The Meatwave

In the spirit of getting whatever I want for my birthday, last week I celebrated the occasion with steak. Not just any steak though, I had a hunger for the type of steak I never ever get—a prime dry-aged porterhouse large enough for two. Making that decision too late for a Luger's reservation (still haven't been), I went for what I figured was the next closest thing—Wolfgang's. It was a truly magical piece of meat. The sear was deeply flavored with salt and pepper, it was cooked perfectly medium-rare, and the meat was intensely rich and beefy. This was a steak of kings, and appropriately priced for royalty as well.

While my enthusiasm for that piece of meat may be a bit unbridled right now, it still doesn't change my overall philosophy that the best steaks for your money are the cheap cuts. The hanger, flank, and skirt are some of my favorite steaks to work with, delivering on big flavor for low cost. Need some convincing? How about trying this mojo marinated flank steak.

I contend these more wallet friendly cuts have enough flavor that they don't need marinades or sauces, just salt, pepper, and fire. For some reason though, I had the idea to introduce mojo—a Cuban sauce made of garlic, sour orange, and oil—to this piece of flank. A chicken coated in mojo is incredible, so why shouldn't it be just as awesome on steak?

After letting the acidic sauce work into the meat for one hour at room temperature, I grilled the entire two-pound piece of flank whole. Another reason I think I'm so into the cheap cuts is for how well they grill. I'll admit that that I've had better success cooking thicker steakhouse cuts—strips, porterhouses, ribeyes, etc.—with a cast iron and oven, but for thin skirts and flanks, the super high heat of the grill sears the meat incredibly well, and once that crusty exterior is developed, the inside is usually a desirable medium-rare.

While the steak was taking its obligatory 10 minute rest, I used the excess heat of the grill to cook skewered rings of onions as an accompaniment—there's a reason steak and onions are so often spoken in the same breath.

Now that's a beauty of steak. You immediately see how juicy it is and the rosy meat is paired with an appetizing blackened sear, but looks are nothing compared the flavor. The flank steak may not reach the heights of a dry-aged strip, but it's still plenty beefy, and the mojo marinade gave it an acidic pop and garlic bite that complimented the meat and might just have me rethinking my stance on beef marinades. This flank was a good steak that I'd take any day, or everyday, making me happy enough to leave the super rich and expensive cuts for those special occasions when I want my beef taken from excellent to superb.

Published on Tue Jan 15, 2013 by Joshua Bousel

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