees, which for beef is medium-rare.

It was!

I plated and The Bride and I enjoyed one of our last grilling sessions together.

Read that last sentence again....that's right!  The Bride has been given an amazing opportunity to lead a project that will take around three months...in China!  This means that Corey will be left for the summer, requiring some supervision guest chefs!  Contact me if interested!

Meanwhile, back to final thoughts on the recipe:  Overall, not as chewy as I had anticipated.  I made sure to slice against the grain as thinly as I could, and it turned out quite well.  The salad was a big hit with The Bride as well.  True to form, the jicima soaked up the dressing and lost its starchiness, the oranges provided a nice brightness and contrast of texture, and the grilled onions lent a pleasant aromatic and caramelized sweetness.  The rub on the steak was in no way overbearing; it could have even used a little more heat, maybe some cayenne.  I think this steak would also benefit from a finishing sauce, but it is fine on its own.  It's not company worthy, but thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless.